Forever and always? Janelle Brown and husband Kody Brown’s plural marriage was anything but conventional ahead of their 2022 split.
The Sister Wives stars’ lives were interwind well before they spiritually tied the knot in 1993. Janelle’s late mom, Sheryl Brown, and Kody’s dad, William Winn Brown, were married for years before William’s death in 2013, making the eventual spouses stepsiblings.
“Before Kody and I were really courting, I was actually friends with his family,” Janelle explained during a 2013 episode of the TLC series. “My mom was worried I was getting sucked into some polygamous cult. But she ended up meeting Kody’s dad, and they ended up falling in love and getting married before Kody and I started courting.”
When Janelle and Kody said their “I dos,” she became his second wife, as the polygamist was already legally married to Meri Brown. Kody expanded his family in 1994, when he entered into a spiritual union with Christine Brown.
In the years that followed, Janelle and Kody grew their own unit, becoming parents to six children: Logan, Madison, Hunter, Robert Garrison, Gabriel and Savanah.
By 2010, Kody had rounded out his family with the addition of his fourth wife, Robyn Brown. Despite willingly entering into a plural marriage, Janelle exclusively told Us Weekly in March 2021 that it’s not always easy sharing her partner with the other wives.
“Of course, I still get jealous,” the TLC personality said at the time. “But I learned a long time ago [that] you really just have to figure out how to be OK with yourself.”
Janelle added: “You have strengths, and you have blessings and you have opportunities that you’re given … you can’t compare. I just think comparison is, like, the death of plural marriage.”
After Christine announced her split from Kody in November 2021, however, things began to shift for Janelle and her husband. The COVID-19 pandemic, which caused Kody to spend a lot of time away from most of his family, only made matters worse.
“With Kody and I right now, our relationship is pretty strained,” Janelle revealed during a January 2022 episode of the reality show. “And you know, it’s easy to walk away.”
Later that month, a source exclusively told Us that Janelle could be the next sister wife to walk away from Kody. “Janelle meant it when [she] said she would leave Kody,” the insider said in January 2022. “It’s going to happen.”
As Christine continued to find her footing outside her marriage, Janelle has taken notice, per the source. “She sees how happy Christine is now that she’s ‘free’ from Kody and is strongly considering separating from him too,” the insider added. “Christine and Janelle are very close and they have conversations about it.”
Janelle confirmed in December 2022 that she and Kody had been “separated for several months.”
Scroll down to relive Janelle and Kody’s highs and lows:
Credit: TLC
Sister Wives’ Janelle Brown and Kody Brown’s Relationship Timeline: From Spiritual Marriage to Parents of 6 Kids
Forever and always? Janelle Brown and husband Kody Brown’s plural marriage was anything but conventional ahead of their 2022 split.
The Sister Wives stars’ lives were interwind well before they spiritually tied the knot in 1993. Janelle’s late mom, Sheryl Brown, and Kody’s dad, William Winn Brown, were married for years before William’s death in 2013, making the eventual spouses stepsiblings.
“Before Kody and I were really courting, I was actually friends with his family,” Janelle explained during a 2013 episode of the TLC series. “My mom was worried I was getting sucked into some polygamous cult. But she ended up meeting Kody’s dad, and they ended up falling in love and getting married before Kody and I started courting.”
When Janelle and Kody said their “I dos,” she became his second wife, as the polygamist was already legally married to Meri Brown. Kody expanded his family in 1994, when he entered into a spiritual union with Christine Brown.
In the years that followed, Janelle and Kody grew their own unit, becoming parents to six children: Logan, Madison, Hunter, Robert Garrison, Gabriel and Savanah.
By 2010, Kody had rounded out his family with the addition of his fourth wife, Robyn Brown. Despite willingly entering into a plural marriage, Janelle exclusively told Us Weekly in March 2021 that it’s not always easy sharing her partner with the other wives.
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“Of course, I still get jealous,” the TLC personality said at the time. “But I learned a long time ago [that] you really just have to figure out how to be OK with yourself.”
