Kody Brown Joins ‘Special Forces’ to Prove He’s ‘Good at Being a Man’

Warning: This story contains spoilers from the Sept. 25 episode of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.

When it comes to competing on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, Kody Brown is looking for respect.

On the season 4 premiere of the Fox competition series, airing Thursday, Sept. 25, the 56-year-old Sister Wives star didn’t hold back about why he wants to be respected rather than loved.

“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,” he said. “I don’t care if you love me. I care if you respect me.”

After successfully completing the first challenge — repelling from a helicopter — the TLC star reflected on his beliefs about what makes a good man.

“To do the hard things, is to be good at being a man. And every once in a while, you need just proof of who you are,” he explained.

After stepping up to help his teammates during the second challenge which saw the celebrity recruits hauling 800 pounds of supplies uphill, Kody acknowledged his reason for joining the grueling show, saying, “I want my children to see that I can do the impossible still.” 

He added, “Keep the old man out.”

His decision to join the series came after the end of his plural marriages with exes Christine Brown Woolley, 53, Janelle Brown, 56, and Meri Brown, 54. He remains married to his fourth wife, Robyn Brown, 46.

“I feel like it was just a challenge,” he told PEOPLE at the Special Forces red carpet event earlier this month. “I wanted to sort of put a pivot in my life, change the directions I was going.” 

“It wasn’t the pivot that I wanted, but it was the pivot I needed, and I had an exceptional experience that was almost spiritual in a way,” he added. 

Kody previously told PEOPLE that he had to find a way to rebuild his self-esteem “because it destroys your confidence when you go through a divorce or a family breakup.”

“I feel like my confidence is coming back,” he added in January 2024. “I got to find that space of grace and love for myself as well. Be it really forgiving of simple things, like just being angry about what has happened. I want to forgive myself for that and move on.” 

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Kody shared “it’s a journey that goes inward and it’s a journey that’s outward” following the demise of three out of his four marriages.

“You have to express forgiveness to the people you’ve been involved with,” he added. “You have to express understanding and hope that at the end of an era for us as a family, we still have hope of a friendship and a loving or kind relationship with each other in the future because we’re bound forever through our kids.”

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Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.