Sister Wives’ Star Meri Brown Explains Why She Kept Her Last Name After Kody Brown Split

Meri Brown isn’t giving up her last name anytime soon, even though her marriage to Kody Brown is officially over both “legally and spiritually.”

“I have had the conversation many times with my best friend and some other people too,” Meri, 54, shared on the “I Do, Part 2” podcast released Friday, September 12. “Right now, I’m not going to.”

The longtime reality star explained that she’s had the last name “Brown” for 35 years and doesn’t want to revert to her maiden name.

“I only had my other name — my dad’s name — for 19 years,” she said. “Also there’s a lot of R’s in it, and it’s really hard to say. Brown is a hell of a lot easier.” Meri clarified that her maiden name, Barber, would be “really hard to say” if she went back to it.

Meri and Kody, 56, were married in April 1990. Although they legally divorced in 2014, they remained spiritually married so Kody could “legally restructure” his family. Kody later married Robyn Brown to adopt her children from a previous marriage. He was also spiritually married to Janelle and Christine Brown, though both of those relationships have since ended.

“Me and one of my sisters, we joke about it all the time, because she’s also divorced,” Meri added. “We’re like, ‘Love you, dad. But we’re not going to go back to the maiden name.’”

Meri also opened up about her dating life, revealing that she isn’t in a serious relationship right now.

“My current status is I am not dating anybody exclusively,” she said. “I do date when I find somebody that matches my energy.”

The TLC star emphasized that she’s selective about who she allows into her life.

“It’s a privilege to be in my world and not just anybody gets to be,” she explained. “Plus, I am a lot. I’m a business owner. I travel a lot. I’m building businesses and doing all these things. Can they handle that?”

She continued, “Some men just can’t. They need you there all the time. They want to text you all the time, and I don’t need that.”

Despite being single, Meri still believes in finding someone special.

“I don’t necessarily believe there’s only one person, and where in the world am I going to find him?” she said. “But I do believe there’s somebody that I can find, that our values align, our morals align, our energies align, our laughter aligns and we want to spend the rest of our lives together.”