‘Sister Wives’: Janelle Brown Spills She Left Kody Brown More Than Once But Ultimately Stayed ‘For the Sake of the Kids’

Days before the season premiere of Sister Wives season 18 debuts, Janelle Brown and Christine Brown sat down for a revealing new interview. Janelle shockingly declared she stayed with former partner Kody Brown “for the sake of the kids,” and she left him more than once.

Janelle Brown reveals her marriage to Kody Brown wasn’t as easy as she made it appear on ‘Sister Wives’

In a sit down alongside friend and former sister wife Christine Brown, Janelle Brown revealed her marriage to Kody Brown wasn’t as easy as she made their relationship appear on Sister Wives. The reality tv star admits the couple struggled throughout their marriage. Kody was also married to Robyn Brown and Meri Brown.

For People Magazine’s YouTube channel, Janelle explained that she left Kody Brown more than once. The couple had more difficulties in their polygamist marriage than their TLC show depicted.

“Kody and I definitely had two or three periods where…I don’t know how to explain it,” Janelle began. Christine tried to help her friend gather her thoughts by interjecting, “You would butt heads pretty severely.”

“And what would happen is,” Janelle continued, and Christine finished her sentence, “you’d separate for a little bit.” Janelle said, “I’d stay behind.”

She continued, “There was one time when everybody moved to Utah, and I wasn’t sure I would come. I did stay behind for quite a while.”

Janelle turned to Christine and said, “I know you said you were afraid I wouldn’t come.” She continued, “We would separate for a while, and then we’d figure it out for the sake of the kids.”

She concluded, “I had to consider all these children I had. I wasn’t going to take them away from that stability.

The reality star claims Kody Brown began to act ‘funny’ during the pandemic

As she continued to discuss her relationship with her former spiritual husband, Kody Brown, Janelle Brown declared he began to act “funny” during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “The rules,” she explained.

“They were very strict,” she explained. “It was really hard for my household to observe those rules because of my adult children.”

Janelle believes that the period started to “twist” her and Kody’s relationship “to the point of breaking.” She says Kody began to spend more time away from her and their shared children.

“I thought, ‘I could do this, I could be on my own,’ and then, we had this huge fight,” Janelle admits. “After he left, I felt relieved. There was an emotional shock, and then a burden lifted off me.”

Kody Brown shared his views on Janelle Brown leaving him early in their marriage

In January 2023, during the Sister Wives: One-on-One Part 2 recap, Kody Brown publicly addressed that Janelle Brown left him early on in their marriage. “I didn’t feel like she was leaving me, but she was leaving them because I wasn’t giving her enough support,” he said,

It was the early 2000s when Janelle took their children and moved in with her mother while the family lived in Wyoming. But then Kody found work in Utah and wanted to relocate his entire family, but Janelle wouldn’t make the move.

“She says, ‘I’m not moving with ya. I finally got my life together here,’” Kody explained. “That was a real shock to me. That was not healthy.”

Janelle shared her point of view regarding that period. “I think Kody remembers it in a way that works for him to remember it. That’s not how I remember it.”

She added: “I wanted to stay in Wyoming. I really did. I had just started developing a good life and didn’t want to leave it.”

Sister Wives season 18 begins Sunday, Aug. 20, at 10 p.m. EST on TLC.