Kody Brown may be a jerk.
But he at least appears to be a self-aware jerk.
Earlier this year, the Sister Wives patriarch acknowledged that he came across as a selfish A-hole during the most recent run of his family's TLC reality show.
Kody said he wasn't actually a selfish A-hole, of course, but he did realize that he often looked the part on these episodes by pressuring his spouses to move into one large house together.
Despite all four spouses clearly not being a fan of the idea.
That was back then, however.
All these many months later?
Kody has spoken to The Sun and once again confessedd that he isn't the most popular person on the planet.
At least not in the eyes of his neighbors in Arizona.
“We’re not popular around here,” Kody told this publication this week as he left the $890,000 five-bed house he shares with his only legal wife, Robyn, and their five kids outside of Flagstaff.
The Browns relocated from Utah to Arizona in 2018, presumably because polygamy was on the verge of being made illegal in the former state.
It's been a bumpy ride for the family ever since, with Kody having purchased a large piece of property at Coyote Pass... and yet not having built anything on it in the ensuing 24 months.
According to various reports, Kody is facing serious financial hardships these days as a result of some poor real estate decisions and investments.
A neighbor of Robyn and Kody also told The Sun that the polarizing family, who moved to the outskirts of the town in 2018, “keep themselves to themselves.”
The neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, added:
“I have not spoken to Kody for more than two years, since before they moved into the house...
“We wish they weren’t here because they make Flagstaff look as though everyone has all these wives."
There is a Mormon community around Flagstaff, but this newspaper states that the Browns haven't really integrated themselves into it; for reasons that remain unknown.
Kody and his wives -- Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn -- are members of the Apostolic United Brethren, a sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Mormon religion.
They practice polygamy.
And there actually is a large Mormon presence in Flagstaff, which was designated a “second stake” by the church’s Salt Lake City leadership in 2017.
But Leslie Seaman, the church’s stake president of the Flagstaff Arizona East Stake, told The Sun that he never met Kody or his family members.
Weird, right?
It was also weird and unexpected this weekend when Meri Brown came out, denied all divorce rumors and said she loved Kody.
“Let’s just clarify something here. I love this man. I don’t owe anyone an explanation but I’ll do it anyway,” Meri started out her lengthy post, including with it a photo of herself and Kody.
She added:
“My relationship with him is MY relationship with him."
And she continued:
Sure we’ve had ups and downs through the years (I mean, isn’t that somewhat normal?) High highs and low lows. All of which, you get to see ‘some’ of, and speculate on. And that’s ok. You do you, boo."
'But here’s my truth.
"I love him. I love my family. I’m committed. I have 30 years in this. We struggle. We communicate. We repair relationships as the parties involved are willing and able.
"I’m an independent person who does her own thing..."
And she concluded:
I'm human. I have feelings. I make mistakes. I rise when I've fallen.
Sometimes it takes longer than other times to rise. I. Will. Always. Rise. I get angry. I feel peace. I feel pain. I feel joy. I forgive. I love. I'm HUMAN.
I'm here. I'm committed. I'm not going anywhere. Don't get your hopes up.