Janelle Brown is still hopeful for “peace” between ex Kody Brown and their sons Gabriel and Garrison Brown — but things are at a standstill.
“There’s still not a lot of movement,” Janelle, 54, exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, November 20, of the father-son dynamic.
The Sister Wives star noted that Kody, 54, has a relationship with their teenage daughter, but that’s about it when it comes to their six children. The estranged couple share Logan, 29, Maddie, 27, Hunter, 26, Garrison, 25, Gabriel, 21, and Savanah, 18.
“My youngest, Savanah, does see her dad, but we live right there in Flagstaff, [Arizona],” Janelle explained to Us, noting she hasn’t given up on Gabriel and Garrison making amends with their father. “I’m hoping, again, that time 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.”
On season 17 of Sister Wives, which aired in late 2022 and filmed in late 2021, viewers learned that Kody was at odds with sons Gabriel and Garrison after they allegedly didn’t respect his controversial COVID-19 rules.
During one episode, Kody told Janelle that if the boys didn’t apologize for their actions — including allegedly being mean to his fourth wife, Robyn Brown — they weren’t welcome at family events.
Although Kody took back his apology requirement during a season 18 episode, the rift continued. Throughout the current season, viewers saw that Kody’s tension with the boys added to Janelle’s issues with her estranged spouse.
Janelle announced in December 2022 that she and Kody had been “separated for several months” following an explosive holiday 2021 season argument, documented in season 18. (Janelle and Kody’s split came after Christine Brown announced in November 2021 that she and the patriarch had parted ways. Kody’s first wife, Meri Brown, confirmed in January that their romance was over, but he is still married to Robyn, 45.)
Elsewhere in the season, Janelle told the cameras she was “worried” about her kids’ mental health due to the family drama. “Gabriel feels everything very, very deeply. But he’s also the kid who doesn’t say anything,” she said in an October episode, which was filmed in 2022. “And Garrison just seems angry or sadder, like, he’s not as happy, go lucky as he used to be.”
Kody, for his part, addressed the issues with his and Janelle’s sons in a November episode of the TLC series, confessing, “I haven’t been in touch with Gabriel and Garrison for quite a while. I’m pretty sad that I’m not close anymore.”
Although Janelle told Us Kody isn’t currently speaking with most of her children, she revealed “he was a good dad” for them growing up.
Sister Wives airs on TLC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
