'Sister Wives' star Janelle Brown reveals her mom was married to Kody's dad: "My family was not..."
TLC's 'Sister Wives' has to be one of the most complicated tales of relationships where viewers are taken into the whirlwind world of plural marriages. At the start of the reality show, Kody Brown was enjoying polygamous marriages, with his four wives living together. While Janelle Brown ended her marriage with Kody during Season 18, reports reveal a more tangled link between the two that almost seems straight from the pages of 'Game of Thrones.'
For context, Janelle's late mother, Sheryl Usher, was one of three wives married to Kody's late father, William Winn Brown, as per his obituary. Reportedly, William passed away on August 24, 2013, just days before his 79th birthday, as per Screen Rant. Born in Lovell, Wyoming, William attended Northwest College in Powell before meeting Kody's mother, Genielle. A few years later, Kody was born, and as he turned a teenager, his parents, William and Genielle, began leading a polygamist lifestyle. William's two other wives besides Genielle were Bobbie and Sheryl, the mother of Janelle, making the 'Sister Wives' stars stepsiblings and spiritual spouses.
In a Season 19 episode of 'Sister Wives,' Janelle even shared her insights about her mother’s marriage to Kody's father. Janelle also shared that only one member of her family attended her wedding to Kody, and it was her mother, as reported by Today. "My mom was at the wedding because she came to save me from the polygamists and ended up marrying Kody's dad three months before we got married," Janelle explained. "So my mom was obviously OK with it. But the rest of my family was really not OK with it. So they didn't come."
This is not the only complicated relationship that hogged the limelight in 'Sister Wives,' as reportedly Janelle also shares a complex relationship with Meri Brown. Before Kody and 'Sister Wives,' Janelle was married to Adam Barber, who is actually Meri's brother, as per The Hollywood Gossip. Allegedly, Janelle married Barber in 1988 at the LDS temple in Salt Lake City. After her 1990 split from Barber, Janelle married Kody in 1993, becoming his second wife in their plural marriage, with Christine and Robyn later joining.
During an appearance on the Reality Life podcast, Janelle also shared details about the "ill-fated" union with host Kate Casey, as per People. Janelle described her first marriage to Barber as a "starter marriage," explaining, "I think we might have lived together physically, actually lived together for like six months. It just didn't take." She also addressed the awkwardness of meeting Kody, who was married to her ex-husband's sister Meri, saying, "I didn't cross paths with him. I was not at Meri's house all the time. I mean, I was there occasionally. I just happened to be there when Kody came. And I already was intrigued with the faith."
Meri also discussed fans' reactions to Janelle's first marriage to Barber during an appearance on the 'Miss Understood With Rachel Uchitel podcast.' She said, "I think it really weirds a lot of people out, and the community's not that small. So it's kind of weird that that all happened that way." Talking about her feelings, Meri added, "It took a minute for me to get my head wrapped around it. The whole thing was interesting. There were emotions. Let's just say there were emotions."
