‘Sister Wives’ Star Meri Brown Reveals Reason for Split From Kody: “He Called Our Relationship Fake”

The true reason for Meri Brown's decision to split from Kody Brown was made clear in the shocking Sister Wives episode that aired on Sunday night. Since their 1990 wedding, the couple have been in a tumultuous relationship. A social media sneak peek for the next episode was released by the TLC network. In the video, Kody and Meri, who are having separate confessionals on the show, talk about what transpired at their anniversary meal.

Meri recalled the family patriarch calling their union "a fake relationship," which completely surprised her. She said, "He made some reference to faking relationships or something like that." She added, "And I was like, 'What do you mean faking?'" The TLC star went on to say that Kody implied their relationship was 'phony' by pointing at her and then back at himself.

As per The US Sun, initiating the celebration, Meri had to phone her ex-spouse and said that it was "obligatory more than anything else" on his part. Kody confessed that he needed some time to make up his mind about spending the anniversary with her. Later, he decided to take his ex-first wife out for dinner, but he quickly ruined the special evening by calling their relationship "fake." He said, "Well, this," while Meri asked for additional clarity. As per Meri, Kody continued, "I don't know why you even bother to call and say, 'Happy Anniversary,' Meri." At some point, he came close to acknowledging that he thought they were no longer married. For Meri that moment proved to become the breaking point, she said, "That was a big realization for me. All this time, all these years, that's how he's felt about it. But, I haven't known that." 

Fans were not impressed with Kody's behavior and they vented their disappointment online, one fan said: "Look, the only person who found it shocking was Meri. The rest of us have been hearing him say it for years." A second fan raged, "Then you're the last person alive who didn’t know that." A third fan expressed, "If any of these people were emotionally functional adults and/or watched any one episode of this show, she would have already known this." A fourth one added, "After he legally divorced her to legally be husband and wife to Robyn she should have known her place at that point. The spiritual wives will always joke themselves." 

Meri had become Kody's only spiritual wife when the pair filed for a formal divorce back in September 2014, allowing Kody to wed 45-year-old Robyn and adopt her children from her first marriage. The ex-couple have one child together named Leon Brown, 28. The couple chose to stay "spiritually married" even after filing for divorce legally in 2014; they made their separation public in January. Additionally, Kody divorced Janelle Brown, his second wife, in 2022, and Christine Brown, his third, in 2021.