After nearly three decades of shared history, navigating plural marriage on camera, and building a family life together, you would expect major life updates to happen face-to-face.
But for Sister Wives star Janelle Brown, news of Kody and Robyn Brown’s exit from the series didn’t come during a sit-down conversation or a quiet family meeting. Instead, it arrived in the most brutally cold way possible: dropped right into her inbox.
In an interview with PEOPLE Magazine, Janelle revealed that there was no face-to-face explanation from her ex-husband of almost 30 years before his sudden departure from their family reality show. The couple shares six children: Logan, Maddie, Hunter, Garrison (d. 2024), Gabe, and Savannah.
“I actually got an email that they weren’t coming back, and I’m like, ‘Oh, wow. Okay,’” she explained. “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.’”
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She added, “It felt like the end of an era, but also too, I feel like going forward now, there’s so many beautiful things happening for all of us. And I think it’s nice that we can focus on that and not so much on all the conversations that were happening because of things that Kody would say.”
Additionally, Janelle revealed that the couple’s children were surprised by the news. She explained, “They really were surprised. But again, most of my children don’t really have a relationship with their father, so it was kind of just news really.”
She clarified, “As far as I know, Kody doesn’t have a relationship with most of my children and most of Christine’s children. I think some of them might see him in passing, if he comes to town, they might go to dinner. But I don’t think that’s very often, and I don’t think there’s a lot of communication.”
During Season 20, Kody set out on an apology tour, without Robyn, to try to make amends for his past wrongs. He visited Janelle, Christine Brown Woolley, and Meri Brown individually to try to move forward from their broken marriages.
He apologized for not prioritizing or protecting her and retracted his past cruel statement that he never loved her, claiming it was “a lie from the perspective of pain.” However, many viewers at the time, believed that his acts were performative and not well-intended.
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Currently, Janelle Brown is dating a man named Pete, whom she met via a blind date. The couple went Instagram official in August 2026.
Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.
Related: ‘Sister Wives’ Stars Confirm Major Kody and Robyn Brown Relationship Rumor, Validate What Fans Always Believed