Janelle Brown has news that even longtime Sister Wives fans didn’t see coming. The 57-year-old shared on Instagram on Tuesday, August 18, that she has a boyfriend, four years after announcing her split from Kody Brown.
“Some chapters are meant to unfold quietly before they’re shared,” Janelle wrote alongside a selfie with her new partner. “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 kept the introduction simple. “Everyone please meet Pete.”
The Woman Who Said She’d Never Date Again
This announcement lands as a genuine reversal. Janelle has spent years telling anyone who asked that dating was not on her radar, in terms far more definitive than a passing comment.
“First of all, I’m not interested in dating at all. I’m not even interested. I’m not looking,” she said during a November 2023 episode of Sister Wives. “I don’t even look at guys or men. It’s just blah. It’s too much work. I don’t want to do that.” She was just as blunt about the idea of apps. “Definitely, sure as hell not doing that online dating thing. I don’t get the whole swiping thing.”
By February 2025, on the Sibling Revelry podcast, she was still holding that line. “My marriage is over. I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” she said. “I’m not really interested in getting married again or even really dating at this stage.”
A Slower Road Than Christine’s
Janelle’s path here looks nothing like Christine Brown’s. Christine left Kody in November 2021 and considered herself divorced from the moment she announced it, remarrying David Woolley in October 2023. Janelle announced her own separation in December 2022 but spent years navigating something messier: how to even describe her status.
“Because we never were legally married, I can’t really say I’m divorced. I just say ‘I’m no longer with him’ when I explain it to outside people,” she told PEOPLE in early 2024.
Her faith complicated things further. Married to Kody in a spiritual ceremony in 1993, Janelle described an internal conflict between her happiness and her religious beliefs during a 2023 reunion special. “I deeply believe in my faith,” she said. “I have been so much at peace that I don’t know how to reconcile that. I know I’m happy. I don’t want him to come back, but my faith requires that we are married eternally.”
That tension finally resolved in January 2026, when Janelle received a formal spiritual release from her church, the Apostolic United Brethren. Her reaction on camera, holding up the release paper, said everything. “I am free. I am free. I am free. I am free.”
Christine Brown Predicted This, Almost Exactly
Janelle’s family didn’t take her “not interested” stance at face value forever. Christine spent much of the past year gently pushing her to try dating again, at one point suggesting a very specific type.
“I’m thinking Farmers Only would be the perfect one for Janelle. Perfect. I’ve seen commercials and it’s people that have land,” Christine said during an April 2025 episode, noting that after Janelle moved to North Carolina and bought a farm with daughter Maddie, a farmer felt fitting. “Maybe she’d like a landscaper. I’m just saying. I could come up with a lot of ideas.”
Pete isn’t quite a farmer, but Christine wasn’t far off. She confirmed in the comments on Janelle’s announcement that Pete is a construction worker, adding, “He’s such an awesome guy!! So cute together.” The comparison to her own husband was immediate: “A construction worker like David!!”
Christine calls her prediction nearly right. She means it as a compliment, not an I-told-you-so. This shows how far these two have come after all the family has faced together.
Where The Rest Of The Family Stands
Janelle relocated to North Carolina after the split to be closer to Maddie and her grandchildren. She and Kody share six children together: Maddie, Logan, 30, Hunter, 28, Gabriel, 23, and Savannah, 20. Their son Garrison died in 2024, a loss that remains part of the family’s story even as this new chapter unfolds.
Kody’s marriages have unraveled one by one in recent years. Meri ended things in 2023, Christine in 2021, and now Janelle has her release too. Robyn Brown, whom Kody legally married in 2014, remains his only wife.
For a woman who once swore off romance, Janelle’s choice to introduce Pete feels right. After securing her spiritual release, it’s like the final piece has clicked into place.
Patricia covers the Kardashians, Real Housewives, The Traitors, and Below Deck. She specializes in breaking news and celebrity updates, from business ventures to on-screen drama. Patricia has covered reality TV and entertainment for three years.
