Forever and always? Janelle Brown and husband Kody Brown’s plural marriage is anything but conventional — but that hasn’t stopped them from creating a full life.
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 Savannah.
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.”
Scroll down to relive Janelle and Kody’s highs and lows: