- Janelle and Kody Brown announced they've "separated" after about 28 years of "spiritual" marriage.
- Viewers have seen the divide between the pair grow during the COVID-19 pandemic.
TLC's "Sister Wives" stars Janelle Brown and Kody Brown are "separated," they told "Sister Wives: One On One," host Sukanya Krishnan in a trailer for the special, which airs December 18.
"I'm separated from Janelle and I'm divorced from Christine," Kody told Krishnan in an individual interview first seen in a teaser for the special aired at the end of the season 17 finale.
"Kody and I have separated," Janelle said in her own individual interview seen in the teaser and the tell-all trailer. "We've been separated for several months."
Both Kody and Janelle appear to think their marriage is over, but are reluctant to call their split a divorce. "Janelle has made it pretty clear to me that she's enjoying her life without me," Kody said.
"I think if we both really sat down, we'd look at each other and say 'Really?'" Janelle told Krishnan, implying that the end of her marriage might be near.
Kody and Janelle "spiritually" married in 1993 and Janelle became Kody's second wife. They've never been legally married.
Since season one of "Sister Wives," in 2010, Janelle has said she enjoys the independence that plural marriage allows her. But a rift between the couple became clear to viewers on season 16 of the show when the COVID-19 pandemic physically divided the family.
Janelle was vocal about not agreeing with Kody's strict rules regarding travel and disinfecting mail and groceries at the time.
During a discussion between all of the Brown adults about their holiday plans amid the pandemic in 2020, Janelle told Kody to "fuck off" for making her feel guilty for wanting to travel to see her children for Thanksgiving.
Similarly, in the season 17 finale, Janelle and Kody's argument about the holidays reached a climax when Kody told Janelle she didn't "give a shit" about the fact that he had experienced extreme symptoms of COVID-19 and therefore felt justified about the rules he'd made for his family to try to keep them safe.
"Kody's acting like I was a COVID denier," Janelle said in a solo interview on the season finale reflecting on their fight. "I was not a COVID denier. I followed all the CDC rules, I wore a mask, I washed my hands, I was careful. I'm vaccinated, for crying out loud."
The pair's separation comes after about 28 years of "spiritual" marriage. Since they're not legally married, no paperwork has to be filed to define their marital status.
They share six adult children. Logan Brown, 28, Madison Brush, 27, Hunter Brown, 25, Garrison Brown, 24, Gabriel Brown, 21, and Savannah Brown, 18.
Kody and his ex Christine Brown also announced that they had split in November 2021 after more than 25 years of "spiritual" marriage. Christine was Kody's third wife. On the show, he's also said he doesn't consider himself married to his first wife, Meri, any longer. "If she wanted to move on and marry another, she wouldn't get an argument with me," Kody said.
Kody — who rose to reality TV fame for his plural marriages — now appears to be in only one romantic marriage with his legal wife, Robyn Brown.
"Sister Wives" airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on TLC