'Sister Wives' Star Janelle Brown Confesses Split from Kody 'Came Down to the Kids'

The Sister Wives: Talk Back special program that aired on TLC recently featured Janelle Brown responding to some of the eagerly asked questions from the fan base. In fact, Janelle even disclosed the moment she realized she couldn't continue to be married to Kody Brown on the same TLC episode as well. She admitted, "Honestly, for me, it really came down to the kids." Before Janelle announced their separation in December 2022, Kody and Janelle were spiritually married for about thirty years.

As reported by US Weekly, Janelle said that she was content with her timeline when a fan questioned whether she wished she had 'left sooner.' She added, "I would've stayed if Kody had stayed the father that he was for my kids for many, many years. But when the relationship with the kids broke down, that cost was no longer a factor." Janelle Brown responded to several other moments that occurred in Sister Wives' season 18 in the TLC special.

Janelle said on the show that Kody Brown was still expecting an 'apology' from their boys, Gabe and Garrison. The patriarch's handling of their boys reportedly caused the ex-couple to get into a heated argument in 2020 when the children disobeyed Kody's stringent COVID-19 regulations. Janelle and her kids skipped spending the 2021 Christmas season with Kody and the rest of the family after their argument. The children of Kody and Janelle, however, have previously said that they don't get along well with their father.

Janelle told US Weekly in November about the relationship between Kody and her kids. She confessed to the outlet, "There’s still not a lot of movement." She also said that she hopes the relationship between her sons and Kody 'heals.' She added, "Even if they maybe don’t reconcile, but they come to a peace, because I feel like when there’s static in relationships, especially in a parental relationship, it does affect your life. It does affect them when they don’t have a good [relationship] with their dad. So, I’m hoping that in the future, things can get better." In one episode, Kody warned Janelle that the boys would not be allowed to attend family gatherings until they expressed regret for their acts, which included what seemed to be mistreatment of his fourth wife, Robyn Brown.

Following Christine Brown's announcement in November 2021 that she and the patriarch had divorced, Janelle and Kody went their separate ways the same year. Earlier in the season, Janelle confided to the cameras that the family conflict was making her 'worried' about her children's mental health. Janelle said in the episode, "Gabriel feels everything very, very deeply. But he’s also the kid who doesn’t say anything. And Garrison just seems angry or sadder, like, he’s not as happy, go lucky as he used to be." Recently, Kody accused Janelle of "separating" him from his children. He blamed her and said, "Janelle wants to be separate. She's trying to put it all on me. Janelle doesn't want to have Christmas with Meri [Brown] and with Robyn [Brown] and with me. She'd rather have a Christmas with Christine. So she's making this excuse about the boys."