‘Sister Wives’: Janelle Brown’s First Marriage to Meri’s Brother Adam Barber Was ‘Abusive’ Claims Mykelti

Sister Wives star Janelle Brown has never opened up about her first marriage to Meri Brown’s brother, Adam Barber. However, her sister wife’s daughter, Mykelti Padron, claims that her first husband was “abusive” to her, which is why she left.

Mykelti claims Janelle left her first husband because of abuse

Janelle never mentioned being abused in her marriage to Adam and hasn’t spoken about her first marriage beyond what she wrote in the memoir. Christine and Kody’s daughter, Mykelti, revealed what she knew about Janelle’s first marriage in a live stream on her Patreon account (captured by Without A Crystal Ball).

One fan asked if Janelle and Meri’s relationship was bad after they became sister wives because of Janelle’s divorce from her husband. But Mykelti claims it had nothing to do with that.

“So Janelle’s first husband was abusive to her, so that’s why she left him. And because, obviously, that was Meri’s brother, then Janelle was around Meri and Dad a lot. I think what ended up happening is that she probably leaned on their shoulder for help. And she ended up falling in love with them as a couple. She was Mormon, so she was aware of polygamy. She was Mormon before she married my dad,” Mykelti claimed.

The family’s memoir confirms most of Mykelti’s claims, except for the abuse allegations. Janelle has yet to confirm nor deny these allegations.

Janelle met her first husband, Adam, in high school

In the Sister Wives 2012 memoir, Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage, Janelle recalls her brief marriage to her first husband, Adam. Janelle’s mom converted to Mormonism, and they moved to Utah.

“Toward the end of high school, I met a student named Adam, with whom I was quite taken. I knew he wasn’t Mormon, which meant we had no hope of being together — unless he converted,” Janelle wrote in the memoir.

She recounts telling her grandmother about the boy she had a crush on, who recognized his name. She had lived next to the Barbers at one time. She had told Janelle that Adam was part of a polygamist clan.

“Adam was not completely committed to his fundamentalist faith and I was happy to welcome him to the LDS church. Not long after he converted, we began courting. Soon we were married in the temple, but my husband wasn’t really interested in either his new faith or the branch of fundamentalism he had been raised in. In fact, he had very little spiritual conviction.”

Janelle Brown

Janelle was intrigued by Adam’s family

Janelle married Adam in 1988 at 19 years old. It was Adam’s family that “fascinated” Janelle. She would almost brag to her friends about her “novelty” polygamist in-laws. She realized she was more “enamored” by her husband’s family than she was with her actual husband.

“Unfortunately, Adam and I had problems right for the start. We weren’t spiritually, emotionally, or romantically compatible. We lived together for only six months before he moved out.

Although my husband and I had separated, I remained close to his family, including Adam’s sister Meri. (Little did I know how close we’d eventually become!)”

Janelle Brown

She continued to hang around her ex-in-laws, enjoying their family gatherings, which is how she was introduced to her second husband, Kody Brown, for the first time. Although her marriage to Adam ended in a “horrible divorce,” she stuck with him at family functions long after her marriage ended and even attended Kody and Meri’s wedding. She was officially divorced from Adam in 1990 and married Kody in 1993. Janelle and Kody have been separated since 2022.

How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.