Tragic news for fans of TLC’s Sister Wives as Janelle Brown’s ex-husband has been confirmed dead. News of his death broke yesterday. It wasn’t until sometime after news of his death broke that fans realized Adam Barber wasn’t just Meri Brown’s brother. He was also Janelle Brown’s former husband. What did fans know of his relationship with Janelle? And, what has been revealed about his death? Keep reading for the details.
A Closer Look At Janelle Brown’s Ex-Husband
Per the TLC family’s memoir titled Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage, Janelle met Meri’s brother Adam back in high school. Janelle got married to Adam Barber in 1988. Unfortunately, the romance between Janelle and her ex-husband was short-lived. Janelle and Adam got divorced in 1990.
The memoir did not detail the reasons why Janelle and Meri Brown’s brother got a divorce. Christine Brown and Mykelti Padron, however, claimed Adam was abusive. And, it was that abuse that resulted in the divorce. These claims of abuse, however, were never confirmed by Janelle or anyone else.
In their divorce settlement, Adam Barber ended up getting to keep ownership of three vehicles. Janelle, however, got ownership of their home. Over the years. information regarding Adam’s personal life or his career was kept under wraps. Likewise, if he had a social media profile, it was never public for Sister Wives fans to browse.
As fans know, Janelle Brown also recently split from her second husband. She, however, does not consider herself to be divorced from Kody Brown as they were never legally married on paper. The conversation came up on the show recently when Christine admitted she enjoys telling people she is divorced. Given who she divorced, Sister Wives fans couldn’t blame her.
Sister Wives: Adam Barber Dead At 54
It was Meri Brown who took to Instagram yesterday to reveal Adam Barber had passed away. He was 54 at the time of his passing. His death came just a few months before his 55th birthday. The news of his passing didn’t come as a complete shock to Meri. She explained that five weeks ago her brother texted her. His body and health were deteriorating. He decided to quit his chemotherapy. So, he only had weeks or months to live.
Meri penned in her long and tragic caption:
Yesterday, Oct 5, 2023, just 2 months short of his 55th birthday, we lost him. I have so many good memories with him over the years, because, siblings. I also have some not so good memories with him through the years, because, siblings.
Presently, Janelle Brown has NOT issued a statement regarding Adam’s passing on social media. That, however, does not mean she hasn’t spoken to Meri privately about his death.
Sister Wives fans gathered on Instagram to pay their respects to both Meri and Janelle during this difficult time.
‘Sister Wives’ Janelle Brown’s Ex-Husband Revealed as Meri’s Brother – Get to Know Him!
TLC viewers first met Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn Brown when Sister Wives premiered in 2010. The reality show has followed the plural family’s ups and downs for more than a decade, but some fans might not know that Janelle and Meri were once related by marriage before becoming sister wives.
Janelle’s first husband was Meri’s brother, Adam Barber. The pair tied the knot in 1988 but split only two years later. Kody’s second wife spoke about the brief relationship in the 2013 memoir, “Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage.”
“Toward the end of high school, I met a student named Adam Barber, with whom I was quite taken,” Janelle wrote. “I knew he wasn’t Mormon, which meant we had no hope of being together — unless he converted.”
Janelle told her grandmother about Adam and she revealed that she knew that his family practiced polygamy.
“Adam was not completely committed to his fundamentalist faith and I was happy to welcome him to the LDS church,” Janelle recalled. “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 explained that the pair had problems from the start and Adam moved out only six months into the marriage.
Kody and Janelle’s family ties went beyond spiritual marriage, as her mother, Sheryl Brown, and Kody’s dad, William Winn Brown, were married when Kody and Janelle began courting. Kody and Janelle were step-siblings up until the time of William Brown’s death, in 2013. He was survived by two other wives at the time of his passing. Janelle’s mother died in 2020.
Janelle shared more about her intertwined family history during a 2013 episode of “Sister Wives.”
“Before Kody and I were really courting, I was actually friends with his family,” Janelle said. “My mom was worried I was getting sucked into some polygamous cult. But she ended up meeting Kody’s dad, and they ended up falling in love and getting married before Kody and I started courting.”
She went on to explain that she met Kody in 1989, one year before she split from her ex. She noted in her official TLC bio that she “had known Meri’s family for several years before the night I met Kody.”
Janelle said — “I met Kody in the fall of 1989, even though he may not remember it. When he walked into the room I looked at him and had that feeling of remembering something I had forgotten. It was a singular experience.”
Kody and Janelle spiritually wed in 1993. He married third wife, Christine, the following year and Robyn in 2010. Christine announced that she was leaving the plural marriage in 2021 and Janelle and Meri followed suit the following year. Christine has since moved on with fiancé, David Woolley.
In December 2022, a source told In Touch — “Janelle is a strong independent woman and realized she can do it on her own.”
Kody remains tied to Robyn, whom he legally married in 2014 after divorcing Meri, in order to adopt her three children from a previous marriage.
