‘Sister Wives’ Star Mykelti Brown Defends Her Stepmom Robyn’s $60k+ Doll Shopping Spree but Admits “It Sounds Absurd”

Robyn Brown has at least one supporter in her quest to repopulate Flagstaff with well-dressed American Girl dolls.

Mykelti Brown recently attempted to defend Robyn after Mrs. Kody Brown‘s secret (and insanely pricey) doll-collecting habit was exposed by Sister Wives fans online. As The Ashley previously reported, Robyn has apparently spent more than $62,000 on dolls and doll accessories over the past few years on Etsy alone, with some doll’s outfits costing hundreds of dollars each!

After Robyn’s Etsy purchase history was exposed– revealing hundreds of doll-related purchases over the past few years—‘Sister Wives’ fans expressed their disbelief that Robyn could spend so much of the family’s money on a hobby, while other family members (including some of Kody’s kids and then-wives) struggled for money.

In a new video posted to her YouTube channel, Mykelti— who, unlike most of her siblings, has maintained a relationship with Robyn over the past few years— defended Robyn’s spendy habit, arguing that American Girl dolls are collector’s items and that they are “beautiful.”

“I’m always playing Devil’s Advocate,” Mykelti said.

Mykelti then stated that there’s a sentimental reason behind Robyn spending literally the equivalent of the average American’s yearly salary on toys. However, she declined to give details about that reason.

“I’m not going to go into the story because it’s not my story,” Mykelti said. “But it is something very special that she shared with some very special important people to her, was this collection of dolls.

“So, I know it sounds absurd and that is a lot of money, so I don’t necessarily support that much money [being spent on dolls] but I support the heart behind it,” Mykelti added. “And the reasons behind it I think are very sweet.”

According to one Reddit user, Robyn has made nearly 500 doll-related purchases in the last six years, with more than 100 Etsy transactions  in 2024 alone. In some of the reviews left by Robyn for her doll purchases, she revealed that at least one of her older daughters is also involved in the doll-collecting obsession.

“My 20-year-old daughter oohed and aahed at this outfit,” Robyn wrote in a review posted in 2024. (Robyn’s daughter Breanna is currently 20 so we can assume she is the “daughter” who Robyn was writing about here.)  In another review, Robyn mentions that her mother is also taking part in the doll-a-polooza.

In the YouTube video posted this week, Mykelti’s husband Tony Padron seemed shocked at the amount of money Robyn has spent on her doll craze.

“Damn! $62,000?!” he said.

“That’s straight-up, that’s a down payment, a nice down payment on a house!” Mykelti said, adding that she had “anxiety” thinking about what else they could have spent $62,000 on besides doll clothes. “That pays off any vehicle we’ve ever owned!

In the past, several of Kody’s other adult children have spoken publicly about his and Robyn’s tendency to spend a ton of money.

Gwendlyn Brown— the daughter of Kody and his ex-third-wife, Christine— opened up in a 2023 YouTube video about her dad and Robyn’s habit of spending ridiculous amounts of money.

“I think that my dad and Robyn have a terrible habit of, like, spending very crazy and not within their means at all,” Gwendlyn said.

More-recently Maddie Brown— the daughter of Kody and his ex-second-wife Janelle— talked about how Kody and his wives were never responsible with their money, and that, before ‘Sister Wives’ came into their lives, the Brown family was “very poor.”

“When we got our tax returns when I was younger, immediately my parents immediately spent it on something,” she said on December episode of her podcast.

Robyn has yet to publicly address her doll habit; however, she recently made her Etsy purchase profile private.