Sister Wives: "Carolina!": 8 Reasons Janelle Left Arizona & Utah

Summary To start fresh, Janelle Brown recently purchased land in North Carolina. The change of locale may soothe the kind and sensitive woman - she lives with so many painful memories.

Janelle is carving out her own identity post-divorce by focusing on her real estate career, gardening hobby, and new North Carolina property.

By moving closer to daughter Maddie Brush in North Carolina, Janelle is distancing herself from Kody. She's finding peace in a small town setting.

After living in Utah, Nevada, then Arizona, Sister Wives star Janelle Brown recently purchased a large plot of land in North Carolina. Janelle was the second wife of polygamist Kody Brown. They tied the knot in 1990, and had six children together. They were married for 30 years before Janelle left Kody and their plural family in 2022. Janelle wasn't the first of Kody's four wives to walk away from polygamy. She followed Kody's third wife, Christine Brown, out the door. A few months after Janelle left Kody, his first wife, Meri Brown, made her exit.

Living arrangements were always an issue for the Brown family. When Sister Wives premiered in 2010, the whole family lived in Utah, in a large house designed for a polygamous family. Each of Kody's wives lived in her own wing of the big home with her children, and Kody went back and forth between them. During the first season of the show, Kody married his fourth wife, Robyn Brown. After they had two children of their own, the number of Brown children rose to 18. The family left Utah and moved into four separate homes in Nevada, and they'd never live under the same roof again. Since the divorce, Janelle has been living in Arizona, but recently purchased land in North Carolina.

Related 20 Best Reality TV Shows Right Now Reality TV is more popular than ever. With so many to choose from, here are some of the best reality TV shows to stream or watch right now.

8 She's Leaving Painful Memories Behind After Garrison's Death

She Needs A Fresh Start

Close

Perhaps Janelle was inspired by the hit Taylor Swift song "Carolina" when she bought her North Carolina property, as the lyrics reflect her current situation.

But the sleep comes fast, And I'll meet no ghosts It's between me, the sand, and the sea Carolina knows

In March 2023, the Brown family and Sister Wives universe was turned upside down by the tragic death of 25-year-old Garrison Brown. Garrison was Kody's son with Janelle's son, and the young man had been living with mental health issues. After not being able to reach her son, Janelle grew concerned, and sent her other son, Gabriel Brown, to check on his older brother. It was Gabriel who found his deceased brother in his Flagstaff, Arizona home.

Since losing Garrison, Janelle has been spending more time with her children and grandchildren. She has also been focusing on growing her business empire, which has likely been a welcome distraction. It's completely understandable that Janelle would want to leave Arizona. She may want to escape from painful memories linked with her deceased son.

7 She's Carving Out Her Own Identity

Janelle Needs Her Own Brand

Close

Janelle has had multiple intersecting identities over the years. In addition to being Kody's second wife and a mother of six, Janelle was also a second mother to all of Kody's other children. Despite having a successful career as a real estate broker, the Sister Wives cast member always put her family first, and let her family define her. Even during her marriage, her friendship with Kody's third wife, Christine, became a part of her identity.

Now that the 53-year-old Janelle is on her own, she has had to carve out her own identity, and moving to North Carolina would help her to do so.

Though her friendship with Christine continues, she has had to expand her world. Since her divorce, Janelle has continued her work in real estate, and she has also focused on her gardening hobby. Janelle had long dreamed of growing her own food, so the North Carolina land purchase was undoubtedly part of her grand plan.

6 She'll Have Her Own Land In Chocowinity, North Carolina

Small Town Living

Close

According to In Touch, the 156-acre plot of land in North Carolina cost Janelle $289K. The land is located in Chocowinity, which is a small town of only 800 people. Though Janelle's plans for the land are unclear, it's likely that the Sister Wives season 18 star wants to build a home on the land, where she can also pursue her dream of being a farmer.

Earlier this year, Janelle started a new flower growing business, so it's entirely possible that she'll want to continue the endeavor on her new North Carolina property.

After living in such a big family with Kody's other three wives and all 18 of his children (sadly, now 17 as Garrison has passed away), it's understandable that Janelle would want some peace and quiet in a small town setting. After so many difficult years, Janelle will hopefully be able to find the happiness that she so richly deserves.

5 Janelle Wants To Be Closer To Her Daughter

Maddie Brush Lives In North Carolina

Close

Maddie and Caleb got married in Bozeman, Montana, on June 4, 2016, and their wedding was featured in an episode of Sister Wives.

