About Janelle Brown
If you’re familiar with the reality TLC series “Sister Wives”, you’ve probably been keeping up to date with Kody Brown and his warring spouses for years. Janelle Brown, who was born in May 1969, married Kody at the age of 24 to become his second wife. The former couple share six children and two grandchildren, and their somewhat acrimonious split has been a hot topic of discussion for months.
Not much is known of Janelle’s early years, but we can confirm that her parents are named Robert and Sheryl, and that she has a sister. The family was left blindsided by Robert’s untimely death in 1972, as Janelle was just three years old at the time, and Sheryl was left to raise her two children alone until she married Merlin Fryer.
As Sheryl’s second marriage didn’t work out, she eventually married Winn Brown, Kody’s father. When Janelle and Kody married, Winn possibly became her father-in-law and her stepfather at the same time, although it remains unclear if Sheryl and Winn met through their children. Janelle, who was raised in a Mormon household, claims that Kody and his first wife, Meri, were the ones to introduce her to polygamy.
After matriculating from Bountiful High School, Janelle decided not to attend college. At just 19 years old, she tied the knot with Meri’s brother, Adam Barber, in an intimate ceremony in their hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah. The pair went their separate ways just two years later, but by then Janelle and her former sister-in-law Meri had formed a close bond, which led to her meeting Kody and striking up an unlikely friendship.
Janelle and Kody became spiritually married in January 1993; their children together are named Gabriel, Logan Taylor, Robert Garrison, Hunter Elias, Savanah and Madison Rose. For now, Madison is the only child of Janelle’s to have formed her own family, as she married in 2016 and has two children named Axel and Evangelynn. As for Logan, he’s been engaged to his longtime girlfriend since September 2017, with family members still eagerly awaiting their wedding date.
Viewers of “Sister Wives” have long speculated that being married to Kody is no walk in the park. The Brown patriarch was born in January 1969 and was ‘married’ to four wives at once: Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn. With almost 20 children and half a dozen grandchildren, Kody is big on family values and was also raised in a polygamist Mormon household, with his father having ten children and three wives. Interestingly, Kody previously opened up about his parents’ struggle with the Mormon faith and polygamy.
Janelle and Kody’s relationship was already on the rocks by 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic was a decisive factor in the breakdown of their spiritual marriage, as Kody decided to quarantine with Robyn and the children they shared together, so spending months at a time away from the rest of his brood.
Christine, Kody’s third wife, was the first one to walk away from the unorthodox living situation, in November 2021. Insider sources soon began claiming that Janelle would be the next to leave Kody – and as it happens, Janelle herself confirmed in a January 2022 episode of the show that her and Kody’s relationship was strained, and that she wouldn’t find it difficult to walk away.
Janelle and Christine both shared a tight-knit bond during their many years as sister wives, which possibly influenced Janelle’s decision to leave Kody. In season 16, mere weeks before Christine left, Kody became angry with both women when they travelled to Utah to spend Thanksgiving with their children instead of with him, Meri, Robyn, and the rest of the clan. Kody questioned Janelle and Christine’s loyalty, which didn’t go down well with either of them.
The last straw came as Kody, Gabriel and Garrison had a huge argument when the patriarch wanted to make his sons choose between visiting him or having a social life. Gabriel and Garrison didn’t see eye-to-eye with their father, and decided to flout his strict regulations in the midst of the pandemic; meanwhile, Janelle sided with her sons, and began having more and more doubts about her and Kody’s union. Following Christine leaving, Kody also became stricter with the rest of his wives and children, and made clear that he was bringing a patriarchal model back to the household.
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Kody also tried to make things up with Janelle, having realized that she had changed and was seriously considering walking away from their marriage. At the same time, he also griped that Janelle didn’t show him as much respect as she should. Although things were looking up for a few episodes, during the season 17 finale he accused Gabriel and Garrison of being mean to Robyn – just one month later, Janelle confirmed that she and Kody had been separated for months.
So, why exactly did Janelle leave Kody after almost 30 years together? In 2022, an insider source told In Touch Weekly that Janelle was “a strong independent woman and realized she can do it on her own”. The same source claimed that Janelle chose to move on after realizing that she had outgrown Kody. It’s more than likely that Kody’s unfavorable treatment of their sons also influenced her decision.
Following Janelle’s split from Kody, in December 2022 sources close to the female reality star alleged that she wished to move back to Utah to be closer to Christine and her children. Apparently, Janelle and Christine are currently working on projects together, as both women strive to become financially independent.
Janelle has yet to confirm whether she’s moved to Utah or not, but she’s recently been spending time with her daughter Savanah in Las Vegas. The bubbly TV personality also enjoyed a family vacation in sunny Hawaii, and frequently promotes online businesses on her thriving Instagram profile. For now, we can assume that she’s earning a living from these promotional posts.
However, not everything is as idyllic as it seems at first glance. Janelle and Christine were recently criticized for peddling fraudulent weight-loss products sold by the brand Plexus Worldwide, such as the company’s miracle “pink drink” – said products have not been tested or approved by the FDA – and in 2020, the company received a warning letter from the Federal Trade Commission after claiming that their supplements prevented COVID-19. Social media users are concerned about Janelle and Christine’s close ties to the controversial brand, as Plexus has also been accused of being a pyramid scheme.
Kody Brown
Kody Brown was born in January 1969 to William and Genielle Brown who, as mentioned, were practicing Mormons and polygamists. In 1989, he was introduced to his first wife, Meri Barber, by one of his sisters, and proposed marriage just months later. The couple became husband and wife in April 1990 and had one child; sadly, Meri suffered a miscarriage the second time around, and was unable to have any more children.
