Meri Brown sitting outside on 'Sister Wives' Season 17 on TLC.

‘Sister Wives’: Meri Brown Insists She Is Not ‘Jealous’ of Christine’s Freedom

In a new 'Sister Wives' clip, Meri Brown insists that her anger toward Christine's decision to leave isn't rooted in jealousy. She thinks staying and trying to mend her relationship with Kody is her 'strength.'

by Julia Odom

Published on November 5, 2022

2 min read

Meri feels hurt with Christine’s decision to leave the family

In the sneak preview for the upcoming Sister Wives episode (via People), Christine drops the bombshell that she sold her house and she’s moving to Utah in a week’s time. Kody’s first wife, Meri, opens up about struggling with intense emotions surrounding Christine’s decision to leave the family.

Meri admits to feeling “angry” and “betrayed” by Christine. However, she does understand where she’s coming from. “I’m hurt that she doesn’t see the value enough in our family,” Meri told the outlet.

Meri doesn’t feel ‘jealous’ of Christine’s newfound freedom

Since Meri’s marriage to Kody ended almost a decade ago, watching Christine go through the same thing with Kody has been retraumatizing for her. However, she insists that the anger isn’t coming from jealousy but is a “secondary emotion” to feeling hurt.

“I don’t feel jealous of Christine that she’s leaving, and I can’t because I can. I can do whatever I want,” Meri tells the cameras.

Meri still hopes for a reconciliation with Kody

Kody’s marriage to Meri hasn’t been functioning since nearly 2011. Meri legally divorced Kody in order to restructure the family in order to add Robyn and her three children to the family. Meri doesn’t think staying in a platonic marriage that is nothing more than a friendship a bad thing. In fact, she believes that it is a strength.

“My strength is sticking around and seeing if Kody will be willing to work on a relationship. So I leave that door open, but I’m not pining away for it,” Meri tells the cameras.

However, that doesn’t mean that Kody is interested in re-establishing a marriage with Meri. He told the cameras that it’s a friendly relationship, but recognizes that it’s by no means fulfilling for Meri. Kody believes that the marriage is broken beyond repair and has no desire for an intimate marriage with Meri. In fact, his desire for Meri is so far gone that he wouldn’t care if she left him and married another man.

Many Sister Wives fans think Meri should cut her losses and be the next wife to leave. But with Meri’s statement about sticking it out with Kody, it seems that she’s not going anywhere.

New episodes of Sister Wives Season 17 air Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC.