NEED TO KNOW
• Sister Wives star Meri Brown opened up about her current relationship with ex-husband Kody Brown
• “I mean, ours was a roller coaster marriage from the beginning,” Meri said about their marriage
• The former couple split for good eight years after getting a legal divorce in 2014, the same year Kody married his now-wife Robyn Brown
Meri Brown is opening up about her relationship with ex-husband Kody Brown after their divorce.
During an appearance on the I Do, Part 2 podcast, the Sister Wives star admitted she and Kody had planned to stay together spiritually despite his legal marriage to Robyn in 2014. Meri, 54, and Kody, 56, announced their split eight years later. She eventually terminated their marriage through their church.
“We talked about it and our plan and our intention was that that spiritual aspect of the marriage was going to continue. I mean, that was the plan. And we did. We continued that for a while, ’till a couple years ago.”
When asked how the plan went “off the rails,” the TLC star shared her perspective.
“I think that Kody and I just had some issues like many marriages do. You just have issues and are you going to work through them or are you going to not?”
She described their relationship as troubled from the start.
“He and I were already having some of those [issues]. I mean ours was a roller coaster marriage from the beginning.”
Meri noted the pair had “high highs and low lows.” She said both partners need to be willing to work on problems for a marriage to succeed.
“I’ve got so many good memories, but there’s also not-so-good memories. And I think that’s normal. And I think it just came down to the fact that both of us weren’t willing to work on it. And if you’re not both willing to work on it, it’s not gonna work.”
Current Relationship Status
The reality star addressed where she and Kody stand today. They still have “a very roller coaster relationship.”
“I wish him the best. He’s very charismatic. I think that there’s things that I wish he would improve, but that’s just my perspective. And I’m sure he thinks that there’s things in me that could improve, and this is why we’re split, right?”
Meri doesn’t consider Kody a bad person. She believes their values simply don’t align anymore.
“But, I don’t think he’s a bad person. I think that our values just don’t align. And when we try to push those on each other, that’s when we have conflict. And so we will, literally, within the same week, we yelled at each other and we told each other, ‘Leave me the F alone.’ Then we hugged each other. It’s like, I don’t wish you any ill will, just leave me the F alone.”
Meri discussed how both she and Kody have changed over the years. She believes personal growth is natural and necessary.
“I think that it would be foolish for either of us to say that we haven’t changed in some way, shape or form because that is the point of life is to change.”
She noted some areas where she feels Kody has declined rather than improved.
“The point is to improve and I hope that we can always improve. And I’m also not going to put any judgment on him. And also, there are things that I think that he did better in his younger years than he does now.”
Concerns About Parenting
When asked what Kody did “better” when he was younger, Meri pointed to parenting as her biggest concern.
“Parenting. Parenting is a big one. The way that he parents breaks my heart. It really does.”
She expressed sadness about Kody’s current relationship with his children.
“He’s got children who need him and want to have a relationship with him. And he’s not putting in the effort. I don’t see. I can’t say he’s not, but I don’t see effort being put in where some of his kids really need it. And knowing him as a young dad, he was all about his kids, all about his kids and they were his world. And so it’s really sad to see the challenges that he and his kids are going through right now.”
Kody’s Perspective on His Children
On an episode of Sister Wives in January, Kody spoke about his strained relationships with some of his adult children. This followed the end of his marriages to Meri, Janelle Brown, and Christine Brown. He remains married only to Robyn.
“But my children will always be my children and the door will always be open to them. They’ve got to come through that door. I’m going to be holding a hand out for that, but I’m going to be holding this hand that’s next to me, and I won’t let go of that hand.”
Kody made clear he won’t sacrifice his marriage to Robyn for his other relationships.
“I will not cut off Robyn to have a relationship with my children.”
The comment came after he and Robyn had an intense argument about Kody’s lack of presence in his kids’ lives earlier in the season.
Kody believes adult relationships should be reciprocal, including parent-child relationships.
“Some people think that parental-child relationships shouldn’t have to be reciprocal, but when they’re adults, yeah, they do.”
He indicated he won’t pursue estranged relationships indefinitely.
“I’m not going to reach out forever. I’m willing to make the effort, but somebody else is going to have to be on the other end of that and make some effort too. I’m not going to camp out on somebody’s doorstep.”
