Janelle Brown: Smarter Than Your Average Brown (Maybe)

[ginger90]

[Twopper]

One of my favorite state parks-Grayson Highlands—has yurts. They really are just glorified tents as they have no amenities. We haven’t had a chance to try them out. 
does someone know where Janelle and Savannah are living now.  I understand the RV is stored for winter. It seems silly to use it for 2-3 months then need a rental for the winter. I don’t understand any of these people. 

[deirdra]

Janelle & Savanah moved into town after summer 2021 and Savanah did not want to go back in the RV on CP in summer 2022, so presumably they are still in Flagstaff until Savanah finishes High School.  One thing living in an RV would tell them is that 2 people can live in an apartment, which is cheaper and less work to take care of than a big house, especially now that the boys have their own places.

Edited October 17, 2022 by deirdra

[ginger90]

8 minutes ago, Twopper said:

It seems silly to use it for 2-3 months then need a rental for the winter. I don’t understand any of these people. 

Savanah didn’t want to live in the RV after the summer stint. I’m happy for her that Janelle listened to her.

[Joan of Argh]

23 minutes ago, deirdra said:

Janelle & Savanah moved into town after summer 2021 and Savanah did not want to go back in the RV on CP in summer 2022, so presumably they are still in Flagstaff until Savanah finishes High School.  One thing living in an RV would tell them is that 2 people can live in an apartment, which is cheaper and less work to take care of than a big house, especially now that the boys have their own places.

I still don’t understand why she bought a giant RV if you can’t live in them through the winter.

Did she only plan on living on coyote pass in the summer months or did she plan on staying during the winter and didn’t realize that the RV wouldn’t be suitable for winter months?

how long ago did she buy that RV? 
However long ago it was she’s owned it for quite a while and only used it for a couple months in the summer and why couldn’t she park it at Robyn’s property for the winter, does it have to be winterized and stored at the RV place for some reason? Sorry for so many questions but I just can’t wrap my head around this whole RV thing!  🤪

[Twopper]

1 hour ago, deirdra said:

Janelle & Savanah moved into town after summer 2021 and Savanah did not want to go back in the RV on CP in summer 2022, so presumably they are still in Flagstaff until Savanah finishes High School.  One thing living in an RV would tell them is that 2 people can live in an apartment, which is cheaper and less work to take care of than a big house, especially now that the boys have their own places.

Thanks for the update. The timeline on this show makes my head hurt.

so living in the RV was basically for the show.  They should have just gotten a new rental when the house she was in sold, although I guess if it was still during the academic year maybe she did have trouble  finding something  

Nothing else is going on in this show except a bunch of talking heads  

[Elizzikra]

Quote

Did she only plan on living on coyote pass in the summer months or did she plan on staying during the winter and didn’t realize that the RV wouldn’t be suitable for winter months?

What she said on the show (which may or may not have been what she really intended) was that she was moving into the RV on Coyote Pass in June, 2021 and she thought she could at least have a garage with living quarters built on Coyote pass within six months. So she would (presumably) have parked the RV in the garage and lived above it. I don't know how quickly it gets cold in Flagstaff - maybe she thought she could tough it out in the RV until the end of December 2021, when the theoretical garage apartment would have been ready? In any event, the RV was always supposed to be (at least, as presented to us on the show) short-term housing. 

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

What she said on the show (which may or may not have been what she really intended) was that she was moving into the RV on Coyote Pass in June, 2021 and she thought she could at least have a garage with living quarters built on Coyote pass within six months. So she would (presumably) have parked the RV in the garage and lived above it. I don't know how quickly it gets cold in Flagstaff - maybe she thought she could tough it out in the RV until the end of December 2021, when the theoretical garage apartment would have been ready? In any event, the RV was always supposed to be (at least, as presented to us on the show) short-term housing. 

Did the theoretical garage apartment ever happen?  Or do we have no information on that?

That would have to be a pretty long garage for the RV to fit inside it!

[Yeah No]

On 10/10/2022 at 1:42 PM, Adiba said:

Now that Christine has left and Meri is basically separated from Kody, I think Janelle holds a little more power in the family than before. If Janelle leaves, the last vestiges of the “principle” leave. Kody could then no longer have the appearance of polygamy while living monogamy. 
Kody can barely tolerate Meri— he no longer even calls her to talk, much less visit her alone. Even if Janelle left, Meri’s status in the family would not “move up,” imo. Kody would then be left with only one wife, Robyn and the show would be dead. So I think Janelle can do whatever she wants and Kody will put up with it.

