In the most recent episode of Sister Wives, Meri Brown took the opportunity to both defend her choices and shed light on her complicated situation with Kody. Fans of the show have long speculated about the reasons behind Meri’s prolonged association with her spiritual partner, especially after learning that their intimate relationship had been nonexistent for over a decade.

Back in early 2022, it was revealed that Meri and Kody had not engaged in any form of physical intimacy for more than ten years, raising numerous questions among TLC viewers about Meri’s decision to remain in a relationship void of romance and connection.

Meri Brown was very unhappy for most of her marriage to Kody. (TLC)

Surprisingly, it took nearly a year after this revelation became public for Meri and Kody to formally announce the end of their marriage. This prolonged decision-making process has left many viewers questioning why Meri chose to stay with someone who had openly expressed a lack of affection towards her.

During the episode, Meri candidly shared, “There’s just a lot of things that he says and does that have been really, really confusing to me over the years, which also is why I stayed with him for so long.” Her reflections highlight the emotional complexity surrounding their relationship and the difficulty she faced in making a definitive choice.

Meri elaborated on how Kody’s recent conversations, which seemed to invite openness, led her to believe that there might be a chance to rekindle their connection. “Even more recently in the last couple of years where Kody would talk to me almost like he needed to vent, I thought for a while with him talking to me and having those conversations and being open to me that it was kind of maybe opening doors to, ‘Okay, we can have other conversations.

“We can start working on things.’ That’s how it felt to me.” This illustrates Meri’s hopefulness and desire for a turnaround in their strained relationship.

Kody Brown and Meri Brown on Sister Wives Season 19. (TLC)

Ultimately, it seems that Kody’s mixed signals may have contributed to the confusion. Meri grappled with whether she was misinterpreting his intentions or if he was genuinely trying to reconnect. Their marriage began in 1990, but after their divorce in 2014, Kody married Robyn Brown, allowing him to adopt her children from previous relationships, which marked a significant turning point in their family dynamics.

Following this change, Meri found herself embroiled in a catfishing scandal that further complicated her relationship with Kody, as she was deceived by someone online pretending to be a man. “Meri and I were trying to work the relationship out,” Kody stated during his confessional. He acknowledged the emotional turmoil caused by the catfishing incident but expressed a desire to understand and navigate their relationship’s challenges.

“I completely got over the catfishing thing with Meri and now I’m just trying to be curious. We’re just trying to figure this out. What ended up happening is it was just never a fertile bed for love to grow.” Kody’s earlier accusations of infidelity towards Meri seem to have compounded their issues, painting a complex picture of their marital struggles.

Meri Brown on the season 19 premiere of Sister Wives. (TLC)

Meri expressed that her sense of confusion deepened after the family’s move from Las Vegas to Flagstaff in 2018. She recalled, “When we left Vegas, you know, when we were preparing to leave, he would say things to me like, ‘This is going to be great for us. This will be a new chance at our relationship and we can put everything behind us and we’ll just start new.’”

Unfortunately, this fresh start did not manifest into the relationship transformation they both hoped for. Kody described their dynamic in Arizona as lacking even the fundamental aspects of a dating relationship, stating, “We were not even like a dating couple. We were like a completely estranged couple that were on the brink of divorce for eight years.”

Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10/9c on TLC.

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