Sister Wives stars Kody and Janelle Brown have confirmed they’ve separated after 29 years of spiritual marriage. Here’s a look at their relationship history.
Janelle became Kody’s second wife when she joined his and Meri’s marriage in 1993, officially making Kody a polygamist.
The former couple shares six biological children: Logan, 28, Madison, 27, Hunter, 25, Garrison, 24, Gabriel, 21, and Savanah, 18.
Per the Browns’ New York Times best-selling book Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage, Kody and Janelle planned to wed on Meri’s birthday. However, with the help of Kody’s mom, they moved their wedding to the day after Meri’s birthday.
Kody wrote that he and Janelle “shared a destiny” and had a “spiritual awareness” that they would become husband and wife one day. Kody called his attraction to Janelle an “intellectual compatibility romantic love” and noted that he found her “extremely attractive.”
However, Janelle didn’t grow up in the same fundamentalist Mormon faith as Kody, so polygamy was entirely new to her. At 22 years old, when she met Kody, Janelle was already divorced; interestingly, she was previously married to Meri’s brother, Adam Barber.
A look back at Kody and Janelle Brown’s 29-year marriage
In their book, Janelle admitted that she was attracted to Kody, but not in a “gushy, romantic” way. Instead, Janelle was drawn to the fact that Kody symbolized all of the things about his faith that she found herself attracted to.
Soon, Janelle was living on Kody’s father’s land in Wyoming, where she fell in love with Kody and the polygamist lifestyle. She called Kody the “most emotionally intelligent man” she had met and the “best guy” she knew in the polygamist lifestyle.
Kody, Meri, and Janelle, soon welcomed another wife to their plural marriage in 1994, one year after Janelle and Kody wed when Christine Brown entered the family. It wouldn’t be for another 16 years before Kody added a fourth wife, Robyn, to the plural union.
Janelle gave birth to the family’s first child, her and Kody’s son Logan. Soon after, 17 more children joined the Browns’ super-sized family over the next 22 years.
Season 17 of Sister Wives exposed Kody and Janelle’s broken marriage
Viewers have watched Kody’s relationships with his wives disintegrate this season on Sister Wives. Christine announced her split in November 2021, and Kody and Janelle recently confirmed they’ve separated during a sneak peek at the upcoming Tell All, Sister Wives – One on One; this, after the former spouses questioned whether their marriage was viable.
Kody’s ultra-strict COVID-19 protocols for his family proved to be a catalyst in his broken marriages with Christine and Janelle. Although Meri was on board with his rules, Kody has admitted that he no longer wants a relationship with her, despite her sticking around to work on their marriage.
With Christine and Janelle out of the picture and no interest in a relationship with Meri, Kody is left with only one wife — Robyn, whom Sister Wives fans have long accused of vying to be Kody’s only wife since she joined the family.
Sister Wives: One on One airs on Sunday, December 18 at 10/9c on TLC and Discovery+.