It looks like Janelle keeps finding ways to make her acceptance of her low status work as leverage for getting things she wants from Kody.  I've gotten the strange impression that the RV was something she got Kody to help her with because he "owed her", like it was some kind of treat.  Or at least that seemed to be her way of looking at it.  And here I was all this time thinking how it was her low status with Kody that was forcing her to live in substandard (by comparison) housing all the time they've been in Flagstaff, which took a new low with the RV.  But leave it to Janelle to find a way to spin this as a "positive".  I'm definitely not convinced that it was or is in any way a positive.  It feels like she was taking lemons and making lemonade with the RV and then acting like it was something she really wanted to do anyway.  To me and most people on planet earth it looked like a desperate move because she didn't have many other choices at the time unless she moved away.  She made it sound like there were no apartments available in Flagstaff or if there were they might have been too expensive so the RV was her brilliant idea.

Add me to the list of people having a hard time wrapping their minds around this RV thing.

[GeeGolly]

Part of me thinks buying the RV was Janelle's desperate attempt at keeping her marriage intact. She could kick her boys out without actually kicking them out and prove to Robyn Kody that they were playing it safe with covid. I'm not saying it was a good idea, or a successful idea, but I do think it likely was at least part of Janelle's thought process in buying the RV. 

I have no doubt, even with pandemic delays, they could have built a detached garage over the course of the last two years - if they wanted to or were allowed to. Of course they have no water or electricity onsite, so there's that.

Edited October 18, 2022 by GeeGolly

[Elodia]

3 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

She could kick her boys out without actually kicking them out

I know right? I've always said moving to a "fifth will" came at a really convenient time. 

[deirdra]

4 hours ago, Elodia said:

I know right? I've always said moving to a "fifth will" came at a really convenient time. 

The owners put her rennel house on the market for $699K in May 2021 but it didn't even sell until September 13th 2021, after one price increase and a couple of price reductions, and sold for $649K .

Gabe had a girlfriend who had her own apartment, and Garrison renovated an old motorhome and then bought a house, but I don't know the timeline relative to the 5th will purchase.

Long ago Janelle mentioned that she'd like to get an RV and drive all over the country, but one person doesn't need to be hauling two bathrooms and beds for 6-8  all over tarnation. I was imagining something much smaller that is easy to park.

Edited October 18, 2022 by deirdra

[Pickleinthemiddle]

22 hours ago, Joan of Argh said:

I still don’t understand why she bought a giant RV if you can’t live in them through the winter.

Did she only plan on living on coyote pass in the summer months or did she plan on staying during the winter and didn’t realize that the RV wouldn’t be suitable for winter months?

how long ago did she buy that RV? 
However long ago it was she’s owned it for quite a while and only used it for a couple months in the summer and why couldn’t she park it at Robyn’s property for the winter, does it have to be winterized and stored at the RV place for some reason? Sorry for so many questions but I just can’t wrap my head around this whole RV thing!  🤪

It could be the RV storage has covered parking which is what you really want to keep the elements off of it.  It protects the outside from degrading.  It also needs air flow to keep it dry.  Not that flagstaff has that much humidity.  

I feel like she should have went with something smaller that she is able to drive without a huge dually that drinks gas like crazy.  You get like 15 miles to the gallon.  Plus if it's windy they can be hard to control.

[Joan of Argh]

32 minutes ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

It could be the RV storage has covered parking which is what you really want to keep the elements off of it.  It protects the outside from degrading.  It also needs air flow to keep it dry.  Not that flagstaff has that much humidity.  

I feel like she should have went with something smaller that she is able to drive without a huge dually that drinks gas like crazy.  You get like 15 miles to the gallon.  Plus if it's windy they can be hard to control.

I remember Janelle saying a couple years ago (not sure if it was on the show or something she posted online) how her dream was to have an RV she could travel around in, see the sights and visit Maddie in SC 

I just can’t imagine Janelle hauling that huge RV all the way to Maddie’s house in SC…. Plus you’d have to make sure whoever you’re visiting has room for you to park a big rig and truck…. whole thing seems so impractical to me.

a few years ago we rented a Winnebago and went sight seeing, I tried driving it and did fine but I really didn’t enjoy it so hubby did all the driving, we were towing my small car behind it so when we got to the various spots we could park the Winnebago, unhitch the car and go exploring and sightseeing which was perfect, we had a couple small mechanical problems (flat tire on the Winnebago etc) but hubby was able to handle both and carry on…. I was glad he was there to get us up and running again fairly quickly…. If I’d been alone like Janelle I guess I’d have to call someone to come fix the problems and get me on the road again.. ugh.. not my idea of a good time.

