Backdoor Deal: Jenelle and Kody conspired to limit Meri’s share of Coyote Pass, blame each other

In a shocking revelation during the Sister Wives Tell-All, Kody Brown admitted he considered selling the family’s Coyote Pass property without Meri’s consent, then paying her later at his convenience. The admission sparked outrage from Meri’s friend Jen and exposed deep fractures in the family’s trust.

A big point of contention was whose idea it was to sell Coyote Pass “out from under Meri,” partially because she wouldn’t sign an NDA. “I will not be silenced,” Meri declared at the Season 20 Tell-All Episode 1 Cliffhanger.

“The whole thing that made me realize that I needed to go to God about how I had been with these ladies was because Robyn said ‘I don’t like how you behaved during these transactions, this business stuff,’” Kody explained to host Sukanya Krishnan. “I was getting frustrated enough to just sell the property, and then I’ll distribute money to them at my convenience.”

The Blame Game: Who Started It?

When host Sukanya pressed him on this alarming statement, Kody quickly shifted blame to Jenelle, claiming she came up with the idea first. “Jenelle had suggested that. She’s like ‘Well, you can sell this out from under. I know you’ll pay me,’” he said.

Jenelle, however, denied initiating the scheme. “Kody said, ‘Well, I could sell it without Meri’s consent.’ I’m like, ‘Well, you could,’” she stated, framing her response as merely acknowledging a possibility rather than proposing it. Later in the interview, however, Jenelle stated something that suggested otherwise.

Kody called Jenelle his favorite nickname for her: “The Teflon Queen,” accusing her of making it look like the backdoor deal wasn’t her idea. He claimed Jenelle pressured him because she was worried about losing a buyer for the property.

In clips shown from the past season during the tell-all, Kody admitted he considered a “backdoor deal almost with Jenelle” to sell the property without Meri and Robyn’s consent. “Robyn was like ‘We’re not going to mess them over.’ And Robyn looks at me like ‘Who are you,’” he recalled.

Meri’s Suspicion

When asked if she knew about the discussions behind her back, Meri said she had “suspected” something was happening because Jenelle was evasive whenever she brought up the property. “I didn’t feel like I could trust Jenelle to be honest with me,” Meri said.

Meri’s friend Jen didn’t hold back her fury. “How f**king dare they. That is so wrong. I am so mad,” she exclaimed. “How is she not able to have her portion of the property? How dare they try to do that and go behind her back?”

Jen pointed out that both Kody and Jenelle threw each other under the bus. “Whoever said it, what they were saying to her face and what they were doing behind her back is exactly why we’re where we’re at today. It’s exactly why she can’t trust them.”

Meri believes she would not have received her fair share if the forced sale had gone through. “I think that Jenelle and Kody were trying to kick me out somehow,” she stated.

Why did Meri own such a small amount of Coyote Pass?

The situation was complicated by how the land ownership was structured. Meri was only legally owner of one-third of one of the four parcels of land at Coyote Pass. Kody claimed Jenelle’s name was on more parcels because Jenelle requested it, saying “we can’t trust Meri.”

Kody said that Jenelle managed their books and that he always wanted to do what Jenelle wanted because he loved her “and might still.” He described feeling dread when Meri called, versus eagerness to please Jenelle. “Jenelle plays me all the time,” he confessed.

The Confidentiality Agreement/NDA Controversy

According to Jenelle, the property deal ultimately expired because Robyn requested everyone sign a confidentiality agreement. Meri saw this very differently.

“The contract was all about silencing me,” Meri explained. “They didn’t want me to talk, and I couldn’t figure out why. I will not be silenced anymore, and I don’t think that he likes that and so he is blaming me… because I’m not going to sign a contract asking me to be silenced. For no reason.”

Whether the backdoor deal was Kody’s idea or Jenelle’s, the fact that it was seriously considered demonstrates how far the relationships had deteriorated.

Meanwhile, Christine was grateful that she walked away from Coyote Pass completely as part of her divorce deal because it meant she didn’t have to be involved in the complicated mess of selling the Arizona property, even if it means she missed out on some profit. As her husband David said, her mental health is worth more than money.

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