Janelle Brown recently reflected on her brief marriage to Adam Barber, the brother of Meri. In an appearance on the Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast, Janelle, 55, described her time with Adam as a very short chapter in her life. She referred to it as a “starter marriage,” explaining that they lived together for just six months before parting ways. “It just didn’t work out,” she said candidly.
Asked about meeting Kody, who was already married to Meri, Janelle shared that she didn’t often cross paths with him at the time. She explained, “I wasn’t around Meri’s house all the time. I was there on occasion, but only happened to be there when Kody came by.” She also mentioned that she was already curious about the faith at that point, which added to her intrigue.
Janelle shares her early curiosity about the faith before marrying Kody
After her divorce from Adam in 1990, Janelle married Kody in 1993, becoming his second wife. Over the years, Christine and Robyn also joined their plural family. In a June interview on the Miss Understood With Rachel Uchitel podcast, Meri discussed how Janelle’s first marriage to Adam was received by others.
She noted that their shared hometown made the situation feel odd for many, saying, “It really weirded a lot of people out. The community isn’t that small, so it felt strange for everyone involved.” Meri also admitted that it took her some time to fully process Janelle’s marriage to Kody, admitting, “It was an emotional situation. It was complicated, let’s just say that.”
Despite the initial awkwardness, Meri emphasized that the family was able to work through their challenges together. The end of their plural marriage began with both Christine and Janelle separating from Kody, followed by Meri and Kody’s confirmed separation in January 2023. Kody now remains married only to Robyn, his fourth wife.
