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'Sister Wives': Christine Brown's goodbye is 'worse' than she expected

The mother of six bids adieu to her extended family before moving to Utah in an "awkward, intense" gathering.
Sister Wives
Anthony Padron, Mykelti Brown and Christine Brown at Christine's goodbye gathering in "Sister Wives."TLC

After weeks of anticipation, Christine Brown's big moving day arrives in the latest episode of "Sister Wives."

Before getting together with her plural family for one final farewell, the mother of six invites her (former) sister wife Janelle over to discuss Kody's explosive reaction during their recent family meeting.

In last week's episode, the father of 18 lashed out at Christine in front of his other wives when she told him she planned to move to Utah in a week. Standing up and yelling, Kody likened Christine's leaving to a "knife in the kidney," and accused her of treating other family members like "crap."

Both Janelle and Christine were taken aback by the way he acted.“I was a little shocked at Kody’s behavior. He was just angry," Janelle says in a confessional.

While sitting with Janelle, Christine says it was a "terrible conversation" and says she thought it would "go much better."

The scene then shifts to a confessional with Christine. “I was so shocked at his aggression,” she says.

Back in the meeting with Janelle, Christine acknowledges that she was expecting people would be hurt when she left, but she didn't expect that Kody would be "volatile" and didn't know how to react to his anger.

Janelle tells Christine that Kody seems to have bottled up his emotions until that moment. She elaborates on her feelings in a confessional.

"It surprised me because he was so loud and he was so angry," she says. "The timing seemed weird but I think it's just he reached his (boiling) point."

Janelle then tells Christine she's not sure how to navigate the new dynamic once she's gone.

“I don’t know how to not be on a side or be perceived as being on a side,” she says. She continues the thought in a confessional, saying, "I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. I can't choose a side without them saying, 'You chose a side!'"

Meanwhile, Christine tells her friend and sister wife that "no one should be picking sides." It's a sentiment that Kody echoes while he and Robyn get together with Mykelti, his Christine daughter with Christine.

"I don’t want people picking sides. I don’t want to push you to pick sides or anything like that," he says to his daughter.

Christine didn't plan on hosting a formal goodbye with her extended family, but Mykelti believes it's important, so Kody and Robyn visit Christine's house with their children later on in the episode. Janelle and some of her children are also on hand, but Meri isn't since she's out of town.

The farewell is visibly tense, with everyone standing in their own corners outside and several members of the family commenting about how uncomfortable they feel in their own confessionals.

“I’m not in a good place here ... this is such an awkward moment,” Kody says in his private interview, adding that it feels “so demeaning” to watch his wife move away.

Mykelti, who organized the get together, even admits that you could cut the tension with a knife.

“It’s awkward outside. It’s weird, it’s intense. Nobody really wants to be here,” she says in a confessional.

Still, Mykelti tries to encourage the group to stay positive and reminds them that they are still a family.

“There’s no one to blame for any of this. It’s all just, it is what it is. And we should just all be grateful that even through this we can remain a family and that we can support each other still through all of it,” the 26-year-old says.

Kody says he doesn't feel like a family.

“I’m in sort of this weird place where I’m like thinking I don’t want to see Christine ever again,” he says. “I don’t want to think about her. I don’t want to drive past this house ever again and mourn this.”

He continues, “I don’t want to sit and be in this place again. I don’t want to deal with this at all.”

After everyone says their goodbyes, Janelle walks over to Christine to give her a hug and the mother of six bursts into tears. In a confessional, Christine explains her emotional reaction.

"I wouldn't have asked for this (goodbye. I certainly didn't need it. It's worse than I thought it would've been," she says. "I think this was the worst goodbye I've ever witnessed."