Sister Wives’ Janelle Brown Only Would’ve Stayed with Kody for Christine: ‘The Heart of the Family’ (Exclusive)

There’s one reason why Janelle Brown might consider staying married to her ex, Kody Brown.

The Sister wives star, 54, told PEOPLE during a recent joint interview with Christine Brown that she might have stayed married if Christine hadn’t split from Kody in November 2021.

“It was heartbreaking when Christine left because suddenly the family was a completely different identity, and Christine had always been a big part of what I thought of as family identity,” she explained.

“My children gravitate towards her. They always tell me, ‘Mom, wherever Christine is, we want to be for the holidays.’ Or whatever,” she added. “So that was taking away a big part — or a big heart — of the family for us.”

Sister wives: Christine says Janelle is staying with Kody because ‘there’s nothing’ as he admits he ‘forced’ polygamy

Janelle Brown, Kody Brown and Christine Brown of Sister Wives arrive at RockTellz & CockTails Presents Meat Loaf at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on October 3, 2013.

Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic

Janelle told PEOPLE that she stayed married more than a year after Christine’s split because of her devotion to her family: “I still felt like I should be loyal to a family that stayed only out of obligation.”

Addressing Christine, 51, directly in a joint interview, the TLC star admitted: “I think I might have given up if you hadn’t left… because you’re the heart. You were part of the heart of the family for my children.”

“Well, I still am, for you,” Christine replied.

“I know,” Janelle agreed, “isn’t that a great thing? Now we have everything.”

Sister wivesJanelle says the new apartment has been a ‘sanctuary’ away from Kody

Janelle said she may have stayed “because of my kids and that connection with Christine,” adding, “I think about a lot, the holiday traditions and all the things we did, and all the fun things we did. Christine is at the center of all my memories children.”

“I love it. They mean so much to me, they’re so amazing,” Christine replied.

Robyn Brown, Meri Brown, Kody Brown, Christine Brown and Janelle Brown of “Sister Wives” arrive at the grand opening of Mike Tyson’s one-man show “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth – Live on Stage” on April 14, 2012.

Ethan Miller/Getty

Sister wives‘ Kody wants to ‘get more serious’ about wooing Janelle again after multiple failed attempts

In Sunday’s episode Sister wivesJanelle still had a lot of mixed feelings about completely separating from Kody.

“As for me, I don’t want to break my covenant without knowing if God completely agrees with it. I don’t know. I don’t know how it happens. But I’m waiting until I find out,” she said in the confessional. She later noted that polygamist husbands “should outgrow themselves” and that while Kody was “really trying” at first, he eventually “found [his fourth wife Robyn] who thought like him [and] he was more like him… [and] she was easy to be with.”

Robyn, 45, is now Kody’s only remaining wife. He and his first wife Meri (52) confirmed that they separated during Sister wives: one on one December 2022 episode.

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Sister wives airs Sundays at 10pm ET on TLC.

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Source: HIS Education