Sister Wives dad Kody Brown is estranged from Gabe Brown — and he recently broke the kid’s heart. It upset fans to see Gabe in tears — but should he forgive his dad once you look at the circumstances?

Sister Wives: Kody Brown Estranged from Janelle Brown’s Sons

For a while now, viewers knew that Kody Brown wasn’t spending time with his sons with Janelle Brown. In particular, Gabriel Brown “Gabe” and his brother Garrison Brown had issues with their father. And it came down to COVID-19 rules.

The Sister Wives patriarch expected all his kids to follow very strict rules. During Season 16, Kody told them they couldn’t see their girlfriends, work, or leave their homes. He expected Gabe and his siblings to obey extremely strict protocols.

Not only was Gabe unwilling to give up his life and live in fear, and neither was his mother, Janelle or his other mother, Christine Brown. There was a huge rift in the family over what many saw as an overly cautious approach to the pandemic.

Gabriel Brown & Brothers Don’t See Eye to Eye with Their Dad

Since then, the Sister Wives‘ family has fractured. Kody Brown spends most of his time with Robyn Brown and their children. Meanwhile, Gabriel and the kids with Christine and Janelle don’t see much of him.

And his adult children with wife #2 and #3 are fully estranged from him. It’s clear they don’t see eye to eye. Their dad keeps insisting they respect him as the head of the family. But his boys are pretty-much grown men and won’t bow to his rules.

As Kody pressed Janelle to get their boys to tow the line, she refused. She won’t force Gabriel or Garrison to obey. And when Kody told her to kick Gabriel out of the house, she also refused that on the TLC show. This crisis ripped the family apart on Sister Wives.

Sister Wives: Kody Breaks Gabe’s Heart – Son in Tears & Crushed

Despite Kody Brown’s extremely strict rules that he and Robyn follow, they were still hit hard by COVID-19. Everyone living under Robyn’s roof — except Aurora Brown — caught the coronavirus.

While Kody dealt with the illness, he said he was awake for days and suffering anxiety. In the midst of it, he decided to call Gabe Brown to ask how his son experienced the virus. But the timing of the call couldn’t have been worse.

The Sister Wives‘ dad phoned Gabe on October 11. And it happened to be Gabriel’s birthday. But the call wasn’t what a son experts from their father. Papa Brown said he called Gabriel to “gather info” about what to expect.