Sister Wives’ Kody Brown reflects on respect, responsibility, and rediscovery during his Special Forces journey

Kody Brown, star of Sister Wives, is participating in Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, a competition series that challenges celebrity contestants both mentally and physically.

In the Thursday, Oct. 23 episode, Brown described what motivates him throughout the show. While performing a challenge alongside costar Gia Giudice, he stated,

“Here's the thing — I don't consider myself a great leader. But good quality manhood, masculinity, is taking responsibility for the job that needs to be done and doing it."

Brown’s approach emphasizes responsibility and teamwork as guiding principles in his participation in the series.

Sister Wives star Kody Brown’s approach to challenges and accountability on Special Forces

Focus on respect and leadership

During the season 4 premiere of Special Forces, Brown discussed his priorities in the competition. He explained that respect was a central factor in his motivation, stating,

“I'm gonna say this at the risk of sounding sexist, but I think men want to be respected and women want to be loved. I don't care if you love me. I care if you respect me.”

Following his completion of the first challenge, which involved rappelling from a helicopter, Brown explained that doing difficult tasks is part of "being a man" and provides proof of one’s abilities.

Comparison with Sister Wives' experience

Brown’s participation in Special Forces coincides with the 20th season of TLC’s Sister Wives. In a September interview with PEOPLE, he noted differences between the two experiences, stating,

“I really appreciated the difficulty of Special Forces because it was very life-affirming.

He added that in Special Forces, participants "accomplish a task" with other people, developing a sense of camaraderie, while noting that Sister Wives has become an experience of criticism and backbiting.

Brown highlighted the structured challenges and teamwork in Special Forces as aspects distinct from his reality show experience.

Timing and personal reflection

Brown’s involvement in Special Forces occurred after the end of his plural marriages with Christine Brown Woolley, 53, Janelle Brown, 56, and Meri Brown, 54.

He remains married to his fourth wife, Robyn Brown, 46. Brown described the timing of his participation as fitting, saying,

“The experience with Special Forces was life-affirming in the sense that I got so much out of it, almost like a pivot away from my life, my real life.”

He also shared guidance he received from veteran Rudy Reyes during the competition, explaining that Reyes asked him to consider what he was doing that he should not be doing and what he should be doing that he was not doing.

He called it a valuable "lesson" he has started applying in his life and noted he could have used it 10 years ago.

Support from family

Initially, Robyn Brown was hesitant about Kody joining the show. He recalled that when the show was introduced, she expressed that she did not want him to participate and suggested they have a discussion, but ultimately, no discussion occurred, and it became an "assumption" from that point forward. He added,

"I think when she saw — when I showed her or told her what it would be similar to or what I thought it would be like — she was like, ‘Oh, this is one of those things that you are going to do and I'm not going to be able to stop you.’”

Stay tuned for more updates.