'Sister Wives': Kody and Janelle Brown question if they're 'a good fit'
In the upcoming episode of "Sister Wives," Kody and Janelle Brown have a state of the union about their marriage.
Janelle and Kody married in 1993, and she is the second of his four wives. During Season 17, amid Christine Brown's departure from the plural marriage, Janelle and Kody have been taking similar temperature checks about their own bond, with Kody saying he was "begging" for a closer relationship with Janelle, and that he doesn't "feel love" from her" in previous episodes.
During this conversation, Kody Brown suggests that Janelle is too independent for their marriage. “I don’t really see it as much that she’s independent as that she’s aloof,” he says in a confessional from an exclusive clip shared with TODAY. “She kind of does her thing, I kind of do mine.”
Janelle explains, in a confessional, how she developed this independent spirit.
“I guess for years and years I’ve made decisions for myself. You cannot depend on your husband to meet all of your needs,” she says.
Back in their meeting, Janelle explains that she enjoys the independence she currently has.
"I don’t know how it got started, but I’ve enjoyed it," she says. "I feel like somehow, maybe we lost something (in the relationship)."
Kody agrees.
In his confessional, the 53-year-old suggests that his issue with Janelle's level of independence is rooted in loyalty and her "lack of respect" for his COVID-19 protocols during the pandemic.
Back in the meeting, Kody says he wants to strengthen their relationship and compares it to the one he has with his other wife, Robyn.
“That’s my invitation to you, is to get to a place where you and I have that kind of loyalty. And we negotiate and we work out these things like a married couple,” he explains.
“It’s wild to me that you don’t think I have been,” Janelle counters.
Janelle isn't thrilled by Kody's tone and vents in her confessional.
"All I’m hearing is, 'Robyn is perfect, Robyn is great, Robyn treats me the way I'm supposed to be treated. You need to all of a sudden be this way. We have a small team. Everybody’s gotta conform and then we’re good.' No, that's not what I signed up for," she says.
Meanwhile, Kody sees no issues with his approach to the situation.
"I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to expect that my wife would be loyal to me and that she would be an accountable person," he says in his confessional.
Back in their meeting, Kody tells Janelle that their marriage might not be a "good fit" anymore. But Janelle thinks the issue is deeper than that.
"It feels like the rules have changed for me a little bit," she suggests. "You always acted like I was a good wife. We were great, I was making my own decisions and we would come together and it felt like (you) were OK with that."
Kody acknowledges that if "feels like we're unraveling" in his confessional. Janelle expands on her thoughts in her own private interview.
“I never thought that I would ever be in a place where I would be questioning my relationship but the last few years I’ve begun to wonder if we’re compatible anymore. Maybe this doesn’t work anymore for me. I don’t know," she says.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
