Sister Wives has gripped millions of fans over the course of 17 seasons, which have delved deep into the lives of Kody Brown and his partners, Robyn, Meri, Janelle and Christine.

However, it has been far from smooth sailing for the polygamous family, with frictions eventually leading all the wives except Robyn to part ways with Kody.

In a newly-aired episode of the hit TLC show, Kody opens up about the breakdown of his marriages and why he thinks “going public” as family might be at fault.

Discussing tensions arising among his partners after he met Robyn, Kody claimed: “The big shakeup wasn't caused by Robyn, it was caused by the fallout of going public and that decision was made by our family before we met Robyn.”

One of Kody’s sons with ex-wife Christine, Paedon, also spoke out on his famous family's changing dynamics as he addressed his parents' rough patch.

The couple had spent Thanksgiving separately on a “big break” from their traditional celebrations, showing how the cracks had deepened between them.

The couple’s son Paedon reflected on their polygamy and admitted it may no longer work for them.

"When we first went public, the purpose of going public was to say, 'Polygamy works,'" Paedon told the cameras. "I don't think it works in my family anymore."

Elsewhere in the episode, while speaking in a confessional interview, Meri Brown opened up about spending Thanksgiving with Christine away from Kody, as she confessed to having “mixed thoughts”.

"This represents a really big break in our family tradition," she said. “I mean, I had all these mixed thoughts going on, but I really was happy to be here.”

“It was a really great day. We were having a lot of fun. It was perfect, really,” Meri added.

In her confessional, Christine reflected on her decision to shake up her Thanksgiving celebrations as she had reached a “breaking point”.

She said: “Our family has been hurting for a long time. We've done our best to be as OK as possible, but there's still hurt feelings from 12 years ago.

"Everything has been accumulating and accumulating for years. It's at a breaking point. Sorry, it's just at a breaking point."