Kody and Meri Brown
Kody and Meri were married the longest out of all the Sister Wives couples. They tied the knot on April 21, 1990, but they legally divorced in September 2014 so Kody could legally marry Robyn to adopt her children from a previous marriage.
Even though they were divorced on paper, the couple still remained in a spiritual union. Their bond was rocked by Meri’s catfish cheating scandal in 2015 when she was involved in an emotional affair with a man whom she believed was “Sam Cooper.” She later learned the person she was chatting with was actually a woman named Jackie Overton.
The couple were still struggling with the fallout from their legal divorce and Meri’s scandal when they started going to couples therapy in 2019 to work on their issues. Meri later shared an update on her relationship with Kody, confirming they are in it for the long haul.
“Let’s just clarify something here. I love this man. I don’t owe anyone an explanation but I’ll do it anyway,” Meri wrote via Instagram in December 2020. “I’m well aware that we, as a family, have chosen to put ourselves ‘out there’, which, in turn, brings about all kinds of speculation, commentary, and opinions. But it comes down to this. My relationship with him is MY relationship with him.”
“Sure, we’ve had ups and downs through the years (I mean, isn’t that somewhat normal?) High highs and low lows. All of which, you get to see ‘some’ of, and speculate on. And that’s ok. You do you, boo,” Meri continued. “But here’s my truth. I love him. I love my family. I’m committed. I have 30 years in this. We struggle. We communicate. We repair relationships as the parties involved are willing and able.”
She also addressed fans’ comments claiming she doesn’t spend enough time with her husband and her family. “I’m an independent person who does her own thing. I travel a lot. (Well, pre-covid that is.) I have multiple businesses. I have many friends. I have male friends, (Gasp! Shocker!) and I won’t apologize for that,” Meri added. “I’m human. I have feelings. I make mistakes. I rise when I’ve fallen. Sometimes it takes longer than other times to rise. I. Will. Always. Rise. I get angry. I feel peace. I feel pain. I feel joy. I forgive. I love. I’m HUMAN.”
She concluded, “I’m here. I’m committed. I’m not going anywhere. Don’t get your hopes up on that.” However, recently, Meri revealed in a season 16 episode of Sister Wives that Kody told her that they are just “friends” and there have been plenty of other signs that there is trouble in paradise for them.
In an October 2022 teaser trailer, Kody was heard saying that he doesn’t “consider [himself] married to Meri.”
“If she wanted to move on and marry another, she wouldn’t get an argument with me,” he said.
Meri announced during a December 2022 TLC special that she and the businessman have ended their more than 30-year marriage.
Despite confirming their split, Meri added that she would be interested in reconciling with her ex. “I definitely would. But I don’t think that he’s interested,” she said at the time.
On January 10, 2023, Kody and Meri broke their silence while issuing a joint statement about their split.
“In light of a recent unapproved press release, we feel compelled to share our own truth, in our own way and in our own timing,” their statement, which was shared via Instagram, began. “After more than a decade of working on our relationship in our own unique ways, we have made the decision to permanently terminate our marriage relationship.”
The reality stars added that they’re “committed to kindness and respect toward each other and to all the members of our family.”
“We are also committed to the continued healing of any and all relationships within the family so that we can move forward with forgiveness, grace and love,” Kody and Meri concluded in the statement.
In her caption, Meri insisted that they had not decided to end their marriage until after they filmed the Sister Wives: One on One special.
“There is so much more to be told about this story, and I assure you, my truth will be told. But for now, know that there is peace in my heart, and I hold no animosity toward Kody,” she wrote. “I am not, and pray that I never will be, in a place where I will enjoy making, or seeing you make, rude and demeaning comments about him.”
As for Meri’s relationship with the other wives, she and Robyn bonded when they discovered that they both counted how many days Kody spent with each wife.
“I remember there was a time where it wasn’t so good [between us],” Mer told Robyn in a season 18 teaser clip. “And he kept telling me, ‘You’re getting all this extra time. I’m with you all the time and I’m with you more than I am Janelle or Christine, blah, blah, blah.’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t see it.’” For her part, Robyn admitted that she “literally started keeping track, not of where he was, but when he was with me, and I was less than a third.”
Amid season 18, Meri admitted, “Kody has basically left me already,” with the patriarch noting that he thinks they are better as friends.
