'Sister Wives' star Kody Brown is convinced his ex Janelle is 'punishing' him with one move
‘Sister Wives’ Season 19, which premiered recently, had Kody Brown growing increasingly frustrated with where things stand now with his estranged family. Kody felt he was being left out of plans after his 2022 split from Janelle Brown. He viewed the possibility of Janelle moving to Montana, where their daughter Madison was shopping for a home, as a slight against him. “They know that I suffer from FOMO about my family, fear of missing out, OK?” he says in a confessional interview. He added, “So anything they can do, that excludes me, is a punishment to me.” However, Janelle held another view. She explained, “Flagstaff no longer feels permanent and if I had another option, I would probably take it.”
Janelle’s decision to leave Kody was reportedly influenced by his apathy toward fixing his relationship with some of their children. She felt he wasn’t trying hard enough to make things right with the kids. “We just kind of started to grow apart,” Janelle told E! News. She explained, “The big spark for me was when his relationship broke down with my children and he didn't seem like he would move heaven and earth to fix it...I thought, OK, that was what was really holding me here.”
Janelle shared that the only reason she still has some attachment to Flagstaff, after leaving Kody, was because it allows her to be close to three of her six kids. In a November 2023 Instagram post, she penned, “I can randomly get a visit from Gabe or Garrison [who has since passed] and Savanah is still at home with me.”
When Janelle finally broke the news about moving out, it shocked Kody. He shared at the time, “She says, ‘I’m not moving with ya. I finally got my life together here...That was a real shock to me. That was not healthy.” Kody was also upset with Janelle still wanting his help setting up her new house. In a confessional, he remarked, “I mean, maybe it’s just a test. ‘Hey, will you come over and hang pictures?’ ‘Sure, OK.’ I mean, I’ve been married to four women. Everything’s a test. ‘Pick me, pick me. Do something for me...It’s her apartment. It’s not ours...I honestly don’t know why she’s showing me other than, well, I mean, our daughter lives there.”
Jenelle wasn't the only one to move out. Kody's wife Christine Brown left the family in 2021, while Meri Brown confirmed her split in 2023. This also affected Kody's marriage to his fourth wife Robyn Brown. Robyn once explained how Kody brought the feeling of rejection from his other wives into their relationship.
Robyn shared, “I think he’s kind of looking at me going, ‘Are you going to reject me too?’ I’m on my toes. I’m having to consistently make sure that he is not sabotaging our relationship.” While the pair are leaning on each other through the family turmoil, they admitted that the emotional toll has created challenges in their marriage.