The Reason the End of Kody Brown and Meri Brown’s Marriage Seems so Confusing to ‘Sister Wives’ Fans

Meri Brown and Kody Brown’s marriage timeline confuses Sister Wives fans. It feels like Kody has made it abundantly clear that he doesn’t wish to be with Meri Brown for several years. Meri, however, continued to insist she was waiting for Kody to say the words to her until this season. Fans thought he had many times. Now we know why Meri Brown didn’t seem to be getting the message; she was acting. 

Meri Brown revealed Kody didn’t want to announce the end of their marriage

Meri Brown has insisted she had “hope” for her marriage despite its rocky nature for several seasons of Sister Wives. Fans of the series have begged Meri to call it quits on social media. They have criticized her for appearing “pathetic” and not getting the message. Now, it seems like Meri absolutely got the message but was acting as if her marriage was salvageable to help Kody avoid embarrassment and judgment.

During the season 17 tell-all episode, Meri revealed that she wanted to announce the end of her marriage, but Kody refused, claiming he didn’t want to be judged for its failure. Meri complied and continued to act as if they were working through things when they hadn’t had a functioning relationship for years. 

Why would Meri agree to keep such a big secret? It’s hard to say, but guilt probably played an important role in her decision. Meri was embarrassed when she was caught in a catfishing scandal and clearly felt a sense of guilt for seeking a relationship outside of her marriage. It is easy to see how she might have felt like she “owed” it to Kody to follow his lead when it came to ending the marriage publicly. She probably never thought he’d completely drag her through the mud in the process, though.  

How long have they been living as a divorced couple?

It seems pretty obvious now that Meri and Kody have both been living as a divorced couple for a long time, despite what Meri was telling the cameras until this season. While the couple has yet to admit when they actually called it quits, there are some obvious clues that they were both aware the marriage was over long ago. 

If you look back at previous seasons, it is pretty obvious that Meri and Kody officially broke up sometime in 2017. If that turns out to be true, it would explain why the family refused to invest in her bed and breakfast. A 2017 split would also explain why Christine questioned whether or not Meri would be joining the family in Flagstaff and voiced concerns about her leaving the family. It would also make sense of Meri’s move, however temporary, back to Las Vegas when her Flagstaff rental fell through.