Janelle Brown and Christine Brown might not be Meri Brown’s sister wives anymore — but they were ready to support her after her split from Kody Brown.
“I was kind of surprised,” Janelle, 55, said during the Sunday, November 10, episode of Sister Wives after Meri, 53, told her she officially left Kody, 55, and was moving to Utah. “I’m like, ‘Wow.’ And then I thought, ‘It’s about damn time.’”
Janelle, who announced her split from Kody in December 2022, told the cameras that Meri is “loyal to a fault,” so she wasn’t sure she’d ever put herself first.
“I think she — it’s kind of that dog that keeps coming back because they’re loyal — not to say Meri is a dog, but I think she just has that kind of loyalty,” Janelle confessed. “And I think finally she just reached her end.”
Meri was married to Kody from 1990 to 2014 before they divorced and he legally married fourth wife Robyn Brown. Kody subsequently adopted Robyn’s three children from a prior marriage and remained in a spiritual union with Meri.
For nearly another decade, Kody had four wives and 18 children between them. He shares six kids with both Christine, 52, and Janelle, one with Meri and two biological kids with Robyn, 46, in addition to his three adopted children. (Kody and Janelle’s son Garrison died in May at the age of 25.)
In November 2021, the polygamist family started to break apart when third wife Christine announced her split from Kody. Janelle followed suit the following winter, while Meri revealed in January 2023 that she and Kody had also parted ways.
“There is peace in my heart, and I hold no animosity toward Kody. I am not, and pray that I never will be, in a place where I will enjoy making, or seeing you make, rude and demeaning comments about him,” Meri wrote via Instagram at the time, sharing the news in a joint statement. “Please try to refrain from congratulating me at the breakup of my marriage. I value the relationship I had and look forward to stepping into 2023 and my future with grace, kindness and power.”
During Sunday’s episode, which was filmed a few months after Meri and Kody parted ways, Janelle and Meri discussed their respective splits. Janelle revealed she is “at peace” with her choice, while Meri said she was “alright.”
“It’s just weird, let’s be real,” Meri said to which Janelle replied, “It is weird but it’s not necessarily bad.”
Meri later told the cameras that she “suspected” Janelle and Kody were headed towards a breakup, calling it “really sad.”
She explained, “I don’t think that any of the three of us, me and Janelle and Christine, you know, came into our marriages and this life together thinking that this is where we’re going to end up.”
Despite the sadness, Meri said, “I also have every confidence that things will work out how they’re meant to be for us.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Meri and Christine had their own emotional exchange when Meri attended Christine’s daughter Gwendlyn’s engagement party.
After realizing that Christine knew about the split, Meri gave her a big hug. “I love you,” Meri said as she teared up. “I love you too,” Christine replied.
While the women haven’t been close in years, Christine tried to offer hope to her former sister wife as she embarks on a new, post-relationship chapter.
“It’s better on the other side, isn’t it?” Christine asked with a smile. “Yes. … I don’t know,” Meri said with hesitation. Christine insisted, “It will be. It is. I promise, so much better.”
Meri confessed, “I liked my side” but said she was optimistic about the future. “I’m happy for you,” Christine said, applauding her for taking that step.
“I don’t know what’s happening with her and Kody,” Christine said in a confessional of Meri’s journey. “I love being divorced, and I don’t think she’s there yet. I don’t think she likes being divorced. I think she hoped it would have worked.”
Meri was appreciative for Christine’s support, but explained she is still wading through the ups and downs of her 30-year marriage ending.
“I recognize that Christine’s really trying to cheer me on, but she and I are not in a relationship where I’m comfortable opening up to her,” Meri shared. “It’s only been a couple of months for me, and it’s still very new and there’s still a lot that I’m processing through.”
Sister Wives airs on TLC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.
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