A Look At The Rift Between Kody Brown & Leon, His Child With Meri

Kody and Meri Brown have been through a lot together. From Meri's catfishing scandal to Kody's public bashing of his first wife, the polygamist couple formally called it quits in January 2023 after spending more than 30 years together. The exes welcomed one child during that time, Leon Brown. Leon came out as transgender in 2022 when they were 26 years old, which is also when they publicly changed their name and confirmed their preferred pronouns. 

Meri was quick to support her only child on their gender-affirming journey, while Kody notably stayed mum. Although Leon and Kody were never on the best of terms anyway, the alleged last straw that caused the ultimate rift between the two was Leon's gender transition, which Kody doesn't seem to support. Even though none of the claims have officially been addressed by any of the parties involved, Gwendlyn Brown seemingly confirmed the rumors were true.

In a YouTube video on her channel, Christine Brown's daughter asserted, "[Leon has] chosen to go to people who they can trust and ... they found a safer community for themselves." Gwendlyn also revealed that Leon felt like they were the odd one out for a long time in the family. As Leon continues to thrive, will Kody ever ask himself whether he's the one in the wrong?

Kody Brown prioritizes some of his 18 children while others, like Leon Brown, are left to fend for themselves. According to an anonymous source close to the family, Kody does not approve of Leon's gender transition journey. "Kody is telling close friends, 'This is a new person. I don't know who this person is, but this is not the little girl that I raised,'" the insider informed The U.S. Sun, adding, "He's actually disgusted by it, as terrible as that is." 

Their already strained relationship apparently took a turn for the worse following Leon's gender-affirming top surgery at the beginning of 2023, but given Kody's alleged stance on the subject, it's likely it happened much sooner. Leon came out as transgender in an Instagram post, acknowledging, "Unfortunately, I grew up in a context that was incredibly gendered [and] restrictive, so I continued to be socialized as a girl [and] later a woman." 

About six months later, Leon proudly displayed the results of their surgery on TikTok. While Kody hasn't publicly backed Leon on their journey, it's important to note that he hasn't actually said anything negative either. Given that the patriarch doesn't really have great relationships with several of his adult children, it's hard to say whether his closeness to Leon was affected by their gender expression or not. 

The U.S. Sun's source also shared how Leon Brown's gender journey caused a major rift between Meri and Kody Brown. "Leon is [Meri's] only child, and she wasn't going to disown them. She will pick Leon over Kody every day," they clarified. Given that Kody reportedly considered taking Meri back at one stage, that surely came as a blow to his plan.

Unlike Kody, Meri has consistently supported her child's transition on social media. As People reported at the time, Meri backed Leon when they initially came out as transgender by sharing their announcement on her Instagram story and adding a sticker that read, "You are my sunshine." Under another post, in which Leon opened up about their trans experience, Meri wrote, "You are my gift, one I love very much." 

Kody, on the other hand, has yet to publicly showcase his support. Meri tried to get back on the patriarch's good side for a long time, and Kody's alleged disregard for Leon's gender identity might be what ultimately made her give up on him. On the flip side, Kody was present at daughter Gwendlyn Brown's wedding, and she came out as bisexual on "Sister Wives," so the reasons for his rift with Leon may be much deeper.