Kody Brown Reveals What His Wife Robyn Thought of Him Joining ‘Special Forces’ (Exclusive)

Kody Brown admits his wife, Robyn Brown, had some hesitations about him signing up for Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.

The Sister Wives star, 56, told PEOPLE about his wife’s initial reaction to the possibility of him joining the season 4 cast of the grueling Fox competition series at the show’s recent red carpet event in Los Angeles.

“My wife, Robyn, when the show was introduced to us, she was like, ‘I don’t think I want you to do that and we’ve got to have a discussion,’” he says of the series, which sees stars head to a foreign country to take part in various challenges that mimic military training. “There ended up not being a discussion. It just became an assumption from then on.” 

“I think when she saw, when I showed her or told her what it would be similar to or what I thought it would be like, she was like, ‘Oh, this is one of those things that you are going to do and I’m not going to be able to stop you,’” he recalls.

When asked if he heard from any of his former wives about him taking part in the reality series, Kody admits, “No, really just the only part of our lives that are connected are through the show [Sister Wives].”

Despite Robyn’s concerns, Kody knew it was the right decision for him to join the series following the end of his marriages with exes Christine Brown Woolley, 53, Janelle Brown, 56, and Meri Brown, 54.

“I feel like it was just a challenge,” he says of appearing on Special Forces, which returns on Sept. 25. “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 adds.

Kody previously told PEOPLE in January 2024 that he had “good days and bad days” since the demise of his marriages.

“It’s been a process,” he shared at the time. “Really I just look forward to a future of a lot of forgiving and a lot of more understanding.”

Kody explained that he’s had 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. “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.” 

In November 2021, Christine became the first to leave her spiritual marriage to Kody. Then, in December 2022, Janelle confirmed that she and Kody gone their separate ways. One month later, Meri announced her split from Kody. Kody only remains married to his fourth wife, Robyn.

The Brown family patriarch shared he was focused on “just healing in time and getting to a point where you feel forgiveness towards somebody who’s just said bad things about you.” 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 4 premieres Thursday, Sept. 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Fox. Sister Wives returns Sunday, Sept. 28, at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.