'Sister Wives' Star Janelle Offers Some Insight Into That Infamous Sign on Robyn's Fridge

If you only just started dipping into Sister Wives after the breakup drama, there's a lot of lore that you'll need to catch up on. Level one lore: Janelle used to be married to Meri's brother. Level two lore: Kody's dad married Janelle's mom shortly before Janelle and Kody's wedding. Level three lore: Robyn is reportedly obsessed with buying things from QVC.

And then there's the sign on Robyn's fridge. If that doesn't sound familiar to you, don't worry — it's a rather deep cut from Season 10. However, viewers noticed something of a callback to it in Season 19 when Janelle talks about how her kids used to be treated at Robyn's house back when the family was still living a shared life.

In Season 10, Episode 6, eagle-eyed viewers spotted a typed-up and printed-out sign on the fridge in Robyn's house that said, "PLEASE ASK ROBYN OR MINDY BEFORE YOU TAKE ANY FOOD. THANK YOU!"

There's been speculation over the years that the sign could have been intended for the filming crew, but the general consensus is that it was actually meant for the Brown kids.

Now, obviously, in a family with 18 kids, most people would agree it's not unreasonable to have some boundaries around which resources are communal and which are meant for an individual family unit. Still, the note is perhaps a bit at odds with the idea of a big, happy family where all four moms are raising all of their kids together.

In Season 19, Janelle reflects on what life was like back then. "With Robyn, there was always a very separateness," she says. "My children were, like, scolded if they would open up Robyn’s fridge."

In many viewers' minds, the implication is that Robyn seemed to want to hold her own possessions — and her relationship with Kody — more tightly than the other wives did, and it may have led to (or at least contributed to) the current rift in the family.

For several years now, we've heard from all of the adults (and many of the children) about the difficulties the family faced after Kody and Robyn got married. In Kody and Robyn's opinion, the other sister wives and their children never fully welcomed Robyn and her kids into the family. According to Christine and Janelle (and to a lesser extent, Meri), Robyn maintained a level of separation from the start.

There's another clip of Robyn and her apparent resistance to sharing food making the rounds, too. In it, a young Ysabel is enjoying a bowl of cereal at Robyn's house when Robyn lightly scolds her. "Ysabel! You guys, this should be a snack, not a meal," she says as she takes Ysabel's bowl and starts pouring some of the cereal out.

Obviously, both the sign on the fridge and the interaction with Ysabel — as well as everything else on the show — is merely a glimpse into the family's life. While it's easy to draw connections and jump to conclusions, it's also worth noting that in a family made up of 23 people, there are a lot of dynamics at play!

Catch new episodes of Sister Wives Sundays at 10 p.m. on TLC.