Janelle added: “You have strengths, and you have blessings and you have opportunities that you’re given … you can’t compare. I just think comparison is, like, the death of plural marriage.”
After Christine announced her split from Kody in November 2021, however, things began to shift for Janelle and her husband. The COVID-19 pandemic, which caused Kody to spend a lot of time away from most of his family, only made matters worse.
“With Kody and I right now, our relationship is pretty strained,” Janelle revealed during a January 2022 episode of the reality show. “And you know, it’s easy to walk away.”
Later that month, a source exclusively told Us that Janelle could be the next sister wife to walk away from Kody. “Janelle meant it when [she] said she would leave Kody,” the insider said in January 2022. “It’s going to happen.”
As Christine continued to find her footing outside her marriage, Janelle has taken notice, per the source. “She sees how happy Christine is now that she’s ‘free’ from Kody and is strongly considering separating from him too,” the insider added. “Christine and Janelle are very close and they have conversations about it.”
Janelle confirmed in December 2022 that she and Kody had been “separated for several months.”
Scroll down to relive Janelle and Kody’s highs and lows:
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1989
“I met Kody in the fall of 1989, even though he may not remember it,” Janelle recalled in her show bio. “When he walked into the room I looked at him and had that feeling of remembering something I had forgotten. It was a singular experience.”
Credit: TLC
1990
After two years of marriage, Janelle split from her first husband, Adam Clark Barber. That same year, Barber’s sister Meri married Kody, becoming his first wife. The pair share one child, Leon.
Credit: TLC
January 1993
Janelle spiritually wed Kody after courting for a few years.
Credit: Courtesy of Christine Brown/Instagram
March 1994
The following year, the Wyoming native spiritually wed Christine, who became his third sister wife. The pair share six children: son Paedon and daughters Aspyn, Mykelti, Gwendlyn, Ysabel and Truly.
Credit: Courtesy of TLC
May 1994
Janelle and Kody welcomed their first child, son Logan. Their eldest son is now a graduate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Credit: Courtesy of Madison Brush/Instagram
November 1995
The couple expanded their family when daughter Madison was born. Maddie married Caleb Brush in June 2016.
Credit: Courtesy of Hunter Brown/Instagram
February 1997
The pair’s third child, son Hunter, joined the family more than one year later. Hunter began studying for his master’s in nursing at John Hopkins University in August 2020.
Credit: Courtesy of Robert Brown/Instagram
October 1998
The twosome welcomed their third son and fourth child, Robert Garrison.
Credit: Courtesy of Gabe Brown/Instagram
October 2001
Son Gabriel brought Janelle and Kody’s total to four boys and one girl.
Credit: Courtesy of Savannah Brown/Instagram
December 2004
The duo rounded out their family with the arrival of daughter Savanah.
Credit: Puddle Monkey Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock
May 2010
Kody spiritually married Robyn, bringing their plural family to four wives. The patriarch later divorced Meri to legally wed Robyn in 2014 and adopt her three children from a past marriage, David, Aurora and Breanna. The duo also share two children of their own: Solomon and Ariella.
Credit: Courtesy of TLC
September 2010
Sister Wives premiered on TLC and documented the Brown family’s polygamist lifestyle.
Credit: Courtesy of Madison Brush/Instagram
May 2017
Janelle became a grandmother for the first time when her eldest daughter, Maddie, welcomed her first child, son Axel James. Maddie and her husband, Caleb, added to their family in August 2019 with the arrival of daughter Evangalynn. Maddie announced in July 2022 that she is pregnant with Janelle’s third grandchild.
Credit: Courtesy of Janelle Brown/Instagram
April 2021
Fans got a look at how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the plural family during season 15 of the TLC series. During an April episode, Kody confessed that she hadn’t been to wife Janelle’s house for one month amid the virus restrictions.
“We’ve been apart so long, what are we?” Kody said during the April 2, episode, revealing he’d been quarantining with Robyn because their children are the youngest. He then turned to Janelle and explained how quickly the eased back into their relationship. “It’s funny. We see each other, we start to laugh at each other kind of, because we know,” Kody said, before Janelle chimed in, “We’re fine!”
