“I thought I was a bad person”— When Sister Wives star Meri Brown opened up about being jealous of Kody’s other wives

Sister Wives is currently in its 19th season, with episode 15 set to release on December 29, 2024. The show explores the life of a polygamist family, which includes Kody Brown, his wife Robyn, ex-wives Meri, Janelle, and Christine, and their children.

In 2023, Meri Brown admitted that she was grappling with feelings of jealousy and how it made her feel like a "bad person."

In an interview with People, published on August 18, 2023, Meri opened up about the jealousy involved in her polygamous relationship with Kody. She elaborated on how the teaching of the Mormon Church added complexity to her struggle with jealousy and made her doubt her feelings.

“We're taught in our church structure that jealousy is a thing that you just need to deal with and you just need to hide it, and you need to be a good person. Now I understand that jealousy is okay. It actually can be used as a guide. And before, it was like, oh, it's wrong. I'm a bad person,” the Sister Wives star shared.

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Sister Wives star Meri Brown reflects on her marriage to Kody: Jealousy, divorce, and family dynamics

Meri Brown was Kody's first wife, and the couple was married for over 32 years, having one child named Leon. They legally divorced in 2014 after Kody expressed a desire to marry Robyn and adopt her kids.

Despite the legal divorce, the couple remained still spiritually married and stayed together. However, their relationship began to fall apart during season 17 when Kody asked her to move to Utah after her mom's death.

By January 2023, Kody and Meri officially announced the “permanent termination” of their marriage.

In her interview with People, Meri reflected on the early years of her relationship with Kody. She acknowledged that she lacked the maturity needed to navigate the complexities of a plural marriage at that time.

“When you're 20, 21, 25, 30, whatever, when this is happening, you're not grown up enough. You think you are, but you're really not grown up enough sometimes. Or maybe it's more not that you're grown up enough, but more that you just don't have the tools in your tool belt to know how to deal with some of these issues,” she continued.

The Sister Wives star pondered the topic of jealousy and explained that anytime someone expands their family, there's going to be a shift. She further added how "logistical" and "emotional" things get involved in the dynamic and affect the relationship.

Meri admitted that as a human, she was destined to get jealous. She also pointed out that Kody might not always know how to respond to her feelings of jealousy. At one point, she questioned what was wrong with her for experiencing these feelings.

“I remember Kody would ask me, ‘If you're okay with them coming in the family, why are you jealous? Why are you having a hard time?’. Well, one, I'm human. Two, I didn't understand that it's okay to be jealous. I thought I was a bad person for having those emotions,” she recalled.

Despite the jealousy involved, she felt sad when the Brown family started to fall apart after Christine and Janelle left Kody.

Regardless, Meri shared that she was glad of the connections that she still had within the family. She was happy for the other family members who had connections with each other.

“Just because we're one family, doesn't mean we all have to have the same relationship with everybody. I think that's a misconception a lot of times. Not everybody is going to click with everybody else. There's going to be hurts that happen along the way,” the sister wives star concluded.

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Sister Wives season 19 episodes air every Sunday on TLC.