Janelle Brown Details Son Garrison’s Final Hours In Emotional Episode

Janelle Brown got very real in Sunday's episode, discussing the pain of her son Robert Garrison Brown's death. The death by suicide of Garrison, who was only 25, left a family and fans in shock. In the May 4 special, Janelle shared an intimate, heartbreaking account of the last day she spoke to her son, revealing the discreet signs of his battle and the typical previous day he spent with his family that hid a pain he couldn't bear.

March 4, 2024, seemed typical to Janelle. She was on the road, driving from North Carolina back to Flagstaff, Ariz., after moving there to be closer to her daughter Madison and her grandchildren. Janelle and Garrison had remained in constant contact despite the distance. She said they had been texting back and forth all day. "And this was not unusual because he and I talked probably three times a day."

That easy back-and-forth had become part of their routine, particularly as Garrison grappled with a yearslong battle with anxiety and depression. Knowing the emotional rollercoaster ride her son was living, Janelle always kept herself available. "I knew he was struggling," she said, "and I always just picked up the phone and I always make it a point to just talk to him."

According to Janelle, their final conversation wasn't about anything of consequence. It was ordinary. There were no warning signs, no pleas for help, only casual, brief conversations that, he realizes now, were loaded with unspoken emotion. "It was just, I think he needed the connection," she said softly.

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Garrison didn't return that night. Janelle wasn't scared at first. She had known her son had been drinking part of a painful pattern he had tumbled into. "He would go through periods where he was really good," she said. Preventing readily accepted practices followed suit by checking in on each other and being reminded of their family mantra when it comes to trusting people, and Janelle trusted no one.

"Because we've tag-teamed," she said of the family's collective efforts to be there for Garrison. "I said, 'Will you guys see if Garrison will respond to you?' And so they were on it." But, relieved that her older children were taking it from there, Janelle tried to sleep. She went to bed at 8:30 p.m., not realizing it would be the last time she would lay down as the mother of six.

The following morning brought the kind of call that no parent should ever get. On the line was her son, Gabriel. "He's like, 'Mom, he's gone." Getting little, Janelle inquired as to what he meant. "He said, 'He's dead. He killed himself.'" At that moment, time stopped. "I don't remember the next few minutes," Janelle said. "But I got in the car and drove."

Garrison's death devastated the Brown family and highlighted a national struggle with silent wars that some young adults are fighting. Janelle's vulnerability in Sister Wives has been a stark, if uncomfortable, reminder of how close love and loss can exist.

With Janelle's story, she hopes to raise awareness and compassion for Garrison and the millions of people who silently struggle daily. Her loss is devastating, but her voice can be a guiding light for others who are making the journey.