Sister Wives’ Meri Brown Recalls Bittersweet Memories From Early Days of Her Marriage to Kody

Sister Wives star Meri Brown looked back on the highs and lows of her marriage to Kody Brown before they called it quits.

“I know the person that he was when we got married. I know that the couple that we were,” Meri, 52, said about Kody, 54, while reflecting on the early days of their romance in a teaser clip for the Sunday, November 5, episode shared by People.

Christine Brown and Janelle Brown also chimed in to note how happy Meri and Kody previously seemed.

“I was 18 when I met Kody and Meri, they were so cute and everybody wanted to be around them,” Christine, 51, said in a confessional. “They were the ‘it couple.’ He was so charming with her and just sweet with her. That’s why I became interested in Kody was because of how well he treated Meri and I was like, ‘Yeah, sign me up for that.’”

Janelle, 54, agreed with Christine’s comments and stated that Kody and Meri were an example of the strong foundation she wanted for their plural family.

“When you come into a family as a plural wife, you’re looking to see how the relationships that came before you are faring because you’re not going to come into a relationship if a man can’t manage his family already,” Janelle said. “Why would you sign up for that? That’s like, all kinds of danger signs.”

Janelle added that Meri and Kody “were in love,” “were attached” and “were connected” when she joined the family. “They did things together,” she continued. “They were always together, they were a couple for sure.”

While Meri admitted it was “disappointing” that she and Kody grew apart, she said she was “proud” of the person she has become. “It’s just sad to me that he couldn’t see that there is value to you know, three decades of history,” she noted, referencing Kody’s lack of interest in fixing their marital problems.

Kody and Meri legally tied the knot in 1990. Janelle spiritually wed the businessman in 1993, while Christine joined their family in 1994. The father of 18 legally divorced Meri in order to marry Robyn Brown in 2014, though they remained spiritually married for years.

After Christine announced her split from Kody in November 2021 and In Touch exclusively revealed Janelle left him in December 2022, Meri alluded that they ended their marriage during a December 2022 episode of Sister Wives: One on One.

However, she and Kody didn’t officially confirm their split until January. “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,” they began in a joint statement via Instagram on January 10. “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.”

After noting they were “committed to kindness and respect toward each other and to all the members of our family,” Meri and Kody continued, “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.”