‘Sister Wives’: Janelle, Christine Brown Friendship Timeline

Chosen family. Sister Wives stars Christine Brown and Janelle Brown have created a strong bond since they spiritually married Kody Brown in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Even after Christine announced her split from the Brown patriarch in November 2021, the pair have remained close. Keep scrolling to take a look back at Christine and Janelle’s friendship.

After Kody married Meri Brown in 1990, he expanded their family by spiritually marrying Janelle in 1993. Soon after, Kody once again tied the knot when he spiritually wed Christine in 1994.

Christine announced the end of her marriage to Kody in November 2021. “After more than 25 years together, Kody and I have grown apart and I have made the difficult decision to leave,” the reality star wrote via Instagram at the time. “We will continue to be a strong presence in each other’s lives as we parent our beautiful children and support our wonderful family. At this time, we ask for your grace and kindness as we navigate through this stage within our family.”

While Christine has been open about her strained relationships with Meri and Kody’s fourth wife, Robyn Brown, over the years, she has always been able to lean on Janelle for support. Following her separation from Kody, the former sister wives continued to maintain a close relationship by attending parties and going on road trips together.

During a November 2022 episode, Christine admitted she needed space from Meri and Robyn during a meeting to discuss their family dynamic following her split.

“Are you in a place where you just want to go do your thing, and those of the kids that [you] have a relationship with, you’ll spend time with them,” Robyn asked Christine. “And the rest of us, that maybe you don’t have a great relationship with, do we just need to, like, give you your space? Are you interested in some sort of a, like, trying to work stuff out maybe from the past how many years?”

The Cooking with Just Christine host agreed that having space from the family would be beneficial, noting that she hasn’t always had great relationships with Meri and Robyn.

“As far as the relationships with the other adults, I think Janelle and I are super close. But I’m not that close with the rest of you,” Christine told the group. “And for right now, I need it that way.”

Just over one year after Christine announced her split from Kody, In Touch broke the news that Janelle left Kody, with a source exclusively revealing that she “outgrew him.”

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“Janelle needed to move on,” an additional insider told In Touch, adding that the former couple “grew apart” and “weren’t compatible anymore.”

The source added, “She’s looking forward to leaving all that baggage behind and starting a new life.”

Keep scrolling to take a look back at Christine and Janelle’s close friendship.

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Working Together

Two months before Christine revealed that she and Kody had called it quits, she officially joined Janelle as a member of the Plexus family. Since Janelle has undergone an impressive weight loss transformation, Christine mentioned she “had to see for [herself] what [Plexus] was all about” while announcing her involvement in the program.

Staying Close

In September 2022, the reality stars gave fans a glimpse into their road trip to City of Rocks, Idaho. “Road trip with @christine_brownsw to Idaho to visit some family. We stopped at @cityofrocksnps,” Janelle captioned the video taken during a pit stop. “I’ve never heard of it and I grew up in northern UT! It is hard to capture in photos how cool this place is.”

Janelle’s Advice

While appearing on a December 2022 episode of “Reality Life With Kate” podcast, Christine revealed that Janelle, who she referred to as her “best friend,” advised her to become financially independent before she left Kody.

“I asked when we were in Vegas, and I was just done in Vegas,” she recalled during the podcast. “I remember asking her, I’m like, ‘I need to leave. I need to leave. I don’t even want to be married to Kody anymore. I can’t.’ And she looked at me and she goes, ‘Until you can support yourself financially by yourself, you are not going to leave.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, God. All right then.”

She went on to praise Janelle for being open with the advice, as well as for being a strong listener.

“Janelle’s that person where she’ll listen and listen to listen and be like, ‘Everything’s fine. He’s a great guy,’” she explained. “But when it comes right down to it, she’ll just be like, ‘Boom, chakalaka.’ What every woman needs is a friend that is just supportive and kind of good. But when you need to have a different perspective, they don’t mind just giving it to you — and Janelle’s lovely that way. She’s lovely. She’s balanced to me, where we balance each other well.”

Christine’s Support

After Janelle confirmed her split from Kody, Christine showed support for her friend by sharing a hopeful message in December.

“Beyond this place of wrath and tears, looks but the horror of the shade,” the mom of six recited in an Instagram Reel at the time. “And yet, the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid.”

Christine explained the caption that she felt the inspirational poem, Invictus, “might be a great idea.” The post also included the hashtags, “I am the captain of my soul” and “you have a purpose.”