Sister Wives Star Janelle Brown's First Marriage: Everything We Know

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Kody Brown isn't the only one with multiple marriages under his belt. In the Sister Wives family, more than one Brown has been married more than once. Robyn Brown, the patriarch's favorite, was married for years before becoming the fourth wife. And even Janelle Brown, arguably the most loyal of the bunch, had walked down the aisle previously. But who is the mother of six's first husband? Let's find out.  

Who was Janelle Brown's first husband?

Janelle married her first husband when she was 20 years old, Adam Clark Barber, in 1988. However, their marriage was short-lived and ended in 1990. The couple were married on December 8 at the Salt Lake City LDS Temple. For the two years that they lived in wedded bliss, they made their home in Sandy, Utah. The wedding announcement at the time also showed that Janelle had attended Bringham Young University. Adam was one of 26 siblings and was the brother of Meri Brown, which for a time meant the two women were sisters-in-law before Janelle joined the polygamous clan. Not much is known about Adam. Sadly, in October 2023, the brother of Meri passed away. 

His obituary read that he "passed away at home after a brave 10-month fight with pancreatic cancer on October 5, 2023, surrounded by family. He was born in Oakland, CA, to William "Bill" James Barber Jr. and Bonnie Joyce Ahlstrom. Adam's childhood in California spurred a lifelong love for Mickey Mouse and the LA Dodgers; he loved building traditions with his family in Disneyland and watching baseball games." During his life, Adam listed in the United States Air Force and retired at the rank of MSgt in the 419th Fighter Wing Security Forces at Hill Air Force Base

Adam Barber was married multiple times

Adam had worked as a manager at a Lehi Jimmy Johns location. After his divorce from Janelle, Adam found the love of his life, Tammy. The duo married on June 6, 2014. According to the obituary, "Their connection was a bond unbroken and spoke to the enduring power of love in the face of adversity." Janelle wrote about her first husband in the Brown Family's 2012 book Becoming Sister Wives. She noted, "Unfortunately, Adam and I had problems right from the start. We weren't spiritually, emotionally, or romantically compatible." 

Janelle wrote, "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)." According to the Sister Wives star, "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 speaks about her Sister Wives past

Last week Janelle spoke out on the Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast and opened up about her life with Adam. The host joked that the union might have been a "starter marriage" for both of them. And Janelle laughed replying, "It was very, very short-lived. It probably really qualifies." The 55-year-old added, "it just didn't take." The mother of six was happy to be invited to join the Browns in 1993 and never looked back. 

Janelle eventually married Kody in 1993. She shared, "I pretty much made the decision to join the faith….but I was not at Meri's house all the time. I mean, I was there occasionally. I just happened to be there one time when Kody came. And I already was intrigued with the faith. It represented something a little more dynamic or something more robust than the traditional LDS faith I had." And as they say, the rest is history. Cupid's arrow found Janelle, as she shared, "When I met Kody just in passing, Meri introduced us. I go, 'Oh,' I had sort of a feeling. Like, 'Oh, there you are.'"

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