Steven “Steve” McBee Sr.’s family experienced an emotional goodbye during the latest episode of The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys.
“We’ll have some hard days ahead, but it won’t be anything like this,” Steve’s eldest son, Steven McBee Jr., told his family on the Monday, July 20, episode of the Bravo series as they drove together from Missouri to South Dakota watch their father begin his mandated prison time at FPC Yankton.
Steve’s ex-wife, Kristi McBee — with whom he shares four sons — was on hand during the five-hour drive, serving as a source of support for their children. (The episode was filmed in December 2025.)
“We got the bus because we all just wanted to spend as much time together as possible,” she told the cameras as footage of the large bus driving through snowy terrain flashed across the screen.
As the camera panned around the bus, Steve’s sons, Steven, 33, Jesse, Cole and Brayden McBee, all tried to keep their emotions in check. However, it was clear that the sadness of the day was felt by them all, including Jesse’s wife, Alli McBee, who had puffy eyes from crying.
In the background, Blues Saraceno’s 2013 song “Carry Me Back Home” played, setting the tone for the melancholy journey.
“Goodnight, my dear, be still your worried heart / Keep me in your prayers, and we’ll never be apart,” the American musician sang while playing the guitar.
Kristi could be seen wiping tears from her eyes as a “Federal Prison Camp” sign appeared, telling everyone she’s been “dreading this moment.”
Kristi — who divorced Steve in 2019 after 28 years of marriage amid his affair with Galyna Saltkovska — then told her boys and their significant others, “It’s gonna be OK.”
“My dad has always been our biggest hope. Kinda the person to rally us and give us confidence in any situation,” Jesse revealed during a confessional. “No matter what we do, no matter what we say, we can’t change what’s happening right now. I think that’s the hardest part.”
Steve, who remained off camera while on the bus, tried to lighten the mood by checking on Cole’s fiancée, Kacie Adkison — the only person at that point in time not starting to tear up.
“Kacie, you good?” Steve, 54, asked, to which she nodded. “She’s the rock here,” the patriarch said.
Kacie — who is pregnant with her and Cole’s second baby — made a joke, telling her future father-in-law, “I’m ready to get rid of ya.”
The comment broke the tension on the bus and everyone let out a little — but much needed — laugh.
“That’s why I love ya,” Steve told her, before he made his way off the bus and outside into the snow alone.
Steve yelled back, “Bye, baby,” seemingly talking to his granddaughters, Blair and Summer, who were both under the age of 1 when he reported to prison.
“Love you, dad,” Steven, 33, said as both he and Cole began to cry back in the vehicle.
As Steve exited the bus, baby Blair began to cry and the rest of the group huddled at the window to see him make his way to the gate.
Steve wore a green hooded sweatshirt, jeans, sneakers and was carrying what appeared to be a Bible as he left his family to start serving his time.
“To see him walking away into prison by himself, it is a top three hardest day in my life,” Steven later told the cameras. “I don’t want to say that it’s broken our spirit, but we’re damn close to being there.”
Steve reported to prison on December 1, 2025, after pleading guilty to one count of crop insurance fraud in November 2024. He was sentenced in October 2025 to two years behind bars and two years of supervised release.
Steve, who founded McBee Farms & Cattle Co., was ordered to pay $4 million in restitution and $3 million in fines.
Less than one year into his sentence, Steven exclusively told Us that his dad was “down to less than two months now before he gets out.”
Steven revealed on Thursday, July 16, that Steve was “able to get into a program that allows him to cut down on the time served” but when he is released later this year, he will be “under home confinement for four to six months.”
The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys airs on Bravo on 9 p.m. ET.