In a shock move, Kody and Meri divorced in September 2014, so that the patriarch could legally marry his fourth wife, Robyn, and adopt her children from a previous relationship. Although Kody and Meri remained spiritually married, the dynamics of their relationship underwent a considerable shift. Viewers of “Sister Wives” also began accusing Kody of favoring Robyn and neglecting his other wives.
In an early 2021 interview, Kody confessed that the relationship between himself and Meri hadn’t been the same for a long time. Things only worsened from then on, as the Wyoming native confirmed in the season 17 finale of “Sister Wives” that he no longer wished to be in a relationship with his first wife. In December 2022, Meri shocked fans by confirming that Kody had unilaterally ended their spiritual marriage, and that things were over between them, thus bringing their decades-long union to an abrupt end.
Kody was introduced to his future third wife, Christine, in 1990 by one of her sisters. The pair developed a close friendship and Christine later expressed her interest in Kody. Wasting no time, he proposed to the blonde beauty on their first date, which took place on Valentine’s Day 1994 – and a month and a half later, they were spiritually married.
Christine and Kody share six children: Paedon, Aspyn, Mykelti, Gwendlyn, Ysabel and Truely. Since November 2021, when Christine practically broke the internet with her separation announcement published on Instagram, the former couple have been at odds with each other – and it appears that Christine’s jealousy of Robyn, the fourth wife, was the cause of the relationship breakdown.
Previously, Christine said that she decided she wanted to be the third wife in a plural marriage when she was just 19 years old. But why the third, instead of the first or second? According to the TLC personality, being the third wife was the easiest option. “I always thought that being the third wife would be the best,” Christine told PEOPLE Magazine. “The first one had all the responsibility of the guy… Then with the second one, it always seemed like there was a lot of hard times and change, so I’m like, ‘No, don’t sign me up for that.’ Number three just coasts right in the middle. Easy.”
Ysabel and I in Frankenmuth about to walk through the covered bridge. pic.twitter.com/Y4sY1Z4uKT
— Christine Brown (@rosecolored6) April 29, 2017
Nevertheless, Christine didn’t count on there being a fourth wife in the plural marriage, and found it hard to accommodate Robyn’s presence when she and Kody became spiritually married in May 2010. During the first season of “Sister Wives”, which followed Kody and Robyn’s whirlwind courtship, Christine complained on several occasions that Kody was replacing his family with Robyn and her children. As Robyn lived five hours away from Kody, the famous polygamist would often travel to visit her, and spend days at a time separated from his three wives.
Prior to Kody and Robyn’s spiritual wedding ceremony, Christine admitted that she was reluctant to accept another wife into the fold. Unlike her fellow sister wives, Christine wasn’t used to welcoming newcomers, and opposed Kody and Robyn’s marriage from the beginning. With time, Kody’s favoritism of Robyn became clear, especially when he divorced Meri so as to legally marry the brunette.
During the season 15 finale of “Sister Wives”, Christine discussed her possible relocation to Utah. The clan had been living in Arizona since 2018, but Christine was disillusioned with the living situation, saying: “I’m tired of not having [Kody’s] support when I really need it… I need a partnership. I need something different than this.”
Tensions reached boiling point when Kody chose to stay at home while Christine and Ysabel travelled to New Jersey for Ysabel’s scoliosis surgery operation. Later on, Kody told his third wife that he didn’t wish to be intimate with her anymore – she reacted by packing up his things and throwing them into the trash. After months of speculation from “Sister Wives” viewers, in November 2021, both parties confirmed that they were no longer together, and during the show’s 17th season, Christine admitted to leaving Kody, feeling that he cared more about Robyn than her.
Although Christine and Kody tried to maintain a cordial relationship and co-parent their children at first, things soured between the pair when they discussed her intentions to move to Utah. In a last-ditch effort to keep Christine in Arizona, Kody suddenly said that he wanted to spend more time with Truely, their youngest daughter. However, many believed that the real reason Kody opposed Christine’s relocation was because she’d start dating other men.
Christine paid no heed to Kody, and moved to Utah shortly afterwards. It is also widely believed that she encouraged Janelle to follow her footsteps in leaving the Brown patriarch, and moving out of Arizona. As for Kody, he has since given vitriolic interviews about his ex-wife, even claiming that he wasn’t attracted to Christine on their wedding day.
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Last but not least is Robyn, Kody’s fourth wife. She was previously married to David Jessop, the father of three of her children, but divorced him in 2007 for unknown reasons. Robyn first met Kody and Meri at a get-together; surprisingly, Kody was initially unimpressed by the brunette, due to her being a divorced single mother.
In December 2015, a year after legally marrying Robyn and moving her and her children into the spacious family compound, Kody legally adopted her son and two daughters. As his preferential treatment of Robyn became more and more obvious, the dynamics in the Brown household changed – and not exactly for the better.
Robyn and Kody share two children named Solomon and Ariella, who were born in October 2011 and September 2016. Although Kody supposedly chose to quarantine with Robyn, Solomon and Ariella during the COVID-19 pandemic because they were the youngest, “Sister Wives” viewers didn’t buy his explanation, and accused him of yet again showing favoritism.
When Christine and Janelle left Kody, many fans of the Brown family believed that Kody would work on fixing his marriage with Meri. As the TLC star proved them wrong and left Meri of his own accord, he is currently in a monogamous marriage with Robyn, and a reconciliation between himself and his former wives is looking more and more unlikely.
For now, TLC has yet to confirm a release date for season 18 of “Sister Wives”, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated with any new developments.