The small town of Chocowinity, North Carolina is located only half an hour away from where her daughter, Maddie Brush, lives with her husband, Caleb Brush, and their children. 27-year-old Madison was a regular on Sister Wives in 2010 but left for college at Utah State University in 2015. College didn't work out, and she dropped out. Soon after leaving school, in September 2015, Madison announced her engagement to Caleb Brush, a 34-year-old mine equipment repairman.

On May 20, 2017, their son, Axel James Brush, was born. On August 20, 2019, their daughter, Evangalynn Kodi, followed. Like most of her other siblings, Madison does not intend to have a polygamous marriage with Caleb. The couple moved to North Carolina for a career opportunity several years ago.

4 Janelle's Distancing Herself From Kody

Their Relationship Didn't End Well

Custom image by Cesar Garcia

During their long marriage, it was always clear that Janelle was Kody's most practical wife. While Christine, Robyn, and Meri were no strangers to emotional displays, Janelle always managed to keep her cool. That changed during Sister Wives season 18, when Janelle and Kody butted heads over his conflict with her sons. Kody and his sons had been feuding over COVID-19 restrictions.

Kody and Robyn were extremely COVID cautious and enacted a very strict set of virus mitigation rules that some of Kody's older children wouldn't follow.

Kody told Janelle that he couldn't even visit her home unless she kicked her older sons out of the house. Janelle's refusal is what triggered her eventual decision to leave Kody and their plural family. Things between Janelle and Kody ended badly, so it's no surprise that she wants to get as far away from her ex-husband as possible.

3 Coyote Pass Fell Apart

Janelle Can Enjoy Her Own Dream Home Instead

Close

Janelle's recent North Carolina land purchase wasn't the first time that Janelle had taken part in purchasing a large plot of land. Several years ago, the Brown family bought a large parcel of land at Coyote Pass in Arizona.

The Brown family had dreamed of developing the property by building multiple homes, as well as greenhouses where Janelle could grow some of the family's food.

Sadly, the Brown family fell apart long before its members could build on the land. The financial investment that the family made to buy the plots triggered a lot of fights. Though Christine was able to sell her share of the land back to Kody, it's unclear if Janelle was able to sell back her portion of the property. Now that Janelle has her own land to build on, her destiny is in her very capable hands.

2 Janelle's Finding Herself

A Whole New World

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Many mothers struggle to maintain their identities while raising their children, and with so many children, Janelle was no exception. For many years, Janelle worked hard to help raise her entire plural family, and, with so many mouths to feed, that was no easy task. Though it wasn't easy, the Sister Wives season 18 star knew her role, and understood where she fit into the family.

After her divorce, Janelle was all alone, and had to rediscover herself.

With all of her children grown up and out of the house, Janelle had to take a hard look at her life and set out a new path for herself. With her love of gardening, Janelle had decided to pursue a new life as a farmer. No matter what else Janelle decides to do with her life, she will continue to relish her role as a mother and grandmother.

1 Janelle Wants To Be Closer To Her Family

She's A Proud Grandmother

Close

Walking away from the Brown family wasn't easy for Janelle. Near the end of her marriage with Kody, Janelle's youngest child left for college, and Janelle found herself on her own. Though some of Kody and Janelle's children still live in the Southwestern region of the United States, Maddie and her children are in North Carolina. Considering how close Janelle is to her children, it's only a matter of time before more of her children move to North Carolina to be near her.

With such a large plot of land, it's entirely possible that all of Janelle's children could build homes on the property.

Janelle's new North Carolina property could possibly become the family compound that she had dreamed Coyote Pass would be. With Sister Wives season 19 on the horizon, audiences may learn more about Janelle's living arrangements, and her North Carolina property.

Sister Wives seasons 1-18 are currently streaming on Discovery+.

Kody's Children Age Mother Leon Brown 28 Meri Logan Brown 28 Janelle Maddie Brush 27 Janelle Aspyn Brown 27 Christine Mykelti Brown 26 Christine Hunter Brown 25 Janelle Garrison Brown 25 (Deceased) Janelle Paedon Brown 24 Christine Gabriel Brown 22 Janelle Dayton Brown 22 Robyn Gwendlyn Brown 21 Christine Aurora Brown 20 Robyn Ysabel Brown 19 Christine Breanna Brown 18 Robyn Savanah Brown 18 Janelle Truely Brown 12 Christine Solomon Brown 11 Robyn Ariella Brown 6 Robyn

Source: In Touch