Sisters are doing it for themselves! Sister Wives star Gwendlyn Brown opened up about Janelle Brown’s newfound independence — and credited mom Christine Brown with being part of her inspiration.
During her Thursday, January 19, recap of the latest Sister Wives episode — season 17 episode 5, which aired on Sunday, January 15 — a fan asked the 21-year-old her opinion on what sparked Janelle, 53, to be a “more independent” woman following her split from ex Kody Brown.
“I think that she was encouraged by my mom who has also since the first season become a lot more empowered,” Gwendlyn, who is the daughter of Christine, 50, and Kody, 54, replied. “And they just seem to have encouraged each other to be more strong and independent and confident in themselves.”
Christine publicly announced her split from Kody — with whom she shares six children, Gwendlyn, Aspen, 27, Mykelti, 26, Paedon, 24, Ysabel, 19, and Truely, 12 — in November 2021. Janelle, for her part, revealed in December 2022 that she and the Wyoming native had been “separated for months.” (The estranged couple are also proud parents to six kids: Logan, 28, Maddie, 27, Hunter, 25, Garrison, 24, Gabriel, 21 and Savanah, 18.)
“I’m not waiting for him. I’ve kind of mourned that that part of our life is gone,” Janelle said during part 3 of the Sister Wives: One-on-Onespecial, which aired earlier this month. “I wasn’t heartbroken. It wasn’t heartbreaking for me like it was for Christine.”
Christine, meanwhile, supported the real estate’s split from the polygamist, telling viewers at the time:“For Janelle, I think that she’s frustrated, and she’s so hurt. And that man that she was married to — she realizes that he’s totally different. But she’s different too.”
Now that they’re single, Gwendlyn shared her thoughts on Christine and Janelle making their own reality show — where they start dating each other.
“I think we should have a spinoff series where Janelle and my mom get together,”the TLC personality joked during her January 11 YouTube recap. “Tell me you don’t love that idea. … Sister Wives. It should be called Sister Wives — I’m a f—king genius.”
While the two women may not be considering a romance, they’ve often gushed about the bond they’ve formed over the years — something that continued after their respective splits from Kody.
“She’s come to visit me several times. I have a guest room and she stays in the guest room, and her sister also lives about a half an hour from me,” Christine told Usin October 2022 of her dynamic with Janelle. “She loves seeing [my daughters] Aspyn and Mykelti and the baby and all of it. So we’ve gone on a couple of trips together too.”
Kody, for his part, is still married to Robyn Brown, whom he legally wed in 2014. However, he has since also separated from first wife Meri Brown. The pair announced they called it quits earlier this month after hinting at their breakup during the season 17 tell-all.