Sister Wives' Kody And Meri Brown Are Calling It Quits

The relationship between "Sister Wives" stars Kody Brown and Meri Brown had been on shaky ground for quite some time. In December 2021, amid talk of their separation, Meri wanted to address the chatter that their relationship was over. "Let's just clarify something here. I love this man," she wrote in a lengthy Instagram post that included a selfie of the couple snuggling close. "But here's my truth. I love him. I love my family. I'm committed. I have 30 years in this," Meri added.

Despite the TLC star's proclamations, a year later the marriage between the couple was in an undeniable rough patch, although they were on amicable terms. "Kody and I — we had a conversation recently, that kind of came down to, 'We're friends,'" Meri said on an episode of "Sister Wives" in December 2021, via Us Weekly. Over time, Kody had become increasingly removed from the union to his first wife.

While the fate of their relationship remained in the balance, Meri became frustrated with her husband. "Obviously, you don't care enough to fight for me," she told Kody on an episode of "Sister Wives" that aired in October (via Insider). According to Kody, it was out of his hands. "I didn't give up on Meri. It just turned out that the relationship was essentially unstable," he said in a confessional during the same episode (via Today). Not long after, that "unstable" relationship appeared to come to an end.

After decades of marriage, and multiple years of tension, Kody Brown and Meri Brown seem to be finished as a couple. The pair sat down individually for one-on-one interviews with TLC, in clips obtained by People on December 15. Kody intimated that he no longer considered Meri to be his wife. "If she wanted to move on and marry another, she wouldn't get an argument with me," he said during his interview.

That footage was shown to Meri, who took umbrage with Kody unilaterally deciding the marriage was over, even though he was upset when his ex, Christine Brown, acted the same way. "He says, 'No, I don't consider myself married to Meri,'" she said after being shown the clip (via People). "Well, he's already made the decision. You just saw him say that," Meri responded when asked about the status of their marriage. Despite knowing Kody's stance, Meri said she would still be interested in salvaging their relationship, but did not believe Kody felt the same way.

Meanwhile, fans on Instagram had been urging the Lizzie's Heritage Inn owner to walk away from her spiritual union. "Leave Kody! He said publicly he doesn't want you! Please respect yourself and leave him!" a follower commented on an Instagram video Meri posted December 10. "Not sure why you support a misogynistic, [narcissist] who doesn't think your relationship is even worth saving," another added. Regardless of the writing on the proverbial wall, Meri has difficulty officially closing the book on the decades-long relationship.