Madison “Maddie” Brush (née Brown) referenced her strained relationship with dad Kody Brown while discussing how she sets boundaries in “toxic” relationships on her podcast. The Sister Wives star confirmed she has “no contact” with her father.
“I’m a straight shooter. You ask me a question, I’m going to tell you what I think. And [my dad] would get very angry when I would be like, ‘I don’t know why you’re surprised here,’” Maddie, 29, told her cohost, Jayme Byrd, on the Monday, November 11, episode of the “Authentic Society” podcast. “So that was one of the reasons I went no contact. He didn’t like a mirror being held up.”
She recalled conversations with the family patriarch too. “[I’d say], ‘In my opinion, there’s a lot of anger,’ and he’d be like, ‘That’s not true,’” Maddie continued. “I’m like, ‘It is true. I know this firsthand.’ And there’s other people that are the same. They’d ask for my opinion and I’d express my opinion and they’d get angry.”
The mom of three – who’s currently expecting baby No. 4 with husband Caleb Brush – said she doesn’t agree with people who try to tell her that “blood is thicker than water” because “some people just don’t deserve to be in your life.”
Maddie added, “I always get messages from people who are like, ‘You should just forgive your dad and respect him.’ And I’m like … I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. Because your experience with your dad could be very different than my experience with my dad. He doesn’t have any respect for my boundaries. You have to play by his rules. And I just don’t care to do that.”
Kody and Maddie’s strained relationship has been in the spotlight amid season 19 of Sister Wives. On the October 6 episode, Kody accused his daughter of “[spreading] gossip about [him] to the rest of the family.” Maddie’s mom, Janelle Brown, defended her. “Kody has this narrative about Madison where she’s such [a] gossip, but he is as big of a gossip,” Janelle, 55, insisted.
The day after the episode aired, Maddie posted a cryptic quote on her Instagram Story. “A piece of advice. Never re-friend or re-family a person who tried to destroy your character, your integrity or your relationship with others. A snake only sheds its skin to be a bigger snake. If others fall victim and walk away from you because of that, let them. Sooner or later the snake will bite them too.”
On November 2, she seemingly took another subtle dig at her dad by reposting a video about how to set “boundaries” with toxic people. “This is a reminder for anybody that’s grown up with a toxic parent,” the video’s narrator said. “Holding clear and firm boundaries with somebody that’s been toxic and abusive to you your whole life is not the same as holding a grudge, just the same way that speaking the truth about your experiences at the hand of that toxic and abusive person is nothing like a smear campaign.”
Meanwhile, the November 3 episode of Sister Wives featured Kody asking Janelle why Maddie didn’t tell him about her pregnancy with baby No. 3 in 2022. “Maddie has observed to me that Kody has not been out to see her kids since Evie was born and Evie’s 3,” Janelle explained. “Maddie’s like, ‘Why would I tell him that I’m having another one? He hasn’t really shown that much interest in the other two.’”
