"Family Fund?": Are Sister Wives' Janelle's Money Problems Amid Coyote Pass Drama Really Kody Brown's Fault? (There's So Much Drama)

Sister Wives star Janelle Brown has had money on her mind since she left Kody Brown, and now, as the fate of Coyote Pass hangs in the balance, she holds Kody responsible for most of her money woes. At the moment, the Battle of Coyote Pass (a seemingly endless war) is still raging. Kody and Robyn Brown aren't quite sure what to do with the property, and as they waffle, Janelle (who has a stake in the cursed patch of land) is wary, wondering if they'll ever get their fair share of profits from a potential Coyote Pass sale.

Janelle was the Brown family bookkeeper. For years, she used her accounting acumen to earn money for the family, which grew to include four wives and 18 children. While she tracked the Brown family's spending, she claims she didn't have control over their finances. According to her, it was the big-time patriarch Kody who made all the financial decisions. He has admitted to spending "lots" of money that he "pulled" from family accounts. Now, Janelle and Meri Brown don't really trust him. When it comes to Coyote Pass, they're afraid they won't get what they deserve.

Did Money Pull Janelle Away From Kody?

Was It About More Than Robyn?

The patriarch used to discuss financial matters with the rest of the family before making decisions, but as time passed, Kody became more controlling, according to Janelle, who is featured in the E! News at YouTube clip shown above. She's not happy about the way he held the reins, and last season, while she and Kody clashed onscreen, she said that she had almost nothing. If that was true, it was very sad news. She was really the only Brown woman who held down a job.

The others helped through childcare, cooking and cleaning, and in other ways, but she was the main bread-winner.

Janelle worked very hard and seemed to enjoy having a career. She propped the family up with money, helping to put food on the table. This is the treachery of polygamy - when it isn't a legal marriage, a woman who leaves may have some rights, but then again, the legal wife (in this case, Robyn) has the clearest rights to everything.

This is probably one of the reasons why polygamy is frowned upon - women aren't always protected as they should be. Also, children may not get everything that they need, emotionally or financially. A woman can work for years and walk away with very little, as Janelle said she did. Kody disputed her claims that she was in dire straits, saying that she had the same "assets" as everyone else. However, Janelle has always seemed like an honest woman, while Kody's been deceptive about favoring Robyn and more.

To decide who's telling the truth, explore the facts. Janelle doesn't have a fancy house like Kody and Robyn do. They recently listed their Flagstaff residence for sale, asking for 1.65 million dollars. That's a costly home and Janelle probably could never have afforded anything similar. So, it's understandable that she's carrying some anger. Meanwhile, Meri says no one in the family trusts each other, and has accused Kody of liquidating family assets.

Kody obviously puts Robyn first - he's done so since he met her. Robyn's his dream women and the other wives just weren't. That's sad but not the end of the world. Look at Christine Brown! She found ways to be happy after leaving their spiritual union, even before she married David Woolley. She is someone who's easily contented as long as she's not being mistreated. Christine found a better path and now, the other exes can follow suit. However, for Janelle, a warm and wonderful person, the journey has been harder.

Janelle lost her beloved son Garrison. He was devoted to his mother. He took care of a cat, Ms. Buttons, that he rescued from a "kill" shelter. Janelle did everything she could to care for her son, and it's terrible what she's had to go through. She does not deserve the pain she has to feel.

However, she is very strong. Still, it's heartbreaking to think of her worrying about money when she has already endured so much. This is why Kody, if he has a heart, should do all that he can to be transparent about the family finances. He also shouldn't accuse Janelle of exaggerating her financial problems. '

Kody Needs To Wake Up

He's Too Selfish Sometimes

Kody has so many blind spots. He's so consumed with Robyn, and so paranoid about perceived slights from exes, that he seems out of touch with reality. There's a sort of dreamy, borderline delusional quality about Kody, which shows in the way that he tells himself he's the hero, when three women (and some kids) have real and serious issues with him. He's often projected his flaws onto other people, painting exes as entitled, or guilty of parental alienation, or whatever. He's never the problem.

Of course, Kody's not the only one who does that. Most people don't think they're villains. The problem is that Janelle lost a child - they both did. For this reason, petty squabbles over a land mass that made everyone miserable anyway seems like a lame power play. Janelle's too strong to react. Just look at how bravely she faced her son's passing - this is not a shrinking violet. Janelle has reserves of strength that are as yet untapped, and what she has shown the world so far is awe-inspiring.

Kody should be gentler with his exes even if he doesn't trust them. He should be mature enough to just sell the godforsaken land and fairly divide the proceeds. It seems like he's playing a cat and mouse game over Coyote Pass and that's not a good look for him. Off-screen, both parents are grieving. They have been through hell. These issues over money just make it impossible for them to heal. They can't move forward because Janelle needs money and Kody keeps dragging out the Coyote Pass decision-making process.

Luckily, whether Kody's to blame for her problems or not, Janelle's got her own skills that she can use to make money. She worked for years, developing her talents as much as she could. Now, with Janelle's new Taeda Farms venture, she is showing the world what she can do when she isn't Kody's wife. Her flower business is just getting started, and hopefully, fans will support the woman who's so kindhearted and down to earth.

Helping a woman to get back on her feet when she's had major challenges is a good thing to do - Janelle may not get what she wants from Kody, but other people can help her because they understand all that she's been through. The tragedy is that Kody doesn't seem to understand. He should know better than anyone. The Sister Wives villain Kody isn't making Robyn very happy nowadays, and he made three other women very unhappy. It might be time for Kody to change.

Sister Wives fans can stream the series on the Discovery+ platform.

Source: E! News/YouTube