Janelle later confessed that the couple’s children were worried about spending so much time away from their father during the health crisis. “They were alarmed. They were alarmed that somehow, we’re going to wreck the family,” she said, which prompted Kody to roll his eyes.
Credit: Puddle Monkey Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock
June 2021
Three years after the family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, from Las Vegas, Nevada, Janelle moved into an RV and drove it onto the group’s Coyote Pass property. “The rental where I was living was sold and I chose an alternative path to trying to find another rental,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “Not only is the housing market in Flagstaff as crazy as where you are I’m sure, rentals are even harder to come by. Presenting my new summer adventure — the RV life but camped on our property.”
Credit: Shutterstock; Courtesy of Christine Brown/Instagram
November 2021
After a few rocky years with Kody, Christine announced her split from the family’s patriarch. The pair were spiritually married for more than 25 years before they parted ways.
Janelle later spoke out about the breakup during the family’s February 2022 tell-all special, Sister Wives: One on One, noting that she understood why Christine left. “They tried and tried. They have been to counseling. On both sides, they’ve tried,” she explained. “I think it got to the point where they just realized that it didn’t work anymore.”
Kody, for his part, said in February 2022 that he was still conflicted over Christine’s choice. “I love her and I, um … I don’t know what to do because I’ve got the grief, but I’m still angry. I’ll take the grief right now to be out of the anger phase,” he said during the special. “Just moving on. Have a good life and find happiness. I think, to be honest with you, there’s going to be some relief from the family too.”
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January 2022
During season 16 of the reality show, Kody revealed that he was questioning Christine and Janelle’s loyalty after they chose to go to Utah and visit their kids for Thanksgiving. The holiday, which fell during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused issues for the head of the family and two of his four wives.
“COVID has been such a strain on the family, and everybody here at this table has been really easy on me about my rules for COVID,” Kody said in a confessional interview during January 9 episode, speaking about Meri and Robyn and their respective families. “The contrast has been one of those things that has really just made me aware of those who are loyal to me and those who are not.”
Kody didn’t directly name Janelle and Christine when speaking, but he hinted they were not bringing as much to the table as of late. “It’s as much respect as it is loyalty, I suppose,” he continued. “How you love a man is to respect him. And so I’m sitting here just appreciating where I’m at and who’s with me.”
Janelle, meanwhile, was taken aback by the insulation that she had somehow betrayed her husband by choosing their kids during the holiday season. “There’s all this discussion about loyalty and respect, and I thought in marriage that was mutual,” she explained. “I thought you were supposed to give it both ways, not just that all the respect and all the loyalty flows to one person.”
Credit: Puddle Monkey Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock (2)
January 2022
“I’ve caught myself in the last few weeks really reflecting and being like, ‘OK, look: do I still choose plural marriage?’” Janelle said during the January 19 episode of the TLC series. “Yeah, I still choose it, but I’ve had to have that conscious decision with myself.”
The mother of six told the cameras that her relationship with Kody was not the same as it once was, explaining, “I’ve had to really think. My children are almost grown and there’s not a huge necessity anymore to stay. It was a wonderful way to raise children. With Kody and I right now, our relationship is pretty strained. And you know, it’s easy to walk away.”
Credit: Puddle Monkey Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock;Inset Courtesy of Garrison Brown/Instagram
February 2022
Following his strict COVID-19 rules, Kody got into a fight with his and Janelle’s sons Gabriel and Garrison, which played out during season 16 of the show. “[We’re] not good. Not talking,” the father of 18 confessed during the part two of the Sister Wives: One on One special. “It’s like one of those relationships where we’ve gotta do a lot of work.”
Earlier in the season, Kody gave his boys an ultimatum, telling them that they had to choose between their social lives and seeing him amid the pandemic. The young men didn’t understand their father’s rules and fought back, which caused even more drama.
“We need therapy. I need a sit-down with my boys and get something straight,” Kody explained during the tell-all, noting that he didn’t feel supported by Janelle during the argument. “I’ve gotten to the point where I’m so angry about what happened that we’re not communicating. And I think they are too.”
