Sister Wives’ Christine Brown Tears Up Over Mykelti’s Cross-Country Move to N.C. (Exclusive)

Christine Brown is opening up about her daughter Mykelti’s big cross-country move from Utah to North Carolina. 

PEOPLE got an exclusive sneak peek of Sunday’s new episode of Sister Wives, during which Christine helps Mykelti, whom she shares with ex Kody Brown, prepare to move thousands of miles away with her husband and kids.

During the process, Christine holds back tears as she shares that her daughter is leaving Utah, where Christine is currently based with her husband David Wolley. 

In a confessional-style interview with her husband Tony Padron, Mykelti says, “Every time I talk about moving to my mom, I break her heart just a little bit more. She’s really sad. She’s really heartbroken.”

The scene cuts to a clip of Christine as she explains, “Mykelti’s moving tomorrow. We’re driving her and her kids cross country tomorrow.” She begins to get emotional as tears well in her eyes: “It’s really hard,” she adds with a shrug.

Mykelti then dives into exactly why her mom is so disappointed about them leaving, aside from the fact that they’ll be on the other side of the country. 

“She’s really sad because she’s definitely going to miss out on a lot of the years that my kids are young,” Mykelti explains. She shares three kids — daughter Avalon and twin sons Archer Banks and Ace McCord — with husband Tony. 

Referring to her sisters, she adds, “It’s like Aspyn and Ysabel don’t have kids yet and they won’t have kids for a while. And I want my kids to have cousins.”

She also notes how she’ll be “close to Maddie” once they settle in North Carolina, referring to Christine’s former sister wife Janelle Brown’s daughter. Maddie and her husband Caleb Brush — who share four children together — recently purchased a farm there with Janelle. 

The scene cuts to Christine and Mykelti in the kitchen as they appear to be packing up some belongings ahead of the move. In addition to wanting her kids to be around Maddie’s children, Mykelti explains that it will benefit her husband.

“Tony just needs to pursue his chess career,” she tells her mom.

“You’re like, wife of the century letting him have a chess career,” Christine responds with a smile, adding air quotes to the last two words. “Sorry, I shouldn’t do that.” 

After Mykelti points out that her husband does “make money” in his chess career, Tony explains in a confessional how excited he is for the move.

“It’s the chess capital of the U.S.,” he says. “I’m someone who works in chess, makes content, and teaches and coaches. For me, moving out there is so exciting because that’s like the hub.”

Charlotte is known as a chess hub, thanks to its Charlotte Chess Center which hosts big tournaments, chess-themed events, educational programs and camps for kids. 

The scene concludes with Christine asking Mykelti whether she told her dad Kody about the move, to which she responds disappointedly: “Yeah, dad knows I’m moving. Told him he should come up and see us before we leave and it didn’t happen. It is what it is.” 

A confessional interview with Kody then comes on in which he tries to justify why he and his wife Robyn — his last remaining wife in his once-plural marriage — weren’t able to see his daughter and her family before they left.

“Well, Tony and Mykelti’s schedule kept advancing,” he says. “They had plans that they couldn’t change and we had plans that we couldn’t change, and we just never were able to make contact.” 

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Reflecting on her daughter’s strained relationship with Kody, Christine says “the whole thing’s just been sad.”

“Mykelti and Tony were just sad that they weren’t able to see Kody and Robyn and the kids before they moved,” she says. “Her relationship with them is just not what Mykelti hoped it would be.” 

Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.