Sister Wives star Janelle Brown took to social media to clarify a few things including how she feels about living as polygamous in a monogamous world, and telling fans that she didn’t “force” Kody to tell her “I love you” in a scene from the season finale.
Janelle tweeted to her followers, “I think since we have been public I personally haven’t felt awkward about being a polygamous in a monogamous world. When we were trying to stay secret it was awkward .”
Janelle and the rest of the Browns went public in 2010
Janelle and the rest of the spouses went public with their show, Sister Wives, in 2010 when the family was first introduced to the now famous plural family.
When they went public, the family was taking a risk, as they were still living in Utah, where polygamy was a felony at the time. Their family was under investigation for polygamy and they decided to flee the state of Utah and moved to Las Vegas to start a new life.
Christine has often mentioned on the show how she grew up with the fear that her family would be split up because she came from a polygamous household.
The Browns fled Utah and ended up suing the state
The Browns eventually sued the state of Utah in 2011, releasing the following statement: “There are tens of thousands of plural families in Utah and other states. We are one of those families. We only wish to live our private lives according to our beliefs.”
“While we understand that this may be a long struggle in court, it has already been a long struggle for my family and other plural families to end the stereotypes and unfair treatment given consensual polygamy,” the statement continues.
“We are indebted to Professor Turley and his team for their work and dedication. Together we hope to secure equal treatment with other families in the United States,” the statement concludes.
The Browns celebrated in an episode when polygamy was officially decriminalized in Utah (last year).
Janelle referenced a scene from the finale when she told Kody she’d be going away
In another tweet to her followers, Janelle took the time to clarify a scene in the season finale. Kody had gone to Janelle’s house to sync their schedules and talk about her upcoming trip to North Carolina.
Kody and Janelle’s granddaughter, Evie, was scheduled to have amputation surgery to improve her mobility (she was born with FATCO syndrome that affects bone growth). Their daughter, Maddie, who is Evie’s mom, didn’t have a support system in North Carolina to help care for their kids, so Janelle offered to go.
When Janelle and Kody realized they wouldn’t see each other for at least a month due to traveling and then quarantining, Janelle said to Kody, “This is where I need you to say, ‘I love you and this doesn’t matter and we’ll get through this. I’m just gonna tell you what I need to hear from you.”
Kody was actually a good sport about it, and laughed and played along. He told Janelle, “Okay. I’m sorry. Well, we’re gonna survive. We’ll be okay. I love you, and I miss you. And we’ll be alright,” as the two laughed about it.
Janelle clarified that she wasn’t “forcing” Kody to say anything
But one fan took the scene a bit seriously, when they tweeted, “I wish you didn’t have to force Kody to say “I love you””
Janelle tweeted to her fans, “Not forcing. He says it to me more than I say it to him lol. But after the decades we have been married I can communicate to him what I need in any given moment.”
Somewhat surprisingly, some of Janelle’s fans showed support for her marriage to Kody
Janelle tries her best to stay away from the drama that unfolds on social media, so she recently told her followers that she was blocking trolls also recently called out trolls who made false accusations about her grandchildren.
Meanwhile, she has gotten a fair share of support from fans as well.
Until a new season of Sister Wives returns to the air, fans are anxious to hear if TLC will air another tell-all reunion episode like they have in previous seasons.
Sister Wives is currently on hiatus.