‘Sister Wives’ Star Janelle Brown Opens Up About ‘Short-Lived’ Starter Marriage to Meri Brown’s Brother

Janelle Brown’s journey to polygamy was unexpected, to say the least. The Sister Wives star was not raised in a family that practiced plural marriage. It wasn’t until she got to know Meri and Kody Brown through her first husband that she began to seriously consider being married to a man with more than one wife. 

Janelle Brown’s first husband was Meri Brown’s brother 

Janelle opened up about her brief first marriage during an appearance on the Nov. 4 episode of Reality Life With Kate Casey. 

“It was very, very short-lived,” Janelle said of her relationship with Meri’s brother Adam Barber. It “probably qualifies” as a starter marriage, she added.

“I think we might have lived together physically, actually lived together for like six months. It just didn’t take,” Janelle explained. 

Janelle and Adam married in 1988 and divorced in 1990. In 1993, she wed Kody in a spiritual ceremony. 

Janelle says Kody and Meri Brown were her ‘token polygamist friends’ 

Janelle’s first marriage was not a success. But it wasn’t because she fell for Kody. The TLC personality said that it took some time for her to decide that polygamy was something she wanted to pursue. 

“I didn’t cross paths with him,” Janelle said when discussing her friendship with her sister-in-law. “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,” she said. 

After her divorce, Janelle remained friendly with Kody and Meri for several years before she decided to pursue polygamy for herself. 

“I knew them as friends. I had other relationships and boyfriends. And sometimes we’d double date. They were always my token polygamist friends … I was 20,” she explained. 

At the same time, Janelle was beginning to have conversations with Meri’s mother, Bonnie Barber, who was part of a plural family with her husband, Meri’s father. 

“Meri’s mother was a really great resource for me,” Janelle said. “I had pretty much made the decision to join the faith.” 

“It’s not like Kody just cruised up one day and said, ‘Hey…,’” she added.  

Janelle is happy to be single now

Janelle eventually became Kody’s second wife, followed by Christine Brown in 1994 and Robyn Brown in 2010. Three of those four marriages have since ended, with Janelle and Kody announcing their separation in December 2022. Now, Janelle, who describes herself as “independent,” is happily single. For the first time in a long time, she doesn’t have to put the group’s needs ahead of her own. 

“It’s kind of nice now to take care of just me,” she said.

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