Why Kody Brown Once Forced Daughter Ysabel To Choose Between Him And Her Friends

Over the years, the patriarch of the family on the hit TLC show, "Sister Wives," Kody Brown, has made some surprising decisions that have altered his relationships with his family, including his children. The way he handled a sensitive situation after the Covid outbreak with his daughter Ysabel, whom he shares with his ex-wife Christine, may not have been the wisest.

During the pandemic, Kody formulated his own Covid protocol for the family on how they should interact, where they can go, and what they should do in everyday life to protect themselves and each other. According to Janelle, another one of his wives at the time, his rules extended far beyond what the CDC was advising (via Insider).

This led to Kody barring himself from seeing certain family members who chose to leave their house in an effort to protect himself and any family he would be visiting — though he mainly stayed with his wife Robyn and their children. Ysabel was one of the kids he separated from.

One of Kody Brown's pandemic rules was that the kids couldn't be in contact with anyone outside the family, which included school. When Ysabel Brown wanted to return to school in person for her senior year, she knew she would have to choose between being with her friends in her last year of high school or seeing her father.

Before Ysabel was informed of the choice she would have to make, Kody spoke to his four wives in a group Zoom call and told them that if any of the kids chose to go to school, he didn't think he would be able to see them anymore. Though schools were reopened, and it was 2021, a year after the height of the pandemic, he still felt that going to school was a risk.

Christine tried to get Kody to understand what he was asking and brought up how their daughter Ysabel was in her senior year and would miss out on being with her friends for the last time (via The Hollywood Gossip). His response was not what she wanted. "If that's important to her, then I would do it," Kody said. "Here's the thing, everyone can do what they want, but I can't be exposed to people. I can't be going from house to house all the time."

Kody Brown told Christine to let Ysabel know that it was her choice, meaning that if she went back to school, she would be choosing not to see him — essentially absolving himself from any blame, as per USA Today. "I want her to just make her own choice and then not be bitter that someone else has to act on that choice," he said.

The wives empathized with the kids and particularly Ysabel, since the other children chose to attend school online. Janelle said on the show, "I'm feeling really bad for Yssie, having to choose between her dad and her friends."

This wasn't the first time Kody had broken Ysabel's heart. One of Kody's worst parenting failures occurred in 2020, when he refused to accompany her on a life-changing scoliosis surgery a few states away, citing Covid precautions. Christine took their daughter on a solo trip for the surgery and long recovery process. Even worse, Kody felt it was fine to travel to officiate a friend's wedding soon after. "Ysabel's heartbroken, oh my gosh," Christine said on the show. "She goes, 'How can he justify officiating Brian's wedding when he wouldn't even come to my surgery?'"