‘Sister Wives’ Recap: Janelle Brown, Kody’s Split ‘Came Down’ to Kids

Janelle Brown revealed when she knew she couldn’t stay married to Kody Brown during the newest Sister Wives: Talk Back episode.

“Honestly, for me, it really came down to the kids,” Janelle, 54, said during part 1 of the TLC special, which aired on Friday, December 22, while rewatching the season 18 premiere.

After a fan asked Janelle whether she wished she’d “left sooner,” she said that she is happy with her timeline. The former couple were spiritually married for nearly 30 years before Janelle announced their separation in December 2022.

“I would’ve stayed if Kody had stayed the father that he was for my kids for many, many years,” she explained. “But when the relationship with the kids broke down, that cost was no longer a factor.”

Kody, 54, and Janelle share six children — Logan, 29, Maddie, 27, Hunter, 26, Garrison, 25, Gabriel, 21, and Savanah, 18. Ahead of their split, the twosome butted heads over Kody’s treatment of their sons Gabe and Garrison after the kids allegedly disregarded Kody’s strict COVID-19 rules in 2020. As a result, Janelle and her kids didn’t spend the 2021 holiday season with Kody and the rest of the family.

In Sunday’s special, Janelle and her fellow Sister Wives costars reacted to various moments from the season 18 premiere, one of which was Janelle telling Christine Brown that Kody still wanted an “apology” from their boys, claiming that’s why they were doing “separate” Christmas events.

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Sister Wives‘ Janelle Brown and Kody Brown’s plural marriage was anything but conventional ahead of their 2022 split. Janelle and Kody’s lives were intertwined 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 […]

“Janelle wants to be separate. She’s trying to put it all on me. Janelle doesn’t want to have Christmas with Meri [Brown] and with Robyn [Brown] and with me. She’d rather have a Christmas with Christine,” Kody alleged on Sunday’s episode as he watched the scene alongside fourth wife Robyn, 45. “So she’s making this excuse about the boys.”

Robyn asked her husband if that’s what Janelle said, to which he replied, “No. That’s my interpretation.” Kody explained, “As I’ve sat here and watched our episodes, what I’ve seen from Janelle is that Janelle is punching a button specifically to make me look bad with the family.”

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Sister Wives star Kody Brown has his hands full with wife Robyn Brown and his three former partners, Meri Brown, Janelle Brown and Christine Brown. Kody’s family — which includes 18 total children— was thrust into the spotlight in September 2010 when Sister Wives premiered. At the time, Kody was courting his fourth wife, Robyn, […]

He claimed that Janelle was “telling the boys” that he wanted to do Christmas separately to “get them on her side.” Kody further alleged, “She’s specially trying to destroy my character with my family. F–k sister wives!”

Janelle exclusively told Us Weekly in November that “there’s still not a lot of movement” when it comes to Kody repairing his relationship with Gabe and Garrison. “My youngest, Savanah, does see her dad, but we live right there in Flagstaff, [Arizona],” she said, adding, “I’m hoping, again, that time heals.”

Sister Wives: Talk Back part 2 airs on TLC Friday, December 29, at 9 p.m. ET.