Janelle and Kody Brown are mourning the death of their son Robert Garrison Brown.
“Kody and I are deeply saddened to announce the loss of our beautiful boy Robert Garrison Brown,” Janelle, 54, wrote in a joint statement with Kody, 55, via Instagram on Tuesday, March 5. “He was a bright spot in the lives of all who knew him. His loss will leave such a big hole in our lives that it takes our breath away. We ask that you please respect our privacy and join us in honoring his memory.”
Kody posted a nearly identical statement at the same time with identical photos of their late son.
Garrison (real name Robert Garrison Brown) was found dead at his home in Flagstaff, Arizona, after suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Tuesday, March 5, Us Weekly confirmed. He was 25.
His brother Gabriel Brown reportedly entered the home and called Flagstaff Police Department upon discovering Garrison’s body. No foul play is suspected and an investigation into the apparent suicide is underway.
In addition to Garrison and Gabriel, 22, Janelle and Kody share kids Logan, 29, Madison, 27, Hunter, 26, and Savanah, 18. (Janelle ended her spiritual marriage to Kody in December 2022.)
Garrison moved into his own home in 2021 after having a falling out with his father over the strict COVID-19 restrictions Kody was enforcing with his large family. The rift between Kody and sons Garrison and Gabriel worsened when Kody demanded that they apologize if they wanted a relationship with him.
“Me and Garrison are at odds with my dad, because when we expressed our discontent at how things were going with COVID, I was met with just a wall,” Gabriel said during season 18 of Sister Wives, which was filmed in early 2022. “There was no line of dialogue. I think that that is what really drove the wedge between us.”
At the time, Janelle said she was “worried” about Gabriel and Garrison’s “mental health.”
“Gabriel feels everything very, very deeply. But he’s also the kid who doesn’t say anything,” she said at the time. “And Garrison just seems angry or sadder, like, he’s not as happy-go-lucky as he used to be.”
During a December 2023 episode of Sister Wives, Janelle said that “no reconciliation” had happened between Kody and their sons.
Janelle pointed to their family drama as one of the breaking points for her marriage to Kody. (Kody’s marriages to Christine and Meri ended in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and he is still married to fourth wife Robyn Brown.)
“I had to choose between having my boys in my house or having Kody there,” Janelle shared. “So when Kody would come, the boys would have to be out of the house. I’d have to spray everything down with Lysol and stuff because he was very afraid of getting the virus from them. So it became really stressful. And then it slowly evolved as they started to get angrier and angrier with each other.”
Although she felt anger toward Kody, the family matriarch admitted she hoped “eventually” time would heal Kody’s relationships with his sons, telling E! News in November 2023, “I’m hoping that over time he can find a relationship with the children that he’s estranged from now.”
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