Choosing herself! Sister Wives’ Meri Brown is focused on moving forward as a single woman after confirming her split from Kody Brown in December 2022.
The TLC personality legally married Kody in 1990, becoming his first wife. Meri stuck around as the Wyoming native built their plural marriage, which expanded in 1993 with Kody’s spiritual marriage to Janelle Brown. The following year, Kody spiritually wed Christine Brown.
The Brown family once again shifted in 2010 when fourth wife Robyn Brown came into the group. Four years later, Meri divorced Kody so he could legally wed Robyn and adopt her children from a prior marriage.
While Meri remained spiritually linked to Kody for nearly another decade, she confirmed during a December 2022 episode of Sister Wives: One-on-One special that they were no longer married.
“He’s already made the decision,” Meri explained, noting that her former partner’s comments that he didn’t “consider” them married were never directly relayed to her before or after they aired on TV.
She claimed in December 2022 that Kody informed her of their split after she called him on their anniversary. “He’s like, ‘I don’t even know why you called me Meri,’” she recalled of the chat. “He’s like, ‘We’re not married. We’re not acting as married.’”
The exes, who share child Leon, faced many ups and downs in their marriage before calling it quits. The California native and Kody weathered a catfishing scandal in 2015 which took a toll on their relationship. (Meri was in an online relationship with someone who misrepresented themselves.)
Once Meri temporarily moved to Utah in late 2021 to run her bed and breakfast following her mom’s death, the cracks in their union became even more apparent.
The reality star hinted at a full breakup in November 2022 when she started posting inspirational quotes via her social media.
“All that I am becoming is in front of me. The future is bright and holds the promise of hope, the fulfillment of dreams, the excitement of creation!” Meri wrote via Instagram on November 9, 2022. “I am at peace with me, with my past, with the experiences that have shaped who I am. I am in love with me, with the adventures I have and the people I surround myself with, with all things that are currently present in my life.”
She turned heads later that month while celebrating an early Thanksgiving with a group of friends — and made no mention of her spouse in her Instagram post.
“It’s so important to take time to tune out the noise and distractions so you can figure out what is most important to YOU. Find your passion, follow your dreams, take a step daily, even if small, toward a goal or a dream and make that thing a reality,” the Becoming Sister Wives coauthor captioned a carousal of pictures on November 20, 2022. “Live your life with passion and joy! Remember, you’re worthy of having all you want in your life. You deserve it, and you’re worth it!”
Meri’s separation from Kody came one year after Christine, whom he spiritually wed in 1994, announced that she and the patriarch had split after more than 25 years of marriage. Janelle, meanwhile, confirmed during the December 2022 tell-all that she and Kody had been “separated for several months.”
Scroll down to see everything Meri has said about moving forward following her split from Kody: