Meri Brown ‘honestly feels sad’ for Kody in ‘Sister Wives’ premiere: EXCLUSIVE

“Sister Wives” returns for Season 19 on Sept. 15, and an exclusive premiere of the season’s first episode shows Meri Brown questioning her ex-husband’s interpretation of their marriage.

“I honestly feel sad for him,” Meri says in TODAY.com’s exclusive clip of the moment.

Meri, in the clip, speaks to a friend about where things “went downhill” in their marriage.

The couple announced their decision to “permanently terminate” their marriage in January 2023 after “more than a decade” of working on their relationship.

She says things went awry after moving to Flagstaff, Arizona from Las Vegas with Kody and his second and third wives, now ex-wives, Janelle and Christine Brown.

Kody and Christine announced their split in November 2021. A year later, Janelle revealed that she and Kody had been “separated for months.”

“When we moved there, he was like, ‘Oh, this will be a great time for a new beginning.’ He seemed very positive about it and it just kind of went downhill,” she says.

Meri’s friend likens Kody’s issues to a “super weird midlife crisis.”

“That’s what it feels like,” Meri agrees.

Her friend gives more of her take. “OK, let’s be honest. He’s always been Kody, but at least he was kinder to you,” she says. “I have not seem him try for years.”

In her confessional interview, Meri opens up about her longstanding relationship troubles with Kody.

“This is honestly how I’ve felt for quite, quite a long time, is that he says these things to try to push me out. Because if he can push me out and I leave, he’s not the bad guy because he didn’t walk away,” she says.

Kody has said previously that he was only “in love” with Robyn, and that led to the plural marriage’s unraveling.

“I fell in love with Robyn. I never fell in love with anybody else. I was just choosing to be in that covenant of love with them,” he said during a 2023 “Sister Wives: One on One” special.

He said he was motivated by idea of plural marriage, not by compatibility with his first three wives.

“I was so anxious to be living the principle of plural marriage that I was not vetting who I was marrying to be compatible with me,” he said of his first three wives.

In the clip, Meri seems to comment on his idea of love.

“I honestly feel sad for him if that’s what he’s having to tell himself to justify that he and I started this family. Like, why? Because Robyn was only 10 at the time? Twelve?” Meri says.

During a “Sister Wives: One on One” special, Meri explained why she wanted to televise her breakup despite Kody’s wishes to keep it private.

“He’s like, ‘No, I don’t want to. I just, I don’t want to. I don’t need that kind of criticism,’” she recalled.

Realizing that wasn’t “fair,” Meri decided to insist that they air their grievances on camera.

“I was owed that. I was owed him having that conversation with me publicly instead of seeing it after the fact,” she said.