Janelle Brown, 56, traveled to Salt Lake City earlier this month.
The visit stirred memories.
It also delivered a shock.
“It’s always such an interesting experience returning to what I consider my ‘home town,’” Janelle wrote on Instagram on Dec. 15.
The mountains were still there.
Everything else felt different.
“Everywhere I turn it seems unfamiliar,” she admitted. “Like I remember the area but it doesn’t look at all the same.”
Utah Looks Different Now
Janelle didn’t sugarcoat it.
The Utah she knew is gone.
“Buildings are gone and shiny big brand new ones stand in their place,” she wrote.
“Farm land turned into subdivisions.”
Some landmarks survived.
She called them “little treasures hidden in the sea of new.”
But the emotional disconnect was clear.
The Mountains Are the Only Constant
One thing still anchored her.
The mountains.
“With the peaks making the same skyline I know by heart,” Janelle shared. “Maybe that is what makes it still feel like home.”
She only had a moment to take it in.
A quick photo from the airport.
Radar towers visible on Francis Peak.
In her early 20s, Janelle used to drive up there at sunset.
She would sit and watch the valley below.
Those moments shaped her.
A Life She No Longer Fits Into
This reflection comes during a bigger shift.
Janelle is openly shedding her old identity.
Earlier this month, she posted a message that said it all.
“This doesn’t feel like mine anymore.”
She explained that she spent years living a life that worked.
Not one she chose.
“I kept trying to squeeze myself into roles and routines that just didn’t fit,” she wrote.
“It felt confusing. A little scary. But also like relief.”
That line hit hard.
Fans noticed.
Life After Kody Brown
Janelle separated from Kody Brown in December 2022.
The split changed everything.
She later relocated to North Carolina.
She now lives on a 156 acre property with daughter Maddie and son in law Caleb Brush.
“This is my first true home,” Janelle previously said.
Not built around chaos.
Built around choice.
Building Something New in North Carolina
Janelle now helps run Taeda Farms.
The project focuses on nature, healing, and connection.
The farm’s mission is simple.
Create a place where people can gather and breathe.
After years of compromise, that matters.
A Quiet but Powerful Message
Janelle’s posts aren’t loud.
They’re honest.
Change scared her.
She admitted that.
But she stayed the course.
“The woman you’re becoming is worth the wait,” she told followers.
