It may be the worst kept secret on reality television:

Robyn Brown is especially tight with Christine Brown.

Heck, it’s not even a secret anymore, as Christine just came out this week and said the following to People Magazine:

““I hadn’t been that close to Robyn, I hadn’t been that close to Meri, for years.”

Christine went on to say in this interview that she’s scarcely talked to Robyn since early November… when she made the decision to leave her spiritual husband, Kody Brown.

That was back then, though.

Right now, fans are preparing for the Sister Wives Season 17 premiere, which will air on Sunday, September 11 at 10/9c.

The episode was filmed many months ago, and Us Weekly has uploaded a sneak peek at all the discussions that surrounded Christine’s choice to walk away back then.

“I don’t understand anything,” Kody says to Robyn in this footage, confused over why Christine wants to move to Utah.

In a surprise response, Robyn — who is Kody’s only legal spouse and who is, by all accounts, also his favorite spouse — actually stands up for Christine.

“Sometimes you just can’t sleep in the same bed with your spouse because you’re struggling. Maybe she just needs a break,” Robyn says in a confessional, adding of Kody:

“He doesn’t need to not be there. In fact, it should be the other way around. He should be there, present.”

It’s been well-documented just how challenging of a time Christine and Kody were having last year.

In another scene from the upcoming premiere, the pair clash over their sex life, with Christine clapping back at Kody over his refusal to sleep with her again — and with Kody claiming he never actually said this.

Speaking to Robyn and then to the camera on Season 17, Kody scoffs at the notion that he should give in to Christine in any way, shape or form.

The guy isn’t exactly empathetic.

“I don’t want to be sexist here, but why does a guy have to sleep on the couch? It’s his room too,” the Brown family patriarch explains to the cameras.

“What’s the point of staying the night there?

“It’s the walk of shame. I’m not going to do it.”

Kody being a self-centered jerk should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched almost any episode of Sister Wives.

But Robyn’s stance on this situation most definitely took us aback.

“I feel like there’s an unfairness in plural marriage,” she admits on the premiere.

“He’s going to somebody else’s house. She doesn’t have somebody else.”

In the clip, Robyn flat-out says that Kody should spend more nights with Christine in order to be fix their problems and be a flexible, understanding partner.

“I hate the idea, because first of all, it gives Christine power over where I sleep,” he says during a confessional.

Kody goes on to allege that he’s “done this” before, claiming that both his second wife, Janelle Brown, and Robyn have “tried kicking me out” in the past.

He noted that his first wife, Meri Brown, did it “all the time” and he seems it all as some sort of power play.

How dare Kody not be in charge at all times?!? How dare anyone challenge his status as an emotional bully?!?

“That’s a game. I don’t want to play that game,” Kody states on the impending premiere. “I’m not going to play that game.”

Some might call it a game, we guess.

Others might call it being in a relationship that involves listening, compromise and an attempt to see things from someone else’s point of view.

Earlier this month, TLC released an official synopsis for 17, which reads as follows:

For twelve years, dedicated fans have followed the highs and lows between Kody Brown and his four wives – Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn – as they’ve expanded their family and celebrated life’s big moments from birthdays to weddings and babies.

This season, Sister Wives takes a dramatic and emotional turn, as Christine leaves Kody and changes the dynamic of this polygamist family forever.

Last year, Christine kicked Kody out of her home, which was one of the hardest things she has ever done. But now, formally putting an end to their marriage turns out to be even harder.

And when she has to tell her sister wives and her children, nobody takes it well.

She is determined to move to Utah to be with her older children but when Kody tries to stop her, Christine calls him out for favoring one wife and her children, over all the others.

The stresses multiply as people begin to take sides.

And on top of it all, COVID is still a major issue for the Brown family, as first, Janelle and her children test positive and later, Kody, Robyn and their kids face their own struggles during the pandemic.

When Christine’s daughter Mykelti gives birth, she invites some of the sister wives to be part of it, but not others and her choices are surprising.

Without talking to Kody, Janelle buys a giant RV and moves onto their undeveloped Coyote Pass property as she is desperate to get construction started on their homes.

This season will see the family divided like never before, leaving one thing for certain: the Browns will never be the same.

Robyn Brown Actually Defends Robyn, Admits: Polygamy Sort of Sucks! was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip .