Reality TV
‘Sister Wives’: Janelle Brown Reveals New Details About Marriage to Meri Brown’s Brother
Janelle and Meri Brown have more in common than just an ex-husband.
The Sister Wives cast members are on good terms now and have been in each other’s lives for quite some time. Becoming close through their mutual husband and embracing plural marriage, the two share a bond unlike any other. However, they have another familial tie that brings them together: Meri Brown’s brother, Adam Barber.
Adam and Janelle previously tied the knot in 1988. “It was very, very short-lived,” Janelle revealed on the Reality Life With Kate Casey podcast. Their union didn’t last very long as they divorced just two years later. “I think we might have lived together physically, actually lived together for like six months,” the 55-year-old added.
When Kate suggested that the couple had settled into a “starter marriage,” Janelle agreed by stating, “It just didn’t take.”
Through Janelle and Adam’s union, Meri and Kody Brown were already married. According to Janelle, she and Kody didn’t see each other much. So, when her divorce from Adam was finalized in 1990, it didn’t take long before she entered into a spiritual marriage with Kody in 1993.
But even before they declared to be husband and wife, Janelle had become interested in the faith Kody believes in. He describes himself to be an Apostolic United Brethren (AUB), which is considered a Mormon fundamentalist group.
She clarified, “It represented something a little bit more dynamic or something more robust than the faith I had, which was the same faith, just missing some of the pieces that had been given up,” Janelle explained.
She continued, “And so when I met Kody, just in passing, Meri introduced us, I thought, ‘Oh, I had sort of a feeling, an introduction feeling. Like, there you are.’ Not looking to get married or connect or anything. But it was just a moment when I saw him.”
On the podcast, the TLC star also divulged the early dynamics of her marriage. This is when she and Meri began to have children at the same time, and when they were joined by Christine Brown, Kody’s third wife.
As of recently, none of the first three women are still married to Kody, but his last wife, Robyn Brown, still is.
Janelle explained, “We really were having children close together,” happily sharing that she and Meri’s kids feel like siblings “in all respects.”
She was also quick to praise Christine, who allowed Janelle to pursue work outside of their shared home. “I was glad to work, have a job outside the home. I missed my kids at home, but it was great. I had Christine. Christine was there,” Janelle said.
Although Janelle and Kody are no longer together, she still appears on Sister Wives. The couple split up in 2022.
Sister Wives, Sundays, 10/9, TLC
