Christine Brown left ex-husband Kody Brown out of her heartfelt Father’s Day tribute — and made it clear why she now leans on fiancé David Woolley.
“Happy Father’s Day @david__woolley. I’ve watched how loving, compassionate and present you are with your children,” Christine, 51, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, June 18, alongside a carousel of photos with her partner, 59, who is the father of eight children from his first marriage. “And I love how you’ve shown that to my children as well.”
The Sister Wives star — who shares son Paedon, 24, and daughters Aspyn, 28, Mykelti, 27, Gwendlyn, 21, Ysabel, 20, and Truely, 13, with Kody, 54 — proceeded to gush over her future husband on the holiday.
“You’re truly showing up, which is what is most important,” she added. “Thanks @david__woolley, my love. #fathersday #showingup #thewaytoawomansheart #loveofmylife.”
Fans were quick to point out that Christine’s glowing tribute to Woolley appeared to be a not-so-subtle dig at her former spouse. (The TLC personalities announced their split in November 2021 after more than 25 years together. The exes were spiritually married in 1994, following Kody’s unions with Meri Brown and Janelle Brown in 1990 and 1993, respectively. He later added his fourth wife, Robyn Brown, to the family in 2010 before legally marrying her four years later.)
“Dang if that ain’t a big old middle finger to Kody Brown ,” one fan wrote in the comments section. Another fan replied, Happy Father’s Day!! Kody is somewhere punching the wall right now .”
A third user gave Christine props, writing, “The shade! I love it .”
While Christine seemingly shaded Kody, two of their daughters showed him a little love on the special day. Ysabel shared a throwback photo via her Instagram Story on Sunday of her dad holding two of the girls on his shoulders as kids. “Father’s Day <3” she simply captioned the image.
Gwendlyn — who has been vocal about her father’s shortcomings since her parents’ breakup — posted a similar childhood photo via her social media account.
“Happy Father’s Day. I love you always,” she wrote alongside the vintage picture that featured a young Kody smiling beside Gwendlyn and son Paedon, who was dressed up as a carpenter.
The girls’ sweet messages appeared to be the only two social media tributes Kody received from his family on Father’s Day in the wake of their recent ups and downs.
Following his split from Christine in 2021, Kody’s plural family suffered two more marriage shakeups. Janelle, 54, confirmed in December 2022 that she and Kody had been “separated for several months” after filming season 17 of the TLC series.
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Meri, meanwhile, shared a statement in January confirming that she and Kody had also gone their separate ways after more than 30 years together. Robyn, 44, is still in a relationship with the TV personality. Christine, for her part, moved on with Woolley in 2022 and got engaged in April.