‘Sister Wives’: Janelle Brown Is the Real Hero of TLC Series — Here’s Why
Sister Wives star Janelle Brown has always been depicted as the steady rock of the Brown family. She believed in plural marriage, didn’t complain when her needs were overlooked, and remained steadfast in her marriage to Kody Brown, even when, from the outside, things appeared to be broken. Janelle’s consistency endears her to viewers, making her the real hero of the TLC reality series.
Janelle Brown could blow the family’s financial secrets wide open
For years, Janelle Brown was in charge of the family finances. She discussed how everyone contributed to the family finances to pay the bills.
However, the Brown family also used this money for items outside of the family’s day to day life that were revealed as the series went on. As the family’s primary financial leader, Janelle knew how the money was being spent but didn’t say anything.
Janelle used her good credit and funds to help purchase the family’s Lehi, Utah home. Later, she and Meri Brown agreed to use their money to help pay off Robyn’s credit card debt.
For example, when Janelle expressed her interest in paying off her property on the family’s Coyote Pass land, Kody told her they didn’t have the money. However, she revealed that the money was generously spent from the family account to purchase Christine and Robyn’s homes in Flagstaff, AZ.
“I feel no one is watching out for me. No one is prioritizing me,” Janelle admitted.
However, as the keeper of the financial secrets, Janelle felt power over Kody. Note that only recently did he begin speaking against Janelle. Previously, his commentary was regarding their shared children.
Janelle Brown doesn’t need Kody for emotional support
Kody Brown treated each of his marriages differently. His unions with Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn Brown were each unique.
However, of all the Brown wives, Janelle was seen as the most independent. She liked Kody’s companionship but valued her alone time more.
After years of Janelle in the workforce and being forced to make her own decisions simply because Kody wasn’t equitable with his time, she became even more independent. He called her out on it while seated at a restaurant.
In 2022, he said, “You and I have been acting like we weren’t a married couple for most of our marriage,” the patriarch told his wife. “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.”
“I always felt like I had to make my own decisions for me. I thought that was what plural marriage was about. Being independent.” During a confessional, Janelle backed up her lifestyle even more by pointing out that she made certain adjustments after Kody failed to show up for her countless times.
“A long time ago, I was encouraged to be independent. That’s what you did as a plural wife,” she said. “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 spoke out against Kody’s favoritism of Robyn
As Janelle Brown stayed longer within the Brown family, she began to verbalize her unequal treatment. In a Sister Wives clip, she admitted that certain things were “problematic” to her.
“I coasted over many things that were problematic for me,” Janelle said in a TLC UK clip from the series. “My children feel like there was so much favoritism.”
“So much inequality in both time and resources toward Robyn,” she continued. “I was always fine with it. I was really fine.”
“But now, I would want to feel like we were truly more of a couple,” Janelle continued. She recalled that when the family moved to Las Vegas, it became clear that Kody was not equitable with his time. “That’s where it started. The majority of the time he was often at Robyn’s house.”
Most notably, Robyn is never critical of Janelle, even after Janelle pointed out that Robyn’s attempt at a business, My Sister Wife’s Closet, wasn’t going to pay the bills.
Janelle Brown separated from Kody Brown in 2022. They were never legally married. Instead, she was a spiritual wife.
