Sister Wives star talks wild connection of being married to future sister wife's brother before marrying Kody Brown
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Sister Wives stars Janelle Brown and Meri Brown unpacked their tangled connection on the latest episode of the TLC show.
Janelle, 56, was briefly married to Meri's brother Adam Clark Barber before marrying her now-ex-husband Kody Brown, also 56, and becoming a sister wife to Meri, 54.
That means the women were sisters-in-law before they were sister wives.
'Janelle and I were actually sisters-in-law before we were sister wives,' Meri said on Sunday's episode as the ladies met at a coffee shop.
Meri reiterated in a confessional interview: 'She'd been married to my brother and she was actually at my wedding with [Kody]. And then they divorced after Kody and I got married.'
Janelle recalled, 'I met Meri's brother when I was a senior in high school and we got married about a year to a year and a half or so after I graduated.'
Sister Wives stars Janelle Brown and Meri Brown unpacked their tangled connection on the latest episode of the TLC show
Janelle, 56, was briefly married to Meri's brother Adam Clark Barber before marrying her now-ex-husband Kody Brown, also 56, and becoming a sister wife to Meri, 54
She described the length of the marriage as 'very short.' 'We were married for less than a year,' she detailed.
At first, Meri was not keen on the idea of Janelle joining her polygamous union with Kody, which began in 1990.
On the other hand, Janelle thought that her short-lived relationship with Barber 'wasn't really a thing.'
'When the conversation about Janelle coming into our family started happening, it was really hard for me,' Meri opened up.
She explained, 'It was a tough thing to wrap my head around on multiple levels just because she had been married to my brother, you know? And so it was definitely a thing for me, for sure.'
Janelle countered that her initial marriage 'didn't really matter' because 'it was such a small period of time.'
The episode also saw Janelle — who shares five living kids with Kody and one who died — discuss being granted a divorce from him by the the Apostolic United Brethren church.
As she displayed the release paperwork, she said, 'I have it. That was easy. I thought I was going to have to come back for a second meeting.'
She then repeated, 'I am free. I am free. I am free. I am free.'
'Janelle and I were actually sisters-in-law before we were sister wives,' Meri said on Sunday's episode
Janelle recalled, 'I met Meri's brother when I was a senior in high school and we got married about a year to a year and a half or so after I graduated'
L-R Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, Kody Brown, Meri Brown and Robyn Brown pictured in 2015
Following her meetup with the church's leaders, she said she didn't know why she had been worried.
'They were all very kind. They'd granted me the release. So there was really kind of a shift in my energy, and I think maybe it must have really meant something deep down that I'm sort of not always paying attention to. So I'm glad I did this,' she told cameras.
Janelle separated from Kody in December 2022, while he and Meri have been legally divorced since 2014 so he could legally marry Robyn Brown. They were still 'spiritually' together until January 2023.
Kody 'spiritually married' Christine Brown in 1994 and they separated in 2021, with Christine announcing in late 2021 that she had 'made the difficult decision to leave' the marriage.
Janelle and Kody split in 2022. The former polygamist's only remaining relationship is with Robyn.
'You know, look, I don't regret anything in the last 30 years,' said Janelle on Sunday's episode.
'I love the family that we have, and I would do it all again in order to get the family and the kids that we have. [It] just is sort of like that chapter has ended,' she stated.
