Meri Brown was officially granted a termination of her marriage to Kody Brown during the Sunday, October 13, episode of Sister Wives.
“It’s been an interesting year,” Meri, 53, said to the camera. “I really, really felt like that he was just doing everything he could to have me be the one to leave so that he could say, ‘My hands are clean. She’s the one who left.’”
Meri and Kody, 55, confirmed their split in early 2023. The pair were legally married from 1990 to 2014, divorcing in order for Kody to become Robyn Brown‘s lawful husband and adopt her children from a previous relationship. Kody and Meri remained in a spiritual union before officially calling it quits. (Kody’s marriages to second and third wives Janelle and Christine Brown have also ended.)
In Sunday’s episode, Meri detailed her decision to “move forward with the official termination through the church where we had gotten married.” She recalled texting Kody that she had started the process to see if he had “any input.”
“He never responded to my text,” she said.
Meri drove to Utah for a meeting with church leaders, where she was granted what they refer to as a “release” from the marriage. “[It’s] basically the equivalent of a divorce,” she explained. “It was a very, very hard conversation. … This is not what I wanted to do. This is not what I intended when I married Kody.”
Despite their past legal divorce, Meri insisted the “spiritual ceiling” of their relationship was “still intact.” She emphasized, “When we marry, it is for eternity. That’s the intention.”
Terminating their spiritual union means Meri and Kody have nothing else “that keeps us together for eternity,” she said. “We are no longer married in any way, shape or form.”
Meri further revealed that the release was granted “on the grounds of abandonment,” which she agreed with. However, she knew Kody wouldn’t be pleased with that description.
“Robyn felt that if I waited on God, that things could change for mine and Meri’s relationship,” he told the cameras in a confessional. “And that was advice that I took, and I waited. As time went on, I realized that it was never really going to work.”
Kody added, “I’m sorry to Meri for that. I wish I would’ve figured it out sooner.”
Meri declared that she would be taking down every photo of herself and Kody following their breakup. Robyn, meanwhile, claimed Kody was “emotional” over the separation of his plural family.
“He’s shed tears about the fact that he and Meri are splitting,” Robyn said.
When the camera cut back to Kody, however, he seemed completely at peace. “Oh, I’m absolutely relieved that it’s done,” he noted. “It’s sad. It’s heartbreaking. But I am relieved that it’s done. I had moved on a long time ago, but let’s just be honest here, I was afraid of what she’d do if I ripped off that Band-Aid. Because Meri was never loyal to me, ever.”
Kody explained that his biggest concern was his “reputation,” adding, “When you get divorce, your reputation is trash.”
With the Kody chapter of her life behind her, Meri was looking forward to starting over. “I’ve got a lot of things ahead of me that I’m super excited about,” she told the cameras.
Sister Wives airs on TLC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.
