"I was really ready to move on": Sister Wives star Janelle reflects on her breakup with Kody

Sister Wives season 20 returned with a new episode on December 7, 2025, in which Kody Brown met with his former wife, Janelle, to apologize for their breakup and past tensions. 

During their meeting, the pair reflected on their breakup, with Kody asking Janelle whether it was “inevitable.”

“By the time it happened, I didn’t see that we were ever gonna turn around, but you know, I mean, I was really ready to move on,” she answered. 

Janelle was one of Kody’s wives in their plural marriage, who parted ways with him in December 2022, after spiritually tying the knot in 1993. 

During their time together, they welcomed six children – Logan, Madison, Hunter, Garrison, Gabriel, and Savanah. However, they lost 25-year-old Garrison in March 2024 after he committed suicide. 

Janelle and Kody’s split was influenced by several factors, including Kody’s absence from her children’s lives, disagreements with Janelle, a lack of effort toward reconciliation, and more. 

By the time they separated, Janelle was prepared to move on, as, in the December 7 episode, she noted she no longer had the will or energy to fight.

Moreover, her children had grown into adults, and she no longer required the family’s financial support to continue the relationship.

Regardless, she noted that she respected their relationship, but there was nothing left between them. 

Sister Wives star Janelle hoped Kody had worked on having strong relationships with his children

While speaking about her relationship with Kody, Janelle told the Sister Wives cameras that, like every other relationship, theirs had its share of “ups and downs.”

But even when their arguments and disagreements were “pretty low,” they always managed to reconcile and move on.

However, Janelle admitted that, over time, she lost her strength to fight back to the point where she no longer had any desire to make amends.

Additionally, with her children grown, Janelle stated that there were not enough reasons for her to try to make things right between them. 

Upon hearing that, Kody stated that he felt it was time to extend an “olive branch” toward his family and put in the work to at least take accountability for his actions.

That said, he mentioned that Janelle got the “high honor” of being the person he felt the most comfortable with to start. 

Janelle was pleasantly surprised by his gesture and said that she was grateful for the time they spent together. 

Kody thanked her for agreeing to meet him and accepting his apology, while Janelle admitted she was “glad” he made the effort to reach out. 

In a Sister Wives confessional, Janelle shared her honest feelings about Kody and their past.

“Like, it was a great relationship. I still care about him, and I think he still cares about me, but I don’t– he’s not in my life, and I’m not gonna be in his life, and there’s nothing there now,” she said.

However, she wished Kody were better bonded with their children so there would be some “cohesion” in the family. But she knew it was not going to happen anytime soon. 

Janelle continued that she had no expectations from their sudden meeting, but she appreciated how “healing” it was to hear “some of those things” Kody said. 

As for Kody, he was equally happy with how their meeting went. He appreciated Janelle for how “gracious” and “kind” she had been, stating that she made his apology feel easy. 

The Sister Wives’ former polygamist noted that he needed to set out on “this pilgrimage” of apology, and now that he had done it, it felt better. That said, he still had to apologize to Meri and Christine, meetings Kody feared could go wrong. 

Stay tuned for more updates.