Although Meri Brown’s marital life is well documented in Sister Wives, there’s still much to know about her past. Meri made her Sister Wives debut in 2010 as the first wife of Kody Brown, and she quickly became a fan favorite due to her supportive attitude towards her polygamous family. Alongside Janelle Brown and Christine Brown, Meri held the family together as the first wife. However, that started to change when she decided to give up her position as Kody’s legal wife so he could marry his fourth wife, Robyn Brown. Although she saw it as the right thing to do, the decision was met with some skepticism.
The addition of Robyn brought out the hidden layers in Meri. Over 18 seasons, Sister Wives fans have watched Meri switch from hero to villain and then hero again in her marriage to Kody. After watching her role and marriage to Kody deteriorate, Meri became the third wife to divorce Kody when the pair released a joint statement stating their separation in January 2023. However, while many would have wondered why Meri made questionable decisions to keep Kody happy while she suffered in the marriage, most of her choices might have been influenced by her life before the show.
Meri Grew Up In A Polygamist Family
Like Kody, Meri grew up in a polygamist family where she had 27 siblings. However, while Kody’s father took up polygamy very late in life, Meri watched her father take his first plural wife when she was only 11. As a child, Meri quickly understood it was normal for her father to have more than one wife, and eventually had to grow up with five mothers. During one of the Sister Wives episodes, Meri spoke about the polygamist culture she grew up in, noting, “I had a lot of years with other moms and other siblings that weren’t just from my mom,” (via People)
Meri also watched her father go through some of the courtship process, and it prepared her for her own polygamist future. Sadly, while Meri’s polygamist upbringing impacted her life positively, she could not replicate it in her marriage to Kody. The relationship between Meri’s kids and her fellow wives’ kids hasn’t always been ideal and didn’t impact their lives as much as she would’ve wanted. Also, despite the initial excitement and success of their polygamist lifestyle, Kody and Meri’s marriage and their love for each other have fizzled out.
Meri Met Kody At Church When She Was 18
As a child, Meri watched her family convert from the LDS faith to the Fundamentalist Mormon religion. Kody and his family also joined the faith later in life. Adopting the faith would lead to Kody and Meri meeting in church when she was only 18 years old. Kody’s sister, Christy, introduced Meri and Kody to each other, and the pair immediately hit it off. Meri explained in the family’s 2012 book Becoming Sister Wives, “I was a little taken with Kody right off the bat. He was definitely cute and had a great attitude.“
Kody and Meri’s love started from the moment they met. According to Kody, he had a sneaky suspicion that Meri was his soulmate immediately after they met, and he found it difficult to suppress his hopeless romantic nature. Nonetheless, the pair abstained from any form of physical intimacy before their engagement (via ET). They eventually tied the knot in April 1990 when Mari was 19 and Kody was 22. However, Meri and Kody always knew they would add more wives to the family.
They Planned To Have Eight Children Together
Due to their upbringing and the experience of growing up alongside several siblings, Kody and Meri planned to have a big family of their own. Besides adding wives who will also have kids, Meri and Kody planned to have eight children together. However, things didn’t go according to plan for the pair due to Meri’s unexplained infertility, which she struggled with for most of their marriage. After getting pregnant in 1994 and giving birth to Leon (formally Mariah) in 1995, Meri would only get pregnant again once throughout her marriage to Kody (via Sister Wives Fandom).
Meri’s second pregnancy in 2007 ended in a miscarriage. The pair tried many times after that for another baby, all to no avail. In 2012, during Sister Wives season 4, Meri opened up about her struggles to have another child and her miscarriage. According to Meri, her elation about being pregnant after years of fertility issues turned to tears when doctors couldn’t detect a heartbeat at 10 weeks, which meant her pregnancy was not viable (via ET). On June 1, 2023, Meri opened up about the miscarriage on Instagram, noting she knew the baby was a boy in her heart. Meri wondered what life would have looked like if her baby had made it.
Meri Worked In The Mental Health Field
Before rising to global fame on Sister Wives, Meri worked in the mental health field and was studying psychology to work with at-risk youths. However, Meri’s healthcare career had to be put on hold when she and her family made their reality TV debut in Sister Wives season 1. Once the series aired, Meri’s employers realized that her newfound fame was not a good look for their company, although they knew of her polygamous lifestyle. According to Meri, “They felt that they needed to protect the company, I think,” (via In Touch). Although she understood the company’s decision to let her go, Meri was sad to leave her job.
Nonetheless, Meri has taken up different businesses since then. Besides earning more than a reported $10k per episode for starring on Sister Wives, Meri also runs Lizzie’s Heritage Inn, a bed and breakfast historical landmark in Southern Utah. Meanwhile, Meri also works as a trainer for the multilevel marketing company LuLaRoe. The company sells clothing like sweatshirts, leggings, and customized dresses. The company also has a Facebook page with over 64,000 likes, where Meri sells and advertises the company’s products. Despite some controversies surrounding LuLaRoe (via The Sun), Meri has described working for the company as her “passion.”
Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC.
Sources: People, ET, Sister Wives Fandom, ET, Meri Brown/Instagram, In Touch, LuLaRoeMeriBrownShop/ Facebook, The Sun
