Sister Wives’ Janelle Brown Goes Public with New Boyfriend Pete Four Years After Ending Marriage to Kody Brown

Janelle Brown and her new boyfriend, Pete.

Janelle Brown has officially opened a new chapter in her personal life.

The 57-year-old Sister Wives star surprised fans on Tuesday, Aug. 18, when she revealed on Instagram that she is in a new relationship, marking a major change for the reality television personality who had repeatedly said she was not interested in dating or getting married again after separating from longtime partner Kody Brown.

Janelle introduced her new boyfriend with a selfie of the couple and a heartfelt message suggesting that the romance developed unexpectedly and largely away from public attention.

“Some chapters are meant to unfold quietly before they’re shared,” Janelle wrote in the caption. She explained that she had not been searching for a relationship and had not expected someone new to enter her life.

“I wasn’t looking. I certainly wasn’t expecting you. And somehow, you turned out to be exactly what I didn’t know I needed. And it has been pretty wonderful,” she continued.

Janelle ended the announcement with a simple introduction: “Everyone please meet Pete.”

The revelation represents a significant personal milestone for Janelle, whose complicated relationship with Kody and eventual separation have played out publicly through Sister Wives.

Nearly Three Decades with Kody Brown

Janelle and Kody entered into a spiritual marriage in 1993. She became Kody’s second wife after Meri Brown, as the family practiced plural marriage.

Over the course of their relationship, Janelle and Kody welcomed six children together: Logan, Hunter, Madison, Gabriel, Garrison and Savannah.

Their relationship lasted nearly three decades, but the dynamics within the Brown family began changing significantly in the early 2020s.

Christine Brown, another of Kody’s spiritual wives, announced in 2021 that she was leaving him. Her decision marked the beginning of a dramatic restructuring of the plural family that viewers had followed for years.

Janelle eventually made a similar decision.

In 2022, she confirmed that she and Kody had separated, bringing their approximately 29-year spiritual marriage to an end.

Unlike Christine, however, Janelle initially appeared far less interested in immediately beginning a new romantic life.

Christine eventually found love again and married David Woolley, while Janelle repeatedly emphasized that she was comfortable being independent.

Janelle Struggled with What the Separation Meant Spiritually

For Janelle, leaving Kody was not simply a question of ending a relationship. Her religious beliefs complicated the way she understood their separation.

During a 2023 Sister Wives reunion episode, Janelle discussed the tension between the peace she felt after leaving Kody and the teachings of her faith regarding eternal marriage.

“I deeply believe in my faith,” she explained at the time.

She said she felt happier and did not want to resume her relationship with Kody, but she still struggled with the belief that their spiritual marriage was supposed to continue eternally.

That internal conflict also influenced the language Janelle used when discussing the breakup.

Speaking with PEOPLE in early 2024, she explained that because she and Kody had never been legally married, the traditional term “divorced” did not entirely apply to her situation.

Instead, Janelle said she generally told people that she was “no longer with” Kody or described him as a former partner.

The distinction reflected both the unconventional legal structure of their marriage and the continuing spiritual questions surrounding their separation.

She Previously Said Dating Was Not a Priority

As recently as February 2025, Janelle appeared to have little interest in beginning another serious relationship.

During an appearance on the Sibling Revelry podcast, she openly dismissed the idea that she was actively looking for another husband—or even necessarily looking to date.

“My marriage is over. I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” she said.

Janelle added that she was not particularly interested in remarrying or dating at that stage of her life.

Rather than focusing on what her next romantic relationship might look like, she appeared committed to rebuilding her life on her own terms.

That history makes her introduction of Pete particularly notable.

Her Instagram message suggests that the relationship was not something she deliberately pursued. Instead, according to Janelle, Pete entered her life when she was not expecting romance at all.

A Spiritual Release Finally Closed the Marriage

Another major turning point came in a January 2026 episode of Sister Wives.

Janelle revealed that she had officially received a “spiritual release” from her marriage to Kody through their church, the Apostolic United Brethren.

The document represented something she had struggled with for years: formal spiritual acknowledgment that the marriage had ended.

Holding the release paper during the episode, Janelle celebrated the decision.

“I have it,” she said, explaining that the process had been easier than she expected.

She then repeatedly declared, “I am free.”

The moment appeared to provide a sense of finality that had been missing since her physical separation from Kody several years earlier.

Now, months after publicly celebrating that spiritual freedom, Janelle has revealed that she has found companionship again.

Building a New Life in North Carolina

Following her separation from Kody, Janelle made another major life change by relocating to North Carolina.

The move allowed her to live closer to her daughter Madison Brush and her grandchildren.

Family has remained a central part of Janelle’s life throughout her transition away from plural marriage.

She and Kody share Logan, 30, Hunter, 28, Gabriel, 23, Savannah, 20, and Madison, in addition to their late son Garrison, who died by suicide in 2024.

Garrison’s death was a devastating loss for the Brown family and became one of the most painful chapters they have faced publicly.

Janelle has continued moving forward while remaining connected to her children and grandchildren.

Janelle Brown and Kody Brown in 2013.

The Brown Family Has Changed Dramatically

Janelle’s new relationship also highlights just how much the original Sister Wives family structure has changed.

Christine left Kody in 2021 and later married David Woolley.

Janelle confirmed her separation from Kody in 2022 and eventually obtained her spiritual release.

Meri Brown, Kody’s first wife, also ended her relationship with him in 2023.

That leaves Robyn Brown as Kody’s only remaining wife. Kody legally married Robyn in 2014 after legally divorcing Meri, although his relationship with Meri had continued spiritually for years afterward.

For longtime viewers of Sister Wives, the transformation has been dramatic. What began as a television series centered on one man and four wives living within a plural family has evolved into separate stories about independence, divorce, grief, rebuilding and, in some cases, new relationships.

Janelle’s introduction of Pete now adds another unexpected development.

After spending years insisting that romance was not something she needed—and after working through both the emotional and spiritual consequences of leaving Kody—Janelle appears ready to share a different side of her life.

For now, she has revealed few details about Pete or how their relationship began.

But her message made one thing clear: the relationship was unexpected, developed privately and has brought something positive into a period of major change.

After nearly 30 years with Kody, a difficult separation and years of saying she was perfectly content without another relationship, Janelle Brown has officially introduced the man she says became exactly what she “didn’t know” she needed.