Janelle Brown is reflecting on her marriage to ex-husband Kody and how after nearly thirty years together, it eventually became “a burden to stay married” to the father of 18.
Janelle shared this detail on Sunday’s episode of ‘Sister Wives’– an episode in which fans saw Janelle reunite with Kody’s other ex-wives, Christine and Meri, before going on to chat one-on-one with a relationship counselor. While speaking to the relationship expert, Janelle revealed what she’s looking for in a future partner and how her years with Kody have shaped those preferences.
“The relationship that I had was so much work, and I just don’t want that anymore,” she explained.
Janelle went on to add that while many of her friends insist that relationships aren’t hard if you’re with the right person, she continues to have her doubts, largely due to the manner in which her relationship with Kody ended.
“I think the biggest thing for me started when [Kody] really started to be hard on my children,” she told viewers. “Wanting them to conform to his opinion, wanting them to act a certain way. That’s when all of a sudden I’m like, ‘OK, I don’t know if I can do this anymore.’
“It was a burden to stay married,” she continued.
Janelle seemed to be hinting at the Brown Family discourse that escalated during the pandemic between much of the family and Kody, with the latter siding with– and in many ways, prioritizing– his only remaining wife Robyn and The Chosen Five the couple’s five children. (As fans know, Kody and Robyn are not filming for Season 21 of ‘Sister Wives’ and the couple remain estranged from many of Kody’s children.)
Janelle also revealed on Sunday’s episode that, despite maintaining a good relationship with Kody for many years, the two never really had “a solid identity as a couple.”
“He and I were always very much thinking about the family, we thought about the whole,” she explained. “I didn’t spend enough time thinking about my relationship with him one-on-one. It was just sort of a given, it was just gonna happen, it was just gonna be there. And I realize now that maybe we should have probably taken some time for that.”
Janelle went on to admit that at the end of her and Kody’s marriage, she “sort of became apathetic” and “just didn’t care” anymore.
As for what she’s looking for in a future partner, Janelle told the relationship expert that kindness is the most important quality, while looks are “whatever.” The mom of six made this distinction after noting that Kody was “always kind of obsessed with looking good” and maintaining a certain kind of appearance.
“If I see someone who’s a little bit too much of a pretty-boy, nope,” she said of her future dating prospects. “Nope, I’m not doing that again. No.”
While Sunday’s episode ended with Janelle still on the fence about whether or not to jump into the dating pool, she’s since begun a relationship with a man named Pete Lahowin. As The Ashley previously told you, Janelle surprised ‘Sister Wives’ fans by posting a photo with her new boyfriend to social media in August. (Pete is also slated to appear later this season on ‘Sister Wives.’)
“Some chapters are meant to unfold quietly before they’re shared,” Janelle wrote. “I wasn’t looking. I certainly wasn’t expecting you. And somehow, you turned out to be exactly what I didn’t know I needed. And it has been pretty wonderful. Everyone please meet Pete.”
New episodes of ‘Sister Wives’ air Sundays on TLC.
RELATED STORY: Christine Brown’s Husband David Woolley Slams Kody & Robyn for ‘Sister Wives’ Exit: “I Didn’t Expect Anything Different”
(Photos: TLC; Instagram)
So happy for Janelle, she deserves every bit of happiest moving forward.