Sister Wives’ Kody Brown Shares His ‘Only Regret’ About the State of His Family — and His ‘Hope’ for His Brood (Exclusive)

Sister Wives’ Kody Brown is reflecting on his past and future.

In an interview with PEOPLE, the Brown family patriarch explains that after the loss of his and ex Janelle’s son Garrison, who died by suicide in March, he has a different outlook on life. Reflecting on what he would have done differently, he admits he has one regret.

“The only regret is just, take advantage of the time,” he says. “I want to go out to dinner again. I want to sit down. I want to have a beer. I want [Garrison] to try and make me laugh because he was that way.”

“The only regret is just, gosh, I would just do that more often,” he adds.

RELATED: Sister Wives‘ Garrison Brown Dead at 25

Recognizing that he is grateful for the time he spent with his late son, he is now mindful to continue prioritizing loved ones.

“There was other things that were pressing, and I just said to myself, ‘What if this is the last time?’” he recalls.

RELATED: ‘Sister Wives’ Family: Everything to Know About Kody Brown, His 4 Wives and 18 Kids

With so many ups and downs in his life recently, Kody says he says “yes” more often than before because he doesn’t want to have any more regrets. He also has learned to not sweat the small stuff or be “too petty” in arguments, particularly when thinking back to the dissipation of his marriages to all but one — Robyn — of his sister wives.

“There’s even the regret of the divorce — Meri, Janelle and Christine — those divorces and being angry during those divorces,” he shares. “Sure, I regret that stuff.”

RELATED: Sister Wives‘ Robyn Broke Down in Tears When Kody and Meri Officially Ended Their Marriage in Front of Her

His goal now is to treat life with more delicacy, knowing that people are here who won’t always be.

“There will always be the moment you said, ‘I wish I would’ve taken advantage,’ and there’s the regret,” he says, later adding, “But see, that’s all over now and everybody’s healing. And so now we can move forward, and we can just take those steps that create less regret.”

Looking forward, Kody says he hopes that everyone in his family “is happy.” Although simple, he explains that he thinks happiness is what makes a good life.

“People gravitate to where they’re comfortable, where they have joy and where they have enjoyment,” the reality TV personality says. “So I just hope that everybody finds happiness.”

“I hope all my children marry and have children,” he continues. “That’s what I hope. And I hope they find happiness in those places.”