‘Sister Wives’: Meri Brown’s Friends Judge Kody Brown Over Tearful Exit
Kody Brown got emotional after helping ex-wife Meri Brown move to Utah. In a preview for the November 24 episode of Sister Wives, Kody choked back tears before leaving Meri at her new permanent home.
“OK, alright. Meri, it’s the end of an era,” Kody, 55, said, while getting visibly emotional. The exes then shared a long hug as he told her, “It was a great run but I’m not gonna let it get me down.”
Meri, 53, was shocked to see that Kody was in tears. “It always blows me away that you get emotional like this. I just don’t understand,” she said. Kody explained, “I’m looking at my life and it feels – not turned upside down – [but] it feels like everything … we had something.”
Meri agreed that she and Kody “had something really good,” prompting him to reflect on the end of their marriage. “We had something special,” he said. “And it feels like it just all went to s–t sort of and there’s just one thing and another thing and another thing. It’s OK. I don’t feel like … I’m not bitter anymore. I’m not angry. I’m glad you and I got that figured out. I’m glad we’re able to be friends. I’m glad you’re my favorite ex-wife. But it’s the weirdest thing to be in that place. It’s just heartbreaking in a way. I love the life I have, but it’s a very different life than what I had three years ago, you know? It just seemed like everybody else just went, ‘This isn’t important.’”
The episode was filmed in the spring of 2023 after Meri decided to leave Flagstaff, Arizona, following her split from Kody. The LuLaRoe trainer was Kody’s first wife and the third to end her marriage to the Sister Wives star, following Christine Brown and Janelle Brown. Kody is now only married to Robyn Brown.
In another previously-released clip from the upcoming episode, Kody said he was “glad” he was able to help Meri move and admitted that he hoped it would keep them in an amicable place for the future. “I’m very good with her moving on,” the family patriarch shared. “I hope this is a goodwill gesture that’ll keep us in a good place with each other.”
Meri also pointed out that the move was taking place on her and Kody’s wedding anniversary. “It’s almost like it’s God, the universe, whatever, [is] like, ‘You have done your time. Move on.’”
During the show’s Sunday, November 17, episode, Meri explained why she was so shocked by Kody’s emotional reaction to her leaving Arizona. “I don’t understand Kody,” she said. “He’s done everything in his power to push me away for the past decade. And now I’m moving and he’s like, ‘Why are you doing it so early?’ Why do you care? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
Meanwhile, Kody said that he wasn’t being totally upfront with Meri about how he really felt about the move. “My immediate reaction, in my heart, was this will be good for Meri,” he shared. “But I never tell Meri what’s going on in my heart anymore. It’s not actually safe.”
Kody Brown’s breakdown over Meri Brown’s move
Over the past decade, Sister Wives star Kody Brown moved emotionally further away from his first wife, Meri Brown. He’s said many times on-camera how much he doesn’t care about Meri, therefore keeping her hanging on in their marriage for years.
In a scene from the TLC series‘ Nov. 24 episode, Kody’s tears flow. He realizes that she’s the last piece of his old life that remains, and with her gone, a period is put on the family they created over 30 years prior.
“It’s the end of an era,” Kody cries as he pulls Meri into an embrace. “It is,” Meri agrees, but appears confused as to why he got so emotional over her exit.
“We had something,” Kody begins as Meri adds, “We had something really good.” Kody continues, “We had something special, and it feels like it all went to s***. “
“I’m not bitter anymore. I’m glad you and I got it figured out and we’re able to be friends and I’m glad you’re my favorite ex-wife,” Kody concluded of his and Meri’s relationship.
However, it’s Meri’s friends Jen Sullivan and Nathan Dilts who steal the show, as they are forced to awkwardly listen to this interaction. The duo turns their heads away from the couple, trying to give them space. But, by the looks on their face, they’re silently judging Kody after years of watching their friend be emotionally abandoned.
Fans weigh in on Jen and Nathan silently judging Kody’s tears on ‘Sister Wives’
In a Reddit thread, fans discussed the scene. They didn’t buy Kody Brown’s tears over the end of his marriage to Meri Brown.
“The best thing about this clip is the panning over to Jen and Nathan. They aren’t buying what he is saying at all. LOVE IT!!!” wrote one Reddit.
“They are far more restrained friends than I would have been able to be in that moment. I think I would have busted out laughing to his face at this performance lol,” noted a second viewer.
A third penned, “Jen stopping herself from screaming “You’re not bitter? You’re not angry?” Besides that obviously not being true, what grounds would he be bitter and angry at her?”
“Y’all truly would have seen me with my hand straight up over my mouth and my other friend smacking me saying “stop making your face look like that. Stop making that face we’re on TV,” a fourth claimed.
So why was Kody Brown crying over the end of his marriage to Meri Brown?
There are several theories as to why Kody Brown may have gotten emotional over the end of his marriage to Meri Brown. They all have to do with his ego.
Kody liked to be in charge of not only his life but the lives of his wives and children. That has been demonstrated time and again throughout 19 seasons of Sister Wives.
Meri taking charge of her own life and breaking ties with Kody after years of neglect hurt his ego. He wasn’t calling the shots, and that hurt him.
Perhaps Kody fully realizes the consequences of his actions after abandoning Meri, Janelle, and Christine Brown, and their children. He reportedly has little or no interaction with many of his adult children.
In the end, Kody’s heartbreak is all about him. Is this scene the truth or just another one of Kody’s over-the-top displays for TLC’s cameras? At least he’s consistent.
Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.