Credit: Courtesy of Garrison Brown/Instagram
February 2022
“We’re not in sync. We don’t partner really well, but we’re able to have a marriage that’s, if you will, lower in attachment,” Kody bluntly said about Janelle during the second part of their Sister Wives: One on One tell-all special. “We’re good friends. We get along well. It’s more of a committed relationship.”
Credit: Janelle Brown/Instagram
July 2022
“I didn’t go to the RV this summer,” Janelle told a fan during an Instagram Live after previously moving into the fifth-wheel in 2021. “Savanah really struggled with the RV. She was a trooper last year, but she said, ‘Mom, this year, I just can’t.’ She’s going into her senior year.”
The mother of six explained that while she wasn’t living on the Coyote Pass land at the moment, she didn’t get rid of the RV. “We opted to just keep it — it’s at the repair shop right now — but we’ll use it on the weekends,” she added.
Credit: Discovery Inc.
August 2022
During the first season 17 teaser, it became clear that Christine and Kody’s split is still haunting the Browns. In addition to Christine navigating her life without Kody, the rest of the wives have seemingly begun to question where they stand with the leader of their family.
“He’s no longer acting as my husband here,” Janelle revealed during the clip, pointing to more tension between her and Kody. “I don’t think we have a family anymore.”
Credit: TLC/Youtube
October 2022
As Christine announced during season 17 of the TLC series that she was leaving Kody, he tightened the reigns on his remaining marriages.
“I’m going to be the head of my household again,” Kody told all of his wives during the October 2 episode, which was filmed in summer 2021. “So, I’m not going to be circumvented in that. If everybody is willing to conform to patriarchy again, I guess.”
He explained: “I’ve been fighting to make everybody happy. My bitterness is out of trying to do that and not having the family that I had thought about and designed. If it is too awkward, or I don’t feel like the head of my household when people are around then I’m not going to have the whole family together.”
Janelle was taken aback by her spouse’s comments, telling the cameras, “Yeah, I didn’t know I signed up for patriarchy. That’s not what we all agreed on in the beginning.”
Kody, meanwhile, argued in his confessional: “Ironically, Janelle did sign up for patriarchy. When her and I made an agreement that she would come into the family, she agreed wholeheartedly that she would run her wheel into mine because I had to be the head of the family. She made that agreement with me.”
Credit: TLC/Youtube
October 2022
During the October 9 episode of the reality show, Janelle butted heads with Kody over her RV move. “We should’ve never bought the RV because we’re going to be moving it all the time,” Kody said during a confessional. “I’m struggling because I’m not optimistic about how this is going to come together.”
Janelle, for her part, didn’t take kindly to Kody’s lack of support since she had to move on the family’s Coyote Pass once her lease was up on their house. “This is typical Kody. He’s all on board for something and then he goes away for a couple of days and he comes back and he’s like, ‘Oh, my God, we have all these problems,’” she told the cameras.
Kody claimed, “There’s things that Janelle does frequently that aren’t like a married husband and wife. We do things separate.” Janelle, for her part, argued: “He’s no longer advocating. He’s no longer acting as my husband here.”
Credit: Courtesy of Janelle Brown/Instagram
November 2022
Kody was noticeably absent from Janelle’s Thanksgiving festivities with their kids. The pair’s son Hunter was in charge of the turkey, which Janelle documented via her Instagram Story. “I think it’s going to be really good!” she wrote alongside a picture of Hunter in the kitchen.
Credit: Courtesy of TLC
November 2022
During a season 17 episode, Kody claimed he was “begging Janelle for a closer relationship” following his split from Christine. He noted that he “feels like [Janelle’s] rejecting that and just choosing to have one with Christine.”
The patriarch confessed in a separate episode that his issues with Christine had started to negatively affect his dynamic with Janelle. “I’m struggling so much with this divorce,” Kody explained. “It’s probably poisoning my relationship with Janelle a little bit and definitely poisoning my relationship with Robyn.”
He later added: “I feel like Janelle struggles to respect me. Or show me respect. It might be an unfair statement, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just the way that we argue. If you don’t respect me, don’t bother with the love. It just doesn’t work in my world.”
