Are ‘Sister Wives’ Stars Janelle and Kody Still Together? Update Following Season 17 Drama

On the rocks? Sister Wives fans were shocked when Christine Brown announced her split from Kody Brown in November 2021, because they thought she would not have been the first of the polygamist’s four wives to leave. Viewers previously predicted it would be first wife Meri Brown, since they struggled for years in their marriage. However, during season 16 of the polygamous family’s TLC show, Kody found himself at odds with both third wife Christine and second wife Janelle Brown as they clashed over guidelines for the coronavirus pandemic. But did Janelle leave the polygamous brood? Keep scrolling below to find out if Kody and Janelle are still together.

When Did Janelle and Kody Get Married?

Janelle joined the Brown family when she became Kody’s second wife in a spiritual wedding ceremony on January 20, 1993. At the time, he was already married to Meri for nearly three years, as they wed in April 1990. Janelle and Kody’s relationship seemed to remain strong as he went on to wed Christine in March 1994, followed by fourth wife Robyn Brown in December 2010.

How Many Kids Do Janelle and Kody Have?

During their marriage, Janelle and Kody welcomed six children together: son Logan Brown in May 1994, daughter Madison Brown in November 1995, son Hunter Brown in 1997, son Garrison Brown in October 1998, son Gabriel Brown in 2001 and daughter Savanah Brown in December 2004.

Janelle Disagreed With Kody’s COVID-19 Rules

Unfortunately, the cracks in the couple’s marriage started to show amid the stress of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Fans watched the family of 23 navigate the pandemic and decide how best to protect their family from COVID-19 to prevent them from spreading the virus amongst themselves. Kody imposed a set of strict guidelines for his family to follow in order for them to safely visit each other, but Christine and Janelle both refused to follow his rules, claiming they were too restricting.

Kody’s rules included wearing a mask in public, sanitizing hands after shopping, washing hands often, sanitizing purchased products and groceries with alcohol wipes before bringing them into their homes, removing shoes outside, changing clothing after visiting stores, other homes, or businesses, no eating at sit down restaurants only takeout, using curbside pickup for shopping, self-quarantining for two weeks after travel or having visitors, no visiting movie theaters, bars, fitness centers or restaurants, limiting kids’ time with friends and allowing them to socialize only if they maintain a 10 feet social distance and cleaning mail and packages with alcohol wipes.

In a scene that aired on January 2, 2022, Janelle and Kody got into a very heated argument during a discussion amongst all four wives and the Brown family patriarch about their 2020 holiday plans. After Janelle refused to follow Kody’s protocol and said she would not be joining the family for Thanksgiving, she felt Kody was accusing her of not following any of the guidelines at all and was “guilt-tripping” her to make her feel like she was making an irresponsible decision.

“You know what? F–k off,” Janelle told her husband as she walked away.

Are Janelle and Kody Still Together?

Later in the season, Janelle admitted that she was rethinking her decision to live her life as a polygamist. “I’ve caught myself in the last few weeks really reflecting and being like, ‘OK, look: do I still choose plural marriage?’” Janelle vented on the January 16 episode. “Yeah, I still choose it, but I’ve had to [make] that conscious decision with myself.”

“I’ve had to really think. My children are almost grown and there’s not a huge necessity anymore to stay. It was a wonderful way to raise children,” she added in her confessional. “With Kody and I right now, our relationship is pretty strained. And you know, it’s easy to walk away.”

It seemed Janelle and Kody were never able to fully repair their relationship as a source told Us Weekly in January 2022, “Janelle meant it when [she] said she would leave Kody.” 

“It’s going to happen,” they added.

The insider explained that part of the reason Janelle may still want to split from Kody is because “she sees how happy Christine is now that she’s ‘free’ from Kody.” Janelle “is strongly considering separating from him too,” the source said. “Christine and Janelle are very close and they have conversations about it.”

By March 2022, Sister Wives fans speculated over the couple’s looming split after Janelle shared an adorable Instagram photo of her hugging grandchildren Axel and Evie.

“These two are why I am motivated to take care of myself,” Janelle captioned the post. “I love watching them grow up and being a part of their lives! Find your motivation and become the best version of yourself.”

After months of speculation, Christine’s aunt Kristyn Decker exclusively told In Touch in November 2022 that she believes Janelle left Kody “a long time ago.”

“As far as any relationship, any marriage goes, I think [Janelle’s] similar to, in Meri [Brown]’s situation where she’s just staying in a marriage that’s not really a marriage,” Kristyn said at the time. “I don’t think they’ve had a marriage for a long, long, long time. It’s just platonic.”

“[It’s] pretty obvious that they really haven’t been together in a long time, at least marriage wise,” she continued. 

Days after Kristyn opened up about Janelle and Kody’s marriage, Janelle seemingly spent the Thanksgiving holiday away from her husband.

“Our Thanksgiving crowd. Grateful for family and friends,” the mother of six captioned a family photo with her children on November 25, 2022, with Kody noticeably absent from the holiday pic.

During a preview clip for the December 4 episode of Sister Wives, Kody told Janelle during a sit-down lunch that there was “something fundamentally wrong” with their marriage.

While Janelle said she felt that she had “to do everything [she could] to make [their marriage] work,” she admitted during a confessional that she wasn’t “sure it’s possible to come back from where we are.”

“It seems almost like there’s this gulf now where he’s like, ‘Well I want this,’ and I’m like, ‘I can’t give you that,'” she said. “I still have so much affection for Kody, but I don’t know if it’s love.”

A separate clip from the episode showed Kody accusing Janelle of making “single woman decisions” amid ongoing tension between the couple, further fueling rumors about their rocky romance. 

“You and I have been acting like we weren’t a married couple for most of our marriage,” Kody said to Janelle. “I don’t know why it’s been OK for so many years. And it’s not now. You actually live like a single woman.”

Janelle then defended her lifestyle to her husband, telling him that she “always felt like I had to make my own decisions for me” and that she “thought that was what plural marriage was about – being independent.” She later elaborated on her comments in a confessional, saying, “A long time ago, I was encouraged to be independent. That’s what you did as a plural wife. I’ll ask him, and my needs get ignored. I decided to be my own hero and I rescued myself and I started doing things for myself.”

Janelle added: “Things are remembered differently by each partner in a long-term relationship. I’m trying to determine now, if we’re viable in the future.”

The mom of six further fueled split rumors when she celebrated her youngest daughter Savanah’s milestone 18th birthday without Kody, calling the night a “fun and memorable evening.”

“Happy Birthday sweetheart ! We had a fun early birthday celebration in Vegas last weekend,” Janelle captioned an Instagram video on Savanah’s actual birthday, December 7. “Thank you to @_michellepetty and @logantbro for the decorations and the cake. Dinner with friends and family on the Strip and then a tour through the Enchant light display … You only turn 18 once right?!”

In December 2022, In Touch exclusively confirmed that Janelle pulled the plug on her marriage after nearly 30 years. 

“Janelle is a strong independent woman and realized she can do it on her own,” a source told In Touch, adding that she simply “outgrew him.”