As others have said I think she’d be much better off with a camper van or something of that nature if she still plans on using it to travel.

[goofygirl]

None of it makes any damn sense at all.  No logic involved.  It was just like "Hey! I have this $$$ to spend and Ima gonna spend it!"

Moron.

[GeeGolly]

To be fair, Janelle isn't the only one who made crazy housing purchases at the height of the pandemic. I'd rather be upside-down with an $80,000 RV than a $600,000 fixer upper.

[Libby]

I think that Janelle is doing ok financially. People on reality shows seem to do pretty well. She also has her Plexus money.

Janelle can park the fifth wheel in a campground somewhere and use it as a vacation home. Janelle has a big family that could all utilize it together or apart. Her grandchildren would absolutely love staying in it. A campground is a kids dream. They have pools, playgrounds, and plenty of fun activities for kids.

I think it's too soon to say that the fifth wheel was a waste of money. We'll have to see what she does with it in the future.

[65mickey]

 Janelle is a 53 year old woman who is not physically fit or strong. The only physical work that I remember seeing her do recently is rake some leaves up at her previous home. Kody boy is not going to help her with the fifth wheel. Robyn and her kids have already given it a thumbs down. So unless Janelle's sons are going to step up and go with her on her RV trips across the country I fear that she is stuck with an expensive toy. Hasn't it been in storage for almost a year now. Maybe she could rent it out. But that would not be without problems.  

 Janelle found an apartment to rent last winter so there goes the argument that there was nothing to rent in Flagstaff.

[Libby]

8 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

 Janelle is a 53 year old woman who is not physically fit or strong. The only physical work that I remember seeing her do recently is rake some leaves up at her previous home. Kody boy is not going to help her with the fifth wheel. Robyn and her kids have already given it a thumbs down. So unless Janelle's sons are going to step up and go with her on her RV trips across the country I fear that she is stuck with an expensive toy. Hasn't it been in storage for almost a year now. Maybe she could rent it out. But that would not be without problems.  

 Janelle found an apartment to rent last winter so there goes the argument that there was nothing to rent in Flagstaff.

Just as an example...

Janelle, Gabe, and Garrison could borrow Kody's truck and haul the RV to a campground in a beach town in NC.

Janelle can get a seasonal lot in the campground. If the boys don't know how to set it up, the campground employees will help them. It's not rocket science.

Now Janelle has a vacation home that she and her kids/grandkids can utilize the whole summer. I think it would be a blast for all of them.

All RV's are expensive toys. People buy them everyday (including senior citizens.) If Janelle wants an expensive toy and can afford it, I don’t think it makes her stupid. She's very frugal. I think it's nice if she treats herself once in a while.

[Cetacean]

53 minutes ago, Libby said:

I think it's too soon to say that the fifth wheel was a waste of money. We'll have to see what she does with it in the future.

The future in the real time continuum?  Or the Brown family future which is 18 months ago?  Hard to keep up with these fools but we do know that, at some point, she stored the thing and rented an apartment.  Who knows where the behemoth is these days.

[65mickey]

That's assuming that Gabe and Garrison want to be part of this little adventure.  With the exception of Savannah, Janelle's kids are grown and they have lives of their own and jobs to go to.  So she parks it at a VR camp in North Carolina for the summer. What does she do for the fall and winter more storage fees?  $50,000 plus all of the costs that go along with owning and upkeep on one of these things seems like more than a treat. 

I have friends who have a camper. They are retired and always on the go. But the husband is very good at hauling the camper and setting it up then getting it home and cleaned and stored. I just can't see Janelle being able to do this without a lot of help. I think if her grown sons were into this she would have been on the go and using it as an RV not a home that has sat in a storage facility for over a year. 

[Absolom]

Maybe the RV was really a plot line all along and she or TLC leased it for a few months and it's already history with the fiction being it's in storage.  I'll believe she really bought it and kept it when we see it in use again.  

[65mickey]

46 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Maybe the RV was really a plot line all along and she or TLC leased it for a few months and it's already history with the fiction being it's in storage.  I'll believe she really bought it and kept it when we see it in use again.  

I actually thought of this also. It would make far more sense than what she is doing. Otherwise she just blew $50K on an RV for it to sit in storage while she rents an apartment.