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December 2022
“You and I have been acting like we weren’t a married couple for most of our marriage,” Kody told his spouse during an episode of Sister Wives. “I don’t know why it’s been OK for so many years. And it’s not now. You actually live like a single woman.”
Janelle, meanwhile, defended her lifestyle as being just one of the many things that is different in plural relationships. “I always felt like I had to make my own decisions for me. I thought that was what plural marriage was about,” she told her husband. “Being independent.”
Kody claimed that Janelle had been making “single woman decisions,” which didn’t sit well with him. He also took issue with his partner siding with their children and allegedly not having his back.
“I’ll ask him, and my needs get ignored,” Janelle claimed during a confessional. “I decided to be my own hero and I rescued myself and I started doing things for myself.”
While Kody expressed concern that the couple was “unraveling,” Janelle revealed, “Maybe this doesn’t work for me anymore. I don’t know.”
Credit: Puddle Monkey Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock
December 2022
During the season 17 finale, Janelle and Kody’s problems came to a head as they argued over the holidays and whether Garrison and Gabriel were wanted at family functions. (Kody previously accused their sons of not respecting his COVID-19 rules and being mean to Robyn.)
“It’s been a bit of a civil war. The whole family in a way,” Kody said during the episode, referring to the group’s turmoil. “I’m looking at Janelle wondering whose side she’s on.”
Janelle, meanwhile, told the others: “To be honest with you, I really don’t know if I want to do the work. It feels like I’m being forced to choose between my children and this group. I don’t feel like my children are welcome.”
The Utah native explained that she planned to celebrate Thanksgiving with her kids and then revealed that they would all be in town for Christmas. Janelle noted that her children wanted to stay in an AirBnb and weren’t sure whether they’d do a full holiday celebration with Kody, Robyn and Meri.
“At the end of the day, I think I’d rather be with my kids. [And] you’re getting upset with me,” she told her partner. Janelle then confessed to Robyn, “There’s a strong pull to just run away and do the easy thing.”
Credit: TLC
December 2022
Janelle revealed in a teaser for part 1 of season 17’s One-on-One special that she and Kody have been “separated for several months.”
Kody confirmed the news, saying, “Yes, we’re separated. … Janelle has made it pretty clear to me that she’s enjoying her life without me.”
Christine, meanwhile, weighed in on the pair’s current dynamic, adding, “For Janelle I think that she’s frustrated, and she’s so hurt,” she says. “And that man that she was married to — she realizes that he’s totally different. But she’s different too.”
Credit: Youtube
January 2023
Kody revealed during part 2 of Sister Wives: One-on-One that Janelle briefly moved out prior to their 2022 split. “I didn’t feel like she was leaving me, but she was leaving them because I wasn’t giving her enough support,” he said, referring to the moment in the early 2000s when Janelle moved back in with her mom. “[Janelle] and I were constantly working things out.”
The former firearms salesman recalled telling Janelle that he got work in Utah and wanted to move the family from Wyoming to make life easier. “She says, ‘I’m not moving with ya. I finally got my life together here,’” he remembered. “That was a real shock to me. That was not healthy.”
Kody noted that once he found a house in Utah that could hold the entire family, Janelle “turned around” and supported the move. “I think Kody remembers it in a way that works for him to remember it. That’s not how I remember it,” Janelle explained during the episode. “I think he is looking to blame — like [during] that [time] there was always conflict.”
She added: “Yes, there was conflict, but there were really good times too. I really wanted to stay in Wyoming. I really did. I had just started to develop a good life and I didn’t want to leave it.”
Credit: Courtesy Janelle Brown/Instagram
January 2023
During part 3 of the Sister Wives: One-on-One special, Janelle gave an update on her status with Kody after separating in 2022. “I’m not waiting for him. I’ve kind of mourned that that part of our life is gone,” she revealed. “I wasn’t heartbroken.”
Janelle confessed that while the door “has to be” open to a reconciliation based on her faith, she is “not interested in having anyone walk through that door.”