How Sister Wives’ Janelle Brown Found Out Kody Brown Quit Show

Sister Wives' Janelle Brown Goes Public With New Boyfriend 4 Years After Kody Brown SplitJanelle Brown was as shocked as Sister Wives fans to learn this news. Less than a month after season 21 of the TLC series kicked off without Janelle’s ex Kody Brown and his only remaining wife Robyn Brown, Janelle shared it was just as unexpected from the inside out. “I actually got an email that they weren’t coming back, and I’m like, ‘Oh, wow. Okay,’” she told People in an interview published on Nov. 2. “I haven’t talked to them since, well, since we were all together after we sold the property and I don’t know anything about what’s going on in their lives. And so yeah, I’m like, ‘Okay, I guess this is what we’re doing now.’” While surprising, Janelle—who welcomed six kids with Kody before their December 2022 separation—sees the positive in Kody and Robyn’s departure. To her, it’s an opportunity for herself and Kody’s other exes Christine Brown and Meri Brown to turn the page. “It’s felt like the end of an era, but also too, I feel like going forward now,” Janelle explained. “There’s so many beautiful things happening for all of us. And I think it’s nice we can focus on that and not so much all the conversations that were happening because of things that Kody would say.” Although the 57-year-old—who debuted a new romance with a man named Pete on social media in August—is optimistic about where the show will go from here, she revealed that Kody’s departure was shocking even for her kids, who are mostly estranged from him. “They really were surprised,” Janelle said. “But again, most of my children don’t really have a relationship with their father, so it was kind of just news really.”TLCMeanwhile, Christine, who went on to marry David Woolley following her breakup, and Meri also explored their feelings surrounding Kody and Robyn’s departure in the season 21 premiere of the TLC series, which aired Oct. 4. “I don’t know how to process it all,” the mom of six admitted in the episode. “I don’t know how to feel about this whole thing. It’s just bizarre they’re done. I don’t know what it means. I have no idea.” Similarly, Meri, mom to Leon, 31, with her ex, said she was “surprised” by the news in a separate scene from the episode. While Kody and Robyn—who legally wed in 2014—did not cite a reason for their sudden departure, the couple had been candid about the toll their monogamous relationship was having on their marriage following Kody’s separations from Janelle, as well as Meri in 2023, and Christine in 2021. “Robyn and I are fighting for our marriage and our life together,” Kody said during a January episode of Sister Wives. “We have been going through four years or more of breakup with the family.” While Robyn noted that sometimes she and Kody have “a great time” in their marriage, their relationship has felt highly volatile in recent years. As she put it, “Something will happen and he's kind of back to, he reverts back to the angry divorced guy.” For a deeper look into the Sister Wives cast and their love lives, keep reading… shutter stockKody Brown & Robyn Brown"She looked like a soccer mom," Kody Brown once joked on Sister Wives of meeting then-single mom Robyn in 2009. "She had a van, three kids and was divorced. I thought, 'I didn't need a van, a divorced woman, and three kids in my life—that's just trouble.'"More than a decade and a half on, though, they're still kicking it, with the pair adding son Solomon and daughter Ariella to the squad. As for bringing on other teammates, it's not in the game plan. "I really, really struggle with it because it feels, like, 'Oh, well. Those didn't work. So, on to [someone] new,'" Robyn said on the December 2024 Sister Wives: One on One special of Meri Brown, Janelle Brown and Christine Brown leaving the fold. "That's hard for me. That's really, really hard for me. It feels disrespectful."Meri Brown/InstagramMeri BrownIn January 2024, a year after she and Kody announced their breakup, Meri revealed on Instagram that she had begun dating Amos Andrews the previous October. But in February 2024, Meri confirmed on Instagram that they had called it quits. In 2026, Meri confirmed she was seeing a man named Ron who she met at a speed-dating event. "I am happy," she said on the TLC series' One-on-One special. "Ron is a really cool guy, very comfortable. I'm very comfortable hanging out with him."Janelle Brown/InstagramJanelle BrownLiving proof that once you stop looking for love it finds you, Janelle hard launched her relationship with a suitor she referred to only as Pete through an August 2026 Instagram post. "I wasn’t looking," insisted the mom of six, who'd frequently questioned if she'd ever date again. "I certainly wasn’t expecting you. And somehow, you turned out to be exactly what I didn’t know I needed." Summed up the North Carolinian: "It has been pretty wonderful. Everyone please meet Pete." InstagramChristine Brown WoolleyShe got the man and the family. Going official with her and David Woolley's romance on Valentine's Day 2023, Christine shared, "I finally found the love of my life, David. The first time he held me close, it felt like my soul took its first breath. He's wonderful and kind, incredible with my children and an adorable grandpa. I never dreamed I could find a love like this."Two months later he added to the fantasy with a spring proposal. "David treats me like a queen and tells me I'm beautiful everyday," Christine told People. "I've never been in love like this before and the world seems like a brighter place with him in it."Tying the knot in Utah on Oct. 7, 2023, she wrote, "I'm so blessed! I've married my best friend."InstagramMadison Brown BrushThe first of the 18 Brown children to walk down the aisle, Janelle's eldest daughter wed Caleb Brush at a 2016 outdoor wedding in Montana captured by TLC's cameras. A decade later, the two have fully multiplied their love with Emilia joining older siblings Axel, Evie and Josephine in March 2025. “Our sweet girl took her time, keeping us all in suspense, but when she decided it was time—she didn’t waste a second," North Carolina-based Maddie wrote on Instagram. "Born on 3/14, she arrived absolutely perfect.”InstagramLeon BrownFour years after their engagement aired on the TLC reality show, Meri's only child settled in Denver with Audrey Kriss. "My sweetest symphony," Leon raved of their partner in 2022. "Life with you truly is so sweet." Echoed Audrey, "Being your partner and watching your growth and coming into yourself over the years has been an honor and joy."InstagramLogan BrownEldest Brown kid Logan got the gang back together when he married longtime girlfriend Michelle Petty in Arizona in 2022. "It was a beautiful day and this mama's heart was mush the whole time," Janelle shared on Instagram of her son's wedding. "You always have such a sense of peace when your children find amazing life partners."InstagramMykelti BrownMore than six years after her 2016 wedding to Antonio "Tony" Padron, Mykelti joked that they'd already tested the limits of their marriage vows by welcoming twins Archer and Ace into the fold in November 2022. "We have 3 kids and 4 moves under our belt," North Carolina-based Mykelti, who is also mom to eldest daughter Avalon, wrote on Instagram at the time. "A whole lot of good times and some hard times #surprisetwins But here we are still doing this whole marriage thing."Instagram/Mitch ThompsonAspyn BrownSince their 2018 wedding, Christine's oldest daughter and husband Mitch Thompson have traveled everywhere from Paris to Alaska. But in December 2022, they put down roots, with Mitch sharing on Instagram, "We bought our first home! Just in time for Christmas." Aspyn announced her pregnancy with the couple's first baby in April 2025.InstagramGwendlyn BrownBefore hitting their one-year anniversary, Christine's third oldest daughter and love Beatriz Queiroz went to the happiest place on earth and marked six months together with chocolate fondue. Then came the really sweet part, with Gwendlyn sharing a glimpse at the candlelit, rose-filled proposal on Instagram in November 2022, writing simply, "i'm engaged!!" The couple wed in July 2023, captioning a photo from the ceremony: "Say hello to mrs (x2) queiroz."For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App