[xwordfanatik]

3 hours ago, 65mickey said:

 Janelle is a 53 year old woman who is not physically fit or strong. The only physical work that I remember seeing her do recently is rake some leaves up at her previous home. Kody boy is not going to help her with the fifth wheel. Robyn and her kids have already given it a thumbs down. So unless Janelle's sons are going to step up and go with her on her RV trips across the country I fear that she is stuck with an expensive toy. Hasn't it been in storage for almost a year now. Maybe she could rent it out. But that would not be without problems.  

 Janelle found an apartment to rent last winter so there goes the argument that there was nothing to rent in Flagstaff.

She also said Gabe & Garrison found apartments.  Either it was a storyline for the show (did TLC buy it?) or Janelle just wanted an excuse to buy it, by claiming that she couldn't find an apartment to rent. 

Both Sobbyn and Janelle threw away tons of money renting houses that they could have later bought outright, when the owners said they were selling them.  It's their own fault for not buying, like Christine did.  It could have saved them moving yet again.  I can't remember if that was the reason Meri moved, too.

[65mickey]

I thought Meri's move was because the owners of the house and maybe the neighbors didn't want filming going on there you know because of the film crew and trucks in and out of the neighborhood. Of course Meri tried to push the story that they were being discriminated against because they were a plural family. 

[Joan of Argh]

2 hours ago, 65mickey said:

I thought Meri's move was because the owners of the house and maybe the neighbors didn't want filming going on there you know because of the film crew and trucks in and out of the neighborhood. Of course Meri tried to push the story that they were being discriminated against because they were a plural family. 

That was the reason Meri gave for moving from the first house.

She moved from that house to the waterfall, elevator mansion and then she moved from there to the house she’s in now.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Joan of Argh
Pics

[xwordfanatik]

How fun it must have been to pack up roomfuls of LuLaCrap!  So three houses (so far) in Flagstaff, and monthly rent in the thousands.  Wow.  She probably has tax loopholes galore from having a "home business."  Otherwise, if she was buying a house, she could deduct all the interest on the mortgage.

I'd hate to BE their accountant, but I'd like to know the deets of their "money (mis)management."

[Elizzikra]

Quote

 She probably has tax loopholes galore from having a "home business."

I wouldn't think so but maybe? Maybe Lularoe has guidance on how to claim home office space as a business deduction? My accountant told me years ago that, to claim part of your mortgage/rent as a business deduction, a certain percentage of your space (and it as a pretty high percentage) has to be used solely for business. I had a side hustle working from home for years and had a room that I used as a home office but it wasn't enough space or enough of a percentage of my income to write it off. 

Quote

I'd hate to BE their accountant, but I'd like to know the deets of their "money (mis)management."

Me too. I suck at math but I would REALLY like a detailed review of how they (mis)manage their money and their debt.

Edited October 20, 2022 by Elizzikra

[ginger90]

[Libby]

Janelle is my favorite of the wives. It seems to me that she has always found a way to make this screwed up family work for her while staying true to herself. She seems to find a way to be happy and content no matter what her screw ball husband and whatever favorite wife he has at the time, does.

I'm proud of Christine for not accepting unhappiness and finally leaving.

I'm also proud of Janelle for letting Kody, Robyn, and Meri go pound sand and staying happy and true to herself in spite of them.

The cream is rising to the top in this family. Janelle, Christine, and their kids are the cream. The rest aren't.

[Art Of Noiz]

I think Janelle will split her time between Flagstaff and NC. Gabe, Garrison are in Flagstaff. (Gwen, too). She wants to spend time with grandkids, too. She'll stay to dig her spurs in, at least for a while. And to thumb her nose at Robyn, and walk away from BigDaddy.   

[SongbirdHollow]

On 10/22/2022 at 1:34 AM, Art Of Noiz said:

I think Janelle will split her time between Flagstaff and NC. Gabe, Garrison are in Flagstaff. (Gwen, too). She wants to spend time with grandkids, too. She'll stay to dig her spurs in, at least for a while. And to thumb her nose at Robyn, and walk away from BigDaddy.   

The irony is that if Kody had just stayed in one place to raise the families, the kids might have thought of it as “home” and he’d be closer to his dream of a patriarchal compound. Now they’re scattered to the four winds and completely fractured. He really screwed  it all up. 

[ginger90]

[Gramto6]

Another great photo from the wedding!! They both look so happy.

[ginger90]

[Kellyee]

None of Janelle's family photos ever include Kody. Its bizarre that she still claims to be married.

[Irate Panda]

2 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Logan’s parents and the most functional marriage on Sister Wives

[Cetacean]

I have to say that Janelle looks really very nice.  Great dress for her.

