Sister Wives’ Kody Brown Says ‘There’s Something Fundamentally Wrong’ in Marriage to Janelle

Trouble in paradise. Sister Wives star Kody Brown and Janelle Brown had a tough conversation about what is wrong in their marriage.

“I’m not someone who throws the towel in on a marriage,” Janelle, 53, admitted in a teaser clip for the Sunday, December 4, episode shared by Us Weekly. “But it seems almost like there is this gulf [between us] now. Especially where he’s like, ‘I want this.’ And I’m like, ‘I can’t give you that.’”

Both Kody, 53, and Janelle have been open about the problems in their relationship, especially in light of Christine Brown’s decision to leave the Brown patriarch in 2021.

“I don’t think you and I know how to be real about things with each other,” Kody told his third wife while discussing their holiday plans. “You gotta know it too. There’s something fundamentally wrong here. Is this just what the human condition is?”

However, Janelle pointed out that they “had a functional marriage for a long time.” She added, “You’re my best friend. You’re the person I want to tell everything to.”

The Utah native then noted that their kids moving out hasn’t helped their relationship. The couple share kids Logan, 28, Madison, 27, Hunter, 25, Garrison, 24, Gabriel, 21, and Savanah, 17.

“It’s almost like we’re on the cusp of this empty nest thing and it feels like we need to do a reset,” she said. Kody wasn’t sold on the idea and replied, “I don’t know.”

Despite their problems, Kody admitted that he doesn’t want to end his relationship with Janelle. “It’s not safe enough for me to say, here, ‘Hey, honey, I’m broken-hearted because of this divorce, and I need you to help me heal, please,’” he said, referencing his split from Christine.

Janelle also revealed that she’s not ready to give up on their marriage, stating that she had “so much affection” for her husband. However, she admitted she doesn’t know if the feeling is exactly “love.”

“I just feel like I have to do everything I can to make this work,” the mother of six said in a confessional. “I’m not even sure it’s possible to come back from where we are.”

During the November 20 episode of the TLC show, Kody gave insight into how his split from Christine – who has a close bond with Janelle – was negatively impacting his relationship with Janelle.

“I’m begging Janelle for a closer relationship,” the father of 18 said, noting that it’s important to him that his four wives to “have close relationships.”

“I’m in a very vulnerable place and if I cross a line, will she cross another line? And that sort of cynicism comes, I think, from unwinding 20 years in plural marriage and Christine leaving,” he said in a confessional. “I don’t think Janelle or I are being honest or realistic in this relationship as we communicate with each other about this stuff.”

Kody went on to admit that he felt like Janelle was “rejecting” him and “choosing to have a [relationship] with Christine” instead.