Sister Wives’ Janelle Brown’s Quotes About Moving On After Kody Brown Split: ‘I Don’t Want Him to Come Back’

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Sister Wives' Janelle Brown's Quotes About Moving On After Kody Brown Split: 'I Don’t Want Him to Come Back'

Finding her voice! Sister Wives' Janelle Brown is learning to stand on her own two feet after splitting from Kody Brown in 2022. Janelle and Kody spiritually wed in 1993, three years after the Wyoming native married first wife Meri Brown. In 1994, Christine Brown joined their family, and Robyn Brown rounded out the plural brood in 2010. The polygamist legally married Robyn in 2014 after divorcing Meri, with whom he chose to continue a spiritual union. The family restructuring allowed Kody to legally adopt Robyn’s three children from a past relationship. Years later, fractures emerged in Janelle and Kody’s relationship after his marriage to Christine came to an end in 2021. During season 17 of Sister Wives, which was filmed in 2021 and aired in 2022, fans watched as Janelle and Kody butted heads over their kids. The pair share six children: Logan, Maddie, Hunter, Garrison, Gabriel and Savanah. “It’s been a bit of a civil war. The whole family in a way,” Kody said during the December 2022 finale. “I’m looking at Janelle wondering whose side she’s on.” [sendtonews type="float" key="M1MCX8DouR-2830214-14453"] Elsewhere in the episode, Janelle revealed that she wanted to spend time with their kids apart from the plural family over the holidays after Kody’s strict COVID-19 rules drove a wedge within the family. (Kody created a strain between him and sons Gabe and Garrison after claiming they lacked respect for him amid the coronavirus pandemic.) “To be honest with you, I really don’t know if I want to do the work. It feels like I’m being forced to choose between my children and this group,” she explained at the time. “At the end of the day, I think I’d rather be with my kids. … There’s a strong pull to just run away and do the easy thing.” Later that month, Janelle confirmed during part 1 of the Sister Wives: One-on-One special that she and Kody had been “separated for several months” — and that she was happier because of it. (Meri, meanwhile, confirmed her own split from the patriarch that same month.) “Part of me thinks, ‘OK, my religion requires that you continue to make a marriage work.’ I deeply believe in my faith,” Janelle further explained during part 3 of the tell-all, which aired in January 2023. “I have been so much at peace that I don’t know how to reconcile that. I know I’m happy. I don’t want him to come back. But my faith requires that we are married eternally.” Scroll down to read Janelle’s most empowering and honest quotes about moving forward after her split from Kody:

Credit: Puddle Monkey Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

The Official Separation

“I think if we both really sat down, we’d look at each other [and] say, ‘Really?’” Janelle confessed during part 1 of the Sister Wives: One-on-One tell-all episode, which aired in December 2022. “We’ve been separated for several months.”

She later revealed that the tension between her and Kody began in late 2021. “He blew off our last anniversary. He just didn’t call me or anything,” the reality star claimed during the TLC special, revealing that she and Kody “had a big fight right before Christmas” in 2021, which spilled over to their January 2022 anniversary.

It wasn’t until March or April of 2022 that the pair had a real conversation on the phone.

Credit: Justin Stephens/Discovery

She’s ‘Not Waiting for Him’

“I’m not waiting for him. I’ve kind of mourned that that part of our life is gone,” the mother of six said on part 3 of the Sister Wives: One-on-One special, which aired in January 2023. “I wasn’t heartbroken.”

Janelle explained that her faith dictates that the door “has to be” open for a reconciliation, but she wasn't sure that was what she wanted. “I’m not interested in having anyone walk through that door,” she said.

Credit: Courtesy of Janelle Brown/Instagram

Her Children Come First

The Utah native reflected on her season 17 arguments with Kody — which transpired in 2021 but aired in 2022 — about their six kids during part 3 of the Sister Wives: One-on-One special in January 2023. The former spouses previously butted heads over their children’s holiday plans in 2021 following Gabe and Garrison’s falling out with their dad earlier that year.

“I think that if he had truly been watching out for me and my children, he would have figured out a way to make it work for the whole family,” Janelle explained, referring to Kody’s intense COVID-19 rules. “Instead of having his rules and hanging out with the wife staying where he was respected and obeyed.”

She noted that she was “so mad about what happened with our kids” that she started “losing respect” for Kody.

Credit: Courtesy of Janelle Brown/Instagram

Becoming ‘Stronger’ Through Fitness

“I had no idea when I first started taking a little time for myself several years ago the EMPOWERMENT that would come from being stronger,” Janelle wrote via Instagram in January 2023 while showcasing her weight loss transformation. “I work out not just to help me change my body but to be strong in mind and spirit as well.”

The Thrive With Janelle founder explained how her fitness journey has aided her personal growth. “I have proven to myself over and over again that when you know how much you can push yourself there aren’t a lot of limits. If you are brave enough,” she wrote. “I work out — not only to improve my health and change my body but for the EMPOWERMENT it brings. When you are strong you can be strong.”