Sister Wives’ Christine Brown got real about why she thinks Janelle Brown didn’t leave Kody Brown sooner — and it’s all about finances.
Christine, 51, went into detail with her brothers about her 2021 split from Kody, 54, during the Sunday, November 19, episode of the TLC series, explaining that she was financially independent when they called it quits.
“Kody and I talked about what to do with the property and my house before I left. So I was like, ‘Why don’t I keep all of the money from the proceeds of the sale of my house and then I’ll turn the property back over to the family?’” she recalled, referring to their Coyote Pass land in Arizona. “So financial wise, it was very easy for me to walk away.”
Christine and Janelle Brown’s Best Friendship Moments
Sister Wives’ Christine Brown and Janelle Brown formed a strong friendship before — and after — their respective splits from Kody Brown. Kody was legally married to Meri Brown from 1990 to 2014, when he opted to divorce her in order to lawfully wed Robyn Brown, who initially joined the family in 2010. Kody’s spiritual […]
Janelle’s situation, however, is a little more complicated. “I believe that’s the biggest reason why Janelle is staying with Kody is because she has nothing in her name,” Christine said. “And the [Coyote Pass] property, Kody’s name is on every piece of property.”
In a confessional of her own, Janelle, 54, said she felt stuck monetarily as the family’s land had yet to be paid off — and no one had started to build as planned.
“I’m stuck here with really nothing that’s free and clear in my name,” Janelle admitted in a confessional interview. “I’m jointly titled on these pieces with other members of the family.”
Kody, meanwhile, argued on the episode that Janelle wasn’t the only one in trouble with Coyote Pass.
“We all have the same problem that Janelle has is that our assets are all combined,” Kody confessed.
Janelle confirmed in December 2022 that she and Kody had been “separated for several months.” Their tension has been front and center throughout season 18 of Sister Wives, boiling over in a blowout fight on camera.
While lack of income and financial stability did play a part in keeping her with Kody, Janelle pointed to her faith as a deterrent as well.
“I don’t know, like, life is short,” Janelle told Christine and her siblings on Sunday’s episode, noting, “We were raised in a culture where marriage is forever. It’s been a harder thing to, like, reconcile.”
‘Sister Wives’ Stars Janelle and Kody’s Family Photos With Their 6 Kids
Proud parents! Sister Wives stars Janelle Brown and Kody Brown have documented themselves doting on their six children through the years. Janelle and Kody were spiritually married in 1993, three years after he legally wed Meri Brown. “Before Kody and I were really courting, I was actually friends with his family,” Janelle said during a 2013 episode of […]
She later confessed that some of her and Kody’s six children “have wondered if I really have left their dad” since she wasn’t “moving on” with someone new. Janelle explained that her hesitation to fully leave Kody had to do with not knowing “how to reconcile my faith with where I am now in my life.”
Janelle, who shares Logan, 29, Maddie, 27, Hunter, 26, Garrison, 25, Gabriel, 21, and Savanah, 18, with Kody, concluded, “I’m not in any hurry, just going to wait and see how it works out.”
Along with Christine and Janelle, Kody is now separated from his first wife, Meri Brown. He remains legally married to fourth wife Robyn Brown.
Sister Wives airs on TLC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.
