O'Donnell welcomes the change
In a Monday, November 2, Instagram post, O'Donnell, 64, shared a promotional image featuring Kody's three ex-wives and made clear that his absence was part of the appeal.
"So I just put on season 21 of Sister Wives — after not watching for a decade — and found out happily Kody is not on it anymore!!!!" she wrote, according to Us Weekly.
"It's actually interesting to see these women after him — fascinating in many ways @sisterwivestlc," she added.
How the cast learned about the departure
TLC disclosed Kody and Robyn's departure in September, more than a month before O'Donnell's post. The season 21 trailer included the announcement: "After 16 years of filming Sister Wives, Kody & Robyn will not be returning to the show."
The season premiered October 4, 2026, at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Neither Kody nor Robyn had publicly addressed their exit as of the season's launch, according to People.
The news surprised both Janelle and Meri. "I was flabbergasted, really, when I got the news," Janelle, 57, said in the trailer. Meri, 55, also told the cameras she had not expected the couple to leave.
Janelle later told People that she learned of the decision by email. She said she had not spoken with Kody or Robyn since the family gathered after the property sale shown in season 20, and she did not know what was happening in their lives.
New relationships and unresolved disputes
Although Kody is no longer part of the cast, disputes involving him remain part of the women's stories. According to USA TODAY, the family's shared Arizona property, Coyote Pass, sold in April 2025 for $1.5 million, seven years after its purchase. Kody later alleged that Janelle had tried to exclude Meri from the sale through a "backdoor deal." Janelle denied that accusation in the October 4 season premiere.
The previous season concluded with what Kody called his "apology tour" to his ex-wives. People reported that David Woolley, Christine's husband, urged him to start by apologizing to his 18 adult children, many of whom are estranged from him.
Season 21 also follows relationships beyond the former plural marriage. Janelle's boyfriend, Pete, whom she introduced on Instagram in August 2026, is featured in the season. Christine and David attend couples therapy; in the trailer, David says, "I'm coming to a point where it's either me or them." The trailer also shows Meri, Christine and Janelle gathering to melt all the jewelry Kody had given them.
The marriages behind the new chapter
Janelle has used the season to reflect on her marriage to Kody. In the October 11 episode, she said, "I don't think Kody and I ever really had a solid identity as a couple." She explained that their attention had largely been on the family as a whole.
For Janelle, a turning point came as tensions between Kody and their children intensified during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. "It was a burden to stay married," she said. Their spiritual marriage lasted from 1993 to 2022, and she confirmed their split in December 2022.
Christine had been the first wife to leave the plural family. Kody's third wife announced their separation in November 2021 after more than 25 years in a spiritual union. She and David married in October 2023.
Meri's legal marriage to Kody ran from 1990 to 2014, when she agreed to divorce so he could legally marry Robyn and adopt Robyn's three children from an earlier marriage. Meri and Kody continued their spiritual relationship for nearly another decade before she confirmed its end in January 2023. Robyn remains Kody's legal wife, and they share two biological children.
Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
