‘Sister Wives’ Star Meri Brown’s Dating History: Kody Brown, a Catfish Scandal and Her Ex-Boyfriend

Meri Brown is best known for appearing on Sister Wives amid her marriage to Kody Brown, which the two decided to “permanently terminate” in January 2023. One year later, she introduced her then-boyfriend to fans, but her dating history doesn’t end there.

Why Did Sister Wives’ Meri Brown Leave Kody?

Meri was Kody’s first wife after they tied the knot in April 1990. Their marriage was legal, while his subsequent marriages to Janelle Brown and Christine Brown were spiritual. In 2010, a fourth wife, Robyn Brown, came into the family.

In 2014, Meri and Kody ended their legal marriage so he could marry Robyn and adopt her kids from a previous relationship. However, they remained spiritually married after the divorce.

By this point, things in Meri and Kody’s marriage were already somewhat strained. They continued to get worse in the years to come. “Meri and I have been in a very dark place for a very long time,” Kody admitted in 2021. “It’s been more about trying to get ourselves out of this hole that we dug ourselves into.”

In 2022, Kody admitted that he and Meri were no longer intimate and he said he had no plans to reconcile that part of their relationship. He also revealed that he “[didn’t] want to be in a relationship with her anymore” after his marriages to Christine and Janelle ended. Although Meri had been willing to try and make things work with Kody, the estranged couple announced their split in January 2023.

“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 pair’s statement read. “During this process, we are committed to kindness and respect toward each other and all members of our family, and we are also committed to the continued healing of any relationships within the family so that we can move forward with forgiveness, grace and love.”

In her own message, Meri added that she had “no animosity” towards Kody and urged fans not to make “rude and demeaning comments” about him.

Meri admitted in August 2023 that she may have jumped into a plural marriage when she was too young. “When you’re 20, 21, 25, 30 … whatever … when this is happening, you’re not grown up enough,” she explained. “You think you are, but you’re really not grown up enough sometimes. Or maybe it’s more not that you’re grown up enough but more that you just don’t have the tools in your tool belt to deal with some of these issues. We’re taught in our church structure that jealousy is a thing that you just need to deal with and you just need to hide it and you need to be a good person. Now I understand that jealousy is OK. It actually can be used as a guide. Before it was like, ‘Oh, it’s wrong. I’m a bad person.’’”

What Was Meri Brown’s Catfish Scandal?

The TLC star’s catfish scandal was a big part of what took a toll on her relationship with Kody. In 2015, Meri began an online relationship with someone who she thought was a man named Sam Cooper.

“At the very beginning, this person was fun, funny, just good conversation,” she explained. “At first, it was kind of cool just to have that companionship, I guess.”

However, months later, Meri eventually found out that she had actually been catfished by a woman who was pretending to be Sam the entire time.

“During an emotional and vulnerable time earlier this year, I began speaking with someone online who turned out to be not who they said they were,” the reality star revealed in a statement at the time. “I never met this person and I regret being drawn into this situation, but I hope because of it I can help others who find themselves in similar circumstances.”

When Kody found out, he lost trust in his first wife, which led to the decline of their intimate relationship. “There is a point where intimacy is just damage,” he shared. “It’s misleading to have intimacy in a relationship where there’s no real safety. I’m not going there.”

In 2023, Meri insisted that the catfishing story was “blown out of proportion” in the media. “I still have a hard time talking about it just because everybody has their opinions about it,” she admitted. “But, like, I know my truth.”

Kody admitted that the situation “still made [him] angry” eight years later and accused Meri of being “in full denial” of what happened. “She had an online affair, which she now denies because she was a victim,” he explained. However, Meri said that she “wasn’t” having an affair and that she never had any intention of leaving the family for “Sam.”

She added, “This is what a lot of people really misunderstand, and that is the fact that a lot of people look at the catfishing as a defining moment of the demise of our marriage or even the family. And it’s really not because there was a lot of things that were happening for years prior.”

Who Is Meri Brown’s Ex-Boyfriend Amos?

In January 2024, Meri confirmed that she was in a relationship with a man named Amos Andrews, She shared the news in an Instagram post for her 53rd birthday.

“Meet Amos, the good looking guy I’ve been dating since October!” she announced. “He’s not 6 foot 6, nor is he a pilot, but he loves Christmas almost as much as I do, and we laugh a lot together, both of which are important elements to a relationship! I’ve been keeping this kind of close to me as we’ve been enjoying the last few months of dating and getting to know each other. As I’ve considered when and how I wanted to share this fun news and share him with the world (jk, not really sharing, I‘m keeping him to myself) I knew I wanted to celebrate my birthday in a special way and let you celebrate this with me!”

One day later, In Touch exclusively confirmed that Amos had been married four times prior to his relationship with Meri. His first marriage to Tracey Ann Smith Lang ended with a 1998 divorce, followed by his marriage to Shannon Marie Martin, whom he divorced in 2000. Amos’ third wife was Christine Andrews. They divorced in 2004. He was married to Jennifer Carol Andrews from 2016 until 2021.

Online records viewed by In Touch also revealed that Amos filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2000 with Shannon as the copetitioner. His case was closed four months later.

Unfortunately, Meri and Amos weren’t meant to be and she confirmed their split in February 2024. “Life is a series of experiences,” she wrote via Instagram on February 24, 2024. “How you handle them and what you learn from them is who you become from them. It takes courage to face difficult truths, yet it’s imperative in order to remain authentic to yourself and your commitment to personal growth.”

She then explained that the split happened after she and Amos had some “difficult conversations.” Meri continued, “Just because I care a lot about someone, and him me, does not equate to full compatibility for a long-term relationship. When we have different dreams and aspirations, different communication styles and values, different visions for our futures, and these things aren’t aligning, it’s then that we need to make hard decisions.”

“It’s a strange and sad thing to care about someone so deeply, to look beyond their past, because heaven knows we all have one, to see kindness in their eyes and their giving heart, and still know that a life long relationship isn’t in the cards for you. It’s only in the dating process that you come to these realizations, that’s what living and dating is all about,” Meri added.

Does Meri Brown Have Kids?

Meri and Kody struggled to conceive a child. Meri gave birth to a daughter, Mariah, in 1995. She suffered a miscarriage at 10 weeks pregnant with baby No. 2 in 2007.

“I completely assumed that after I had Mariah, it would be very easy for me to conceive again,” Meri admitted in 2012. “And that just didn’t happen. So, after a few years of a rollercoaster, we had finally backed off. I was so frustrated and angry. I didn’t understand why, after another 12 years of trying, and then it was just taken away from us. I didn’t understand that. It was really hard.”

On a January 2017 episode of Sister Wives, Mariah came out as gay. “This is a little unexpected,” Meri revealed. “I did not see this coming. Kind of surprises me that she’s known for so long and hasn’t said anything to us.”

In 2022, Meri and Kody’s child came out as transgender. “Someone recently told me that I didn’t have to have all of my s–t figured out in order for me to share myself with the world,” they wrote. “So here’s me, definitely not having almost any of my s–t figured out, but to let you know that I am trans. My name is Leon or Leo (I love both) and my pronouns are they/them.”

Meri publicly supported Leon by sharing the post on her Instagram Story and writing, “My sunshine.”