Sister Wives season 20 episode 13 recap: Kody apologizes to Christine while David advises him to mend ties with his kids

Sister Wives season 20's latest episode premiered on Sunday, December 21, 2025, on TLC, picking up right where tensions left off, as Kody Brown continued what Meri jokingly called his “ex-wife tour.”

His emotional apology tour resumed this week with a cringeworthy sit-down with Christine and her husband, David Woolley. 

Christine shuts down Kody's confessions of love towards her, while David steps in to advise him on healing his relationship with the kids first.

Later, Kody preps for his final apology to Meri while Janelle asks Meri for advice as she is considering a "spiritual divorce" from Kody to fully close their covenant.

What happened in the latest episode of Sister Wives season 20

In the Sister Wives season 20, Christine wasted no time explaining where she stands emotionally.

For her, the chapter with Kody is already closed, making it clear that once she committed to David, she was finished with Kody for good.

“By the time I committed to David, I was done with Kody. The chapter is closed. There’s not a gaping hole left in my heart,” she explained. “I already did the closure. I am responsible for my own closure.”

The Sister Wives episode picked up with Kody apologizing to Christine for previously saying he never loved her.

But instead of bringing peace, the moment became painfully awkward largely because David, Christine's husband, was sitting right beside her.

“I did love you,” Kody said. “I want you to be able to heal.”

Christine immediately pushed back in a confessional, expressing her frustration:

“You’re telling me you used to love me? I’m like, this is my husband here. This is so weird,” she said. “Why do you think this is appropriate? Your wife should be here if you’re going to tell things like that to me. Where’s your wife? Don’t say things like that to me.”

Kody didn’t stop there. He continued talking about how meaningful their relationship had been, which only made the situation more uncomfortable.

David admitted the moment felt strange from his perspective, too.

“This is kind of awkward. I’m like the third wheel sitting here thinking, ‘Okay, what am I doing here?’ You know damn well you loved her because you wouldn’t have got married. You wouldn’t have had all these kids if you didn’t love her.”

Things escalated further when Kody said he hoped he and Christine could be friends. “Why do you say ‘I hope’?” David asked, and then stepped in to offer some advice to Kody, saying:

“Start with your kids. Show that part because the women have moved on, but your kids still need to heal.”

Kody didn’t take the advice well. He became visibly worked up and shut the conversation down, confessing 

“My whole purpose here is to apologize to Christine, not to David. I don’t care what you think. I’m here to apologize, and I don’t even want to be reminded of that because it will bring me back to an angry place.”

Kody insisted he’s already making an effort with his children, but also made it clear he doesn’t want Christine or David involved. 

Kody and David eventually agreed to spend time together at a Las Vegas racetrack as a way to get to know each other better.

Thankfully, the racetrack outing went smoothly without any arguments or blowups. Kody reflected on how much has changed over the years.

“There is a chapter of our life or many chapters that family experience we all had together,” he said. “And for the past four or so years we’ve been in another chapter, and that chapter’s been painful and degrading.”

Kody said he hopes that chapter is finally over, adding: “I hope that we can all move forward peacefully and kindly.”

He later admitted that while he has apologized to Janelle and Christine, he does not trust them,

“I’m apologizing for everything that I can, but I will never trust them again...I’m not interested in being their friend.”

Kody acknowledged there’s still one person he needs to face: Meri.

While Sister Wives star Kody focused on apologies, Janelle quietly took a huge emotional step of her own.

She revealed she’s ready for a spiritual divorce, and she needs Meri’s help to make it official. While on a video call, Janelle says:

“We talked about the spiritual divorce, and I think I’m ready. Not that I want to get remarried, but I’m really ready to just be done, but it's like I just feel like that's the right thing to do, right? To to to end that covenant in the appropriate way.”

Janelle explained that ending the covenant properly matters to her, but church leadership still feels intimidating.

“I’m a grown ass woman,” she said, admitting she hasn’t spoken to church leaders in years. “But Meri, I need you to make that first call for me.”

Meri didn’t hold back her frustration with the church system as she says:

“They get to say whether or not she leaves or is forced to stay married to Kody forever. It shouldn’t be that way.”

However, the Sister Wives agreed to support Janelle, even acknowledging how strange the moment felt.“It’s weird as hell,” she admitted.

Stay tuned for more updates.