Sister Wives: How Kody Brown's Marriage To Meri Brown Drove Him To Polygamy

Sister Wives season 19 recently premiered, and it was revealed that Kody Brown felt driven to polygamy in large part by his unhappy marriage to Meri Brown. Meri was the first of the polygamist patriarch's four wives. The two were married in 1990, and they have one child together, Leon Brown. 55-year-old Kody and 53-year-old Meri were married for 32 long years before she finally called it quits. She wasn't the first of Kody's wives to walk away from their union. She followed Christine Brown, who left Kody in 2021, and Janelle Brown, who left in 2022.

By the time Sister Wives season 19 premiered several weeks ago, Kody found himself in an unintentional monogamous marriage with his fourth wife, 45-year-old Robyn Brown. Meri desperately wanted the marriage to work, even staying long after she should have walked away. Of all of Kody's wives, he loved his first wife, Meri, the least, and he stopped trying to pretend otherwise a long time ago. Now, that Meri is finally out on her own, Kody has been much more honest about the state of their relationship.

Kody Was Brutally Honest

He's Not Sugar Coating Things Anymore

Over the last few years, Kody was no stranger to saying cruel things about Meri, even confessing he was no longer attracted to her, and couldn't be in a real marriage with her. During Sister Wives season 19, Kody gets brutally honest about his marriage to Meri. He said he knew, right after the wedding, they could never be happy together. Not wanting to divorce her, they decided to take on additional wives. Neither Kody nor Meri believed in divorce, and Kody felt that he had a duty to stay with the woman he married.

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Though they both came from polygamous backgrounds, it wasn't certain that they'd do the same. Kody was driven to polygamy by his unhappy marriage to Meri. The Sister Wives patriarch said when he married Janelle, he hoped to dilute the unhappiness in his and Meri's marriage, but the issues between them spilled over into his marriage to Janelle. The situation didn't improve with the addition of his third wife, Christine. By the time he married his fourth wife, Robyn, Kody's relationship with Meri was long dead.

Kody & Meri's Church Drama Explained

The Covenant Is Broken

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Since polygamy is illegal, Kody couldn't legally marry all four of his wives, so they had what's called a "covenant" with their church. After their split, Meri went to see the church leaders to officially end the marriage, not wanting to be sealed to Kody for eternity. When Meri told Kody about it, he said he didn't recognize the church's authority. Meri came from a polygamous family, and she's still a believer who wants to handle her divorce. During the recent Sister Wives season 19 episode, it was revealed the church granted Meri her marital release.

Meri Needs To Move On

She's Still Bitter (But She's Letting Go)

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Since walking out on Kody, Meri has been filled with anger towards Kody for what he did to her. The Sister Wives season 19 cast member felt misled by her husband, who she feels led her to believe they could save their marriage. The magic had been dead between Kody and Meri for a long time, and it was time she accepted it and moved on. The truth is, Meri should have left long ago, and she has only herself to blame for staying at the party too long.

Meri should have respected herself enough to walk out a long time ago. While Meri is still angry at Kody, he says he wants to be friends with his former first wife. He certainly doesn't need any more enemies. With Sister Wives season 19 in full swing, it remains to be seen if Meri can let go of her anger, and move on from her tattered marriage. Hopefully, receiving the church's blessing will help set her free.

Sister Wives is a TV series created for TLC that follows Kody Brown and his four wives as they raise their eighteen children and tackle the challenges associated with their massive family dynamic and the stigma that comes with their way of life.

Cast Kody Brown , madison Brown , Janelle Brown , Tamron Hall , Aspyn Brown , Robyn Brown , Andrea Canning , Gwendlyn Brown , Meri Brown , Logan Brown , Christine Brown , Sukanya Kirshnan

Release Date September 16, 2010

Seasons 18

Filming Locations Nevada, Utah, Arizona

Production Company Puddle Monkey Productions, Figure 8 Films

Number of Episodes 167