Janelle Brown is taking a second look at her marriage to Kody Brown after their split — including their finances.
“I never felt like I had much control over my own money because everybody was pulling from the same [account],” Janelle, 55, told Christine Brown during the Sunday, January 26, episode of Sister Wives.
Janelle, who was Kody’s second wife, noted that it was “great” to have a family fund when they were a plural unit. Looking back, however, she claimed money became an issue for everyone. (Janelle announced her separation from Kody, 55, in December 2022 after Christine, 52, left their mutual spouse in November 2021.)
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“We set our family up that way. But, like, toward the end, it was just really hard,” Janelle said. “When we all first started, there was kind of like this thing [where] we weighed in on what bills should be paid, how we were going to pay, who got priority.”
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She alleged, “And then the last several years, Kody would just take out funds and I don’t know what for. And the money was just being spent — and lots of it.”
Kody — who at one point was married to Janelle and Christine as well as Meri Brown and Robyn Brown — denied the accusations that he spent money without cause. (Meri, 53, and Kody confirmed their split in January 2023. He is still married to Robyn, 46.)
“I was a father to 18 and a husband to more than just Janelle,” Kody quipped. “So we had a lot of places that money needed to go that weren’t always Janelle’s business.”
He explained that since Janelle was “doing the bookkeeping” for the family, she saw all the transactions without the reasoning come across her desk. “So, some of the bills to be paid by all of us were supposed to be paid by her,” Kody added.
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Janelle, meanwhile, argued that she didn’t have as much access to the funds as Kody claimed.
“He loves this mantra that somehow I was [the] all powerful one with all the financial control,” Janelle fired back, insisting, “I really was just the person who recorded the transactions and sent them to the CPA.”
Earlier this season, Janelle claimed that Kody had been spreading lies about how much sway she had with their family finances. She alleged that Kody told Meri during their marriage that Janelle was “controlling the money,” which wasn’t the case.
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“I’m like, ‘Dude, man, if I controlled the money, we would have paid off [Coyote Pass and] built a house,’” Janelle told Christine during the November 24 episode. She alleged that she simply recorded “what was spent and sent it to the accountant.”
Kody didn’t clear up the misconception at the time, telling the cameras, “It’s funny, my other wives remember Janelle controlling the money.” He admitted that he “sort of guided where the money went” but claimed that they “all had access to the account.”
On Sunday’s episode, Janelle and Meri were finally on the same page about money — and their ongoing land dispute with Kody and Robyn. Kody’s ex-wives agreed to each get their own lawyers so they could get an equal share of the family’s Coyote Pass property in Arizona.
Following Christine’s split from Kody, she gave her portion of the land to her ex-husband and his fourth wife, Robyn. Janelle and Meri, however, are still on the deed and therefore want to sell and get money from their respective assets.
“I trusted it would all work out in the end. And looking back now, I’m like, ‘Wow, it’s really dumb. Why did I not insist that we were all titled on all the pieces?’” Janelle told the cameras. “I just was too trusting, I guess.”
While speaking with Meri about what they are each owed, the women both said that they “paid for the land out of the family account” and “paid for it equally.”
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Kody, however, claimed that wasn’t true. “We didn’t pay for Coyote Pass all equally. I paid for an entire lot all by myself, at least 92 percent of it,” he alleged. “The rest of the property, we all chipped in.”
The different recollections led to even more tension between Kody and the women. “I feel like Kody and Robyn probably have some plan of what they want to do and how they want to handle it. I think that Janelle has some sort of plan, and I know that I do as well,” Meri explained. “And none of us are talking to each other because none of us trust each other.”
Kody told the cameras that he was “working on this” issue but “not rushing” to get it done. “I’m not your servant to boss around,” he said of his exes.
Janelle, meanwhile, revealed during a confessional that she just wants the land issues to be “done because this is the only thing that still ties me to Kody and Robyn.” She added, “I’m ready to just close that chapter.”
Sister Wives airs on TLC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.
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