[Rabbit Hutch]

1 hour ago, Irate Panda said:

Logan’s parents and the most functional marriage on Sister Wives

Outstanding comment, and quite true, to boot!  😂

[Twopper]

On 10/19/2022 at 11:45 AM, xwordfanatik said:

She also said Gabe & Garrison found apartments.  Either it was a storyline for the show (did TLC buy it?) or Janelle just wanted an excuse to buy it, by claiming that she couldn't find an apartment to rent. 

Both Sobbyn and Janelle threw away tons of money renting houses that they could have later bought outright, when the owners said they were selling them.  It's their own fault for not buying, like Christine did.  It could have saved them moving yet again.  I can't remember if that was the reason Meri moved, too.

For some reason, I thought Garrison bought a house, and Gabe got an apartment; I am probably wrong, but this comment reminded me of what my BIL did with his RV.

He bought a really, really nice one which he and his wife used to take their 3 boys on cross country road trips.  When the oldest boy was in his second year of college, they moved it to an rv park near the university  so he could live rent free off campus.  The rv park was filled with students.  I think the second boy joined him 2 years later.  The third boy lived in it for a year or two, but he decided to join the military, and the parents took the RV back.  They retired, and did a lot of traveling before giving it to the oldest son  Last I heard he has put in on the market as his wife has been diagnosed with very early dementia. So I was thinking maybe Gabe could live in, but maybe not on the property. 
It will be interesting to see where Savannah ends up after graduation  

[SunnyBeBe]

Janelle really does look nice at the wedding.  Love that dress.  I wonder if Kody is not in the photos they post due to the tv show.  Hmmmm….

[Gramto6]

44 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Janelle really does look nice at the wedding.  Love that dress.  I wonder if Kody is not in the photos they post due to the tv show.  Hmmmm….

My thought is Kodouche was not invited  like Meri.  Was the wedding he was "official" the same weekend?  Time is so twisted on this show...

[Tdoc72]

47 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

My thought is Kodouche was not invited  like Meri.  Was the wedding he was "official" the same weekend?  Time is so twisted on this show...

In show time and his friend’s wedding, it was July/August 2021. 
In real time, currently, Logan & Michelle just got married this weekend. 
I don’t know if the show is ever going to jump to current (or currently enough within a month or two) time.  It’s been very behind for awhile. On the show, not that long ago, Mikelti gave birth to her daughter and in real time, she’s just about due with her twin boys. 

[Tuxcat]

1 hour ago, Gramto6 said:

My thought is Kodouche was not invited  like Meri.  Was the wedding he was "official" the same weekend?  Time is so twisted on this show...

Kody and Meri were both at Logan's wedding according to photos on another platform.

No idea if Janelle has or has not "left him." What would that even mean in her case? No minor children. She's not legally married. They still live in the same town. And she never seemed to have a desire to have anything more than a "good friend" in Kody anyway. 

[deirdra]

Savanah is still a minor child, until December 7th when she turns 18. But Kootie probably is as clueless as he was about Truely's & Ysabel's ages.

[GeeGolly]

From the preview clip with Kody and Janelle and Christine's comments, it sounds like Kody has been withholding sex from Janelle and Christine for close to a decade. I'm going to assume the same is true for Meri too.

I'm not knocking sexless marriages at all, but if you live with your vibrator and not your husband, you might want to rethink things.

[Tuxcat]

15 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

From the preview clip with Kody and Janelle and Christine's comments, it sounds like Kody has been withholding sex from Janelle and Christine for close to a decade. I'm going to assume the same is true for Meri too.

I'm not knocking sexless marriages at all, but if you live with your vibrator and not your husband, you might want to rethink things.

True but she was"just fine" with that before. Don't get me wrong. I hope she seeks a better life for herself but I am also skeptical of this all being for the show. Next season on sister wives...

Edited October 24, 2022 by Tuxcat

[YupItsMe]

I believe, from the pics I’ve seen, that everyone from the Brown family was there except for Mykelti, Tony, & Maddie’s husband.

Kody sat with Robyn in the 2nd row, Janelle sat with her kids on the first row, opposite side. 

Michelle has posted a lot of pics on her IG. 

[deirdra]

14 hours ago, YupItsMe said:

Kody sat with Robyn in the 2nd row, Janelle sat with her kids on the first row, opposite side. 

Where did Christine sit?  Kootie said he never wanted to see her again.

[mythoughtis]

23 minutes ago, deirdra said:

Where did Christine sit?  Kootie said he never wanted to see her again.

Without seeing photos, my guess would be in the second row with her kids behind Janelle