Sister Wives' Christine and Janelle Hope Ex Kody Mends His Relationships with Their Kids: 'There's Such a Burnt Bridge'

Mar. 15, 2025

‘Sister Wives’ stars Janelle, Kody and Christine Brown in 2013.Photo:Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic

Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic

Janelle BrownandChristine Brown Woolleymay be done with exKody Brown, but they don’t want their kids to be.

Despite their marriages with Kody being long over, both women “wish him well,” they said in the interview published Friday, Oct. 11. Kody and Christineannounced their splitin 2021 while he and Janelleconfirmed their separationin 2022.

Christine, who is now married toDavid Woolley, told the outlet, “I wish he had a relationship with his kids.” She continued, “I’m heartbroken for him because his kids are some of the best people that I know. His children are phenomenal people, and I love having them in my life.”

The ‘Sister Wives’ cast in 2010.Puddle Monkey Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

Puddle Monkey Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

The children, Janelle added, are “the glue” of the family. “I feel like we’re sort of in orbit around these kids,” she said.

Pushing back, Christine — who was “spiritually married” to Kody for 25 years — said she and Janelle are the true “glue” of the group. “I think it’s us. You and I are the glue because we decided to still be ‘Sister Wives’ afterwards,” she said, referring to their respective breakups with Kody.

Janelle, meanwhile, remained convinced it’s the children.

“Maybe,” she told Christine. “Come on, the kids, they have this secret text message thread that Christine and I are not part of. It’s the ride-or-die text … They all talk, we don’t know what’s always going on.”

Christine Brown Woolley and Janelle Brown on Oct. 10, 2024.Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Jon Kopaloff/Getty

No matter who the true “glue” of theSister Wivescast is, Christine told Extra she wished Kody would speak with his children more often, revealing that she told her children, “ ’Look, when your dad calls, you need to pick it up and you need to talk to him because he’s a person and he is your dad. You’ve got to respect that.’ ”

But the responsibility to make the call falls mainly on Kody, Janelle added. “There’s such a burnt bridge,” she told the outlet. “I think it could be reconciled but it would take a lot of work, and I really feel like the burden of that work sits with Kody."

Christine Brown Woolley with her daughters.Christine Brown Woolley/Instagram

Christine Brown Woolley/Instagram

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Christine and Kody share six children: daughters Aspyn, 28, Mykelti, 27, Gwendlyn, 22, Ysabel, 20, Truely, 13, and son Paedon, 25.

The last time she saw Kody, Janelle told Extra, was following Garrison’s death, adding that given the circumstances, “Of course I was interacting with Kody more."

Janelle Brown with four of her kids.Instagram/janellebrown117

Instagram/janellebrown117

As for how the family is doing following Garrison’s death, Janelle said that “everybody is in a pretty good space.”

“I feel like it actually brought us closer. We’re really checking in on each other like for real now,” she said. “We ask about mental health now and we wait for the real answer. We don’t necessarily brush it off.”

source: people.com