Despite sharing a great friendship, Kody Brown and Janelle from Sister Wives couldn’t save their marriage due to a pattern of mutual disrespect.
Despite failing to maintain their marriage, Janelle and Kody Brown from Sister Wives left behind telltale traces of their breakup. In 1993, the 54-year-old native of Salt Lake City and the patriarch of the Brown family got married. While the polygamous couple’s life initially went smoothly, things changed after Kody wed Robyn Brown, a younger bride. The fourth wife ruined Kody’s previous marriages throughout the years and kept him for herself. Robyn allegedly made an effort to keep the Brown family divided, in Janelle’s opinion.
For many years, Kody and Janelle were partners. The couple concentrated on expanding their family after getting married in 1993. In their 30 years together, Kody and Janelle have welcomed six children. Logan was their first child, who was born in 1994. The two had Madison, Hunter, and Garrison shortly after that. The couple took a three-year gap from starting a family. But in 2001, they became parents once more, and Gabriel was born. Savanah, the youngest child of Kody and Janelle, was born in 2004. In May 2023, she recently celebrated her graduation.
7. Janelle & Kody Weren’t Connecting
Although Janelle and Kody’s abrupt divorce may have surprised some viewers, their union was doomed from the start. The absence of connection was one of the indicators that they would eventually split up. A few years ago, Kody and Janelle stopped spending time together. The majority of Kody’s time was spent with Robyn’s children at her home. In the multiple marriage, Janelle felt neglected and resentful because he didn’t often see her. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when Kody utterly withdrew from interactions with Janelle and their children, everything finally came to a head.
6. Kody Would Never See Their Daughter Savanah
Kody has been an odd father to his kids. At times, he has proven himself to be an excellent patriarch, handling the financial situations and giving his children time. Other times, Kody has shown a complete lack of concern for his kids. However, patterns show that Kody has done much more for his family with Robyn than his other wives. A few years ago, he didn’t go to Ysabel’s surgery. Sometime later, he stopped showing love for his sons with Janelle. Most recently, he didn’t bring a Christmas gift for his youngest daughter, Savanah.
5. Christine Noticed Janelle & Kody Were Struggling In Their Relationship
Sister wife Christine Brown’s concern for Janelle’s relationship with Kody was also a major sign hinting at her friend’s divorce. Unlike other Sister Wives cast members, Kody’s former wife, Christine, first noticed that things weren’t going well between Janelle and Kody. Since Christine is very close to Janelle, she must have known about their eventual split. The single mom ended her relationship with Kody a few years ago. She was tired of her husband’s lack of concern for her family and wanted to live on her terms. Since Christine herself went through the same with Kody, her concerns made it evident things wouldn’t last between Kody and Janelle.
4. Janelle & Kody Needed More Than Just Friendship To Stay Married
Plural marriages aren’t as simple to handle. However, religious polygamous relationships are even more complicated. Kody was supposed to give all four of his wives equal time and commitment. His duty was to be their partner, lover, friend, and supporter. Unfortunately, the Sister Wives star forgot his role in the relationship soon after marrying Robyn. Not only did he begin spending the most time with his fourth wife, but he also changed his dynamic with his other partners. Kody became just a friend to Janelle, Christine, and Meri, which isn’t enough to stay married.
3. How Kody’s Actions Trigger Janelle
Their lack of respect for one another was just another obvious indicator of Kody and Janelle’s separation. Kody isn’t the most tranquil person, as most viewers are aware. However, after losing Christine, he got more agitated. Kody and Janelle have fought frequently throughout the months, but they have never yielded a valuable lesson. Instead, over time, the pair grew more aloof and disdainful of one another. After a heated argument in TLC’s Sister Wives season 18, Janelle decided to travel to Mexico to get away from Kody’s negativity. She needed to unwind because getting married didn’t improve her mood.
2. Kody Lost Respect In Janelle’s Eyes
Janelle lost respect for Kody due to his hypocritical behavior over the years. She began publicly dissing him, which showed that she no longer wanted to be with him. Janelle, Christine, and their daughters were heard talking smack about Kody at a public event a few months ago. Soon after, Janelle called Kody “dumb” in the Sister Wives season 18 trailer. She claimed his idea of plural marriage and “sacred Loneliness” didn’t make sense. She said, “I’ve always thought it was…so dumb, sorry.” When your partner publicly shames you, the signs depict the relationship is over.
1. Kody Doesn’t Support Janelle’s Passion
Similarly, Kody also stopped supporting Janelle years ago. Most husbands are supposed to validate and motivate their wives to achieve new goals. However, Kody didn’t cheer on any of his wives except the traditional one, Robyn. Kody loathed Janelle’s RV lifestyle and felt her choices were poor. He claimed that living with Janelle meant dealing with “major inconveniences.” The Brown Family patriarch thought he had no reason to suffer for Janelle’s choices when he could be at Robyn’s normal house with everything. He added, “oh, there’s hot water at Robyn’s house, why am I going to sit here with you.”
Given that Kody and Janelle appeared to have a close relationship, it is difficult to see how their relationship crumbled. The previous couple made a terrific team, shared similar objectives, and appeared to be a perfect match. They had a long history together as well. But it appears that polygamy was just abandoned by the entire family. Kody grew weary of visiting four different homes. In a similar vein, Janelle had had enough of Robyn and the other women who shared her husband. The Sister Wives’ unsuccessful relationships are evidence that plural marriages are often not preferred in our society.
Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC.