Meri Brown Confirms What We Suspected All Along About Her Relationship With Kody Brown

"Sister Wives" star Meri Brown is the first wife of Kody Brown, with the couple's relationship experiencing severe turmoil in recent years. They legally married in 1990 before Kody spiritually married Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, and then Robyn Brown. Issues started to surface after Kody and Meri legally divorced in 2014 so he could legally marry Robyn and adopt her children, per In Touch Weekly. Although "Sister Wives" fans believed Meri and Kody may repair their relationship after the patriarch's third wife, Christine, left him, that did not prove to be the case. "She's very aggressive and has become very independent. She hasn't been treated well by Kody," an insider claimed to In Touch in November.

Despite the urging of fans to move on from her husband of 30 years, Meri has been reluctant to fully start anew. "I think that all relationships, you know, have issues that they have to work through. And I think that's just kind of where we're at right now," the reality star told People in February. "For me personally, I'm not one that's going to give up," Meri added. During a particularly vulnerable confessional on the hit TLC show, Meri opened up about her and Kody's emotional disconnect. "I can't make him love me," Meri said, per People.

Months later, Meri came clean about the status of her relationship with Kody.

Even though Meri Brown and Kody Brown have not been spending time together physically, they have remained in close contact. Occasionally, Meri feels hope that the couple can work out their issues, but oftentimes is "discouraged" by what Kody tells her. "Kody has said some things to me more recently that leads me to believe that there's no repairing our relationship," she said in a teaser for a December episode of "Sister Wives," per Us Weekly. 

Although Meri and Kody have been married for over three decades, their relationship has been downgraded from husband and wife. "Kody and I — we had a conversation recently, that kind of came down to, 'We're friends.' Which I guess is a good thing," Meri admitted in the teaser. Similar to her previous comments, the TLC star said she has no plans of leaving the Brown clan. "If I quit, if I walk away, it's not going to get better," Meri added.

Many fans were excited in October after Meri posted photos of her trip to Disneyland alongside another man on Instagram. "I love it that you stepped outside the Cody clutch. Freedom looks so good on you," one follower wrote. Meri was accompanied by her friend, Blair Stuble, and made sure to note they were just friends by including "#GoodFriends" in the caption. Regardless, fans were delighted to see a change in the "Sister Wives" star's demeanor. "Happy to see you smile it looks amazing," a follower replied.