Kody Brown and his wife Janelle get along relatively well in Sister Wives, but fans are wondering what prevented Kody from embarking on a romantic relationship with Janelle instead of a purely platonic one. Kody's connections with his first three wives have withered since he tied the knot with Robyn in 2010, but the patriarch and Janelle have managed to keep their relationship above water. From his self-centered behavior to his affinity for having kids, here's why Sister Wives fans think Kody decided to keep his spiritual marriage with Janelle unromantic.
As the Brown family grapples with the coronavirus pandemic in season 16, the reality of Kody's relationships with his wives has been rising to the surface. Kody and Meri haven't had a loving marriage for the duration of their run in Sister Wives, but the pair's dynamic has grown especially strained thanks to Kody's stringent COVID guidelines. Meri's spent the majority of the pandemic quarantined in her home alone while Kody lived with Robyn and occasionally visited Janelle and Christine. Additionally, Christine reached her breaking point in her spiritual marriage as a result of Kody's unfeeling approach to their daughter, Ysabel's, spine surgery. Even Kody and Robyn have alluded to trouble in paradise as they're spending more one-on-one time than they're used to.
Although Kody's marriages with Meri, Christine, and Robyn have deteriorated throughout Sister Wives season 16, the polygamous patriarch's relationship with Janelle remains reliable. Janelle isn't happy with Kody's controversial COVID rules, but she's dedicated to the plural marriage, and fans think Janelle's resolve could make her the last sister wife standing. While they're getting along fine through the pandemic, Kody and Janelle's relationship has never turned into an affectionate marriage. Fans can't help but wonder what factors went into Kody and Janelle's decision to keep romance out of the equation. A Reddit user recalled, "From the beginning of the show, they have said they are friends. Now Kody is saying maybe that was a mistake." Fans questioned whether it was Kody or Janelle that insisted passion stay out of their dynamic and how a platonic partnership would benefit their polygamist family.
Most Sister Wives fans agreed that Janelle would have gladly embarked on a romantic marriage with her husband, but Kody chose to keep their relationship in the friendzone. Some viewers think Kody wanted Janelle to be focused on motherhood, not the intricacies of a romance. A fan speculated, "Kody thinks janelle would have chose [him] over her kids." Many of the Brown clan's followers concluded that what Kody loves more than having wives is having children. Viewers think Kody's marriage with Janelle wasn't romantic because he primarily perceived his second wife as a way to expand his family tree. Another commenter agreed that Kody's offspring ambitions took precedence, adding, "When building their kingdom, Kody wasn’t 'about romance', he was about babies." Other fans think Kody wishes he was romantic with Janelle so he could threaten "pulling that romance away to coerce her."
Kody and Janelle have a good thing going in Sister Wives season 16, but fans are perplexed by the pair's commitment to keeping feelings out of their marriage. Viewers think Kody's drive to have kids is ultimately what held the polygamist patriarch back from infusing romance into his relationship with Janelle. They might not be lovers, but Kody and Janelle's friendship is impressive enough considering Kody's unpopularity in Sister Wives.
Sources: OneConversation4/Reddit, Bitchezbecraay/Reddit, TexasChick2021/Reddit, AutumnAkasha/Reddit