'Sister Wives's Meri Brown Posts Cryptic Note Amid Kody Split: 'I've Learned'

Meri Brown has posted some cryptic messages on her Instagram account amid her split from her former husband and Sister Wives co-star, Kody Brown.

TLC stars Meri, 51, and Kody, 53, originally married in April 1990, before legally divorcing in 2014 but remaining "spiritually" together. However, it was recently confirmed that their spiritual marriage is also over.

The couple, who are part of a plural marriage, got divorced to enable Kody to legally marry Robyn Brown and adopt her children from a previous marriage. Their sister wives Janelle Brown and Christine Brown "spiritually" married Kody in 1993 and 1994, respectively.

Meri, who shares one child with Kody, recently confirmed on television that her and Kody's long-term relationship is over following several years of living as non-romantic partners.

Meri Brown Sister Wives
"Sister Wives" star Meri Brown, shown above, has posted some cryptic messages on her Instagram account amid her split from former husband Kody Brown. The TLC stars were legally married from 1990 to 2014 and... TLC

On Monday, Meri took to Instagram to share a number of cryptic messages with her 806,000 followers.

In one story, the TLC star posted some words of wisdom over a plain white background. The text read: "I've learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different."

Later, in a separate but similar post, Meri wrote, "to judge others is human. To keep your opinions about others to yourself is having class," over a picturesque shot of a frosty riverbank, with trees and sunrise in the background.

Replies to Meri's Instagram stories are private, but fans have been showing the Sister Wives star support on some of her recent posts to her main feed.

Under a recent selfie, which Meri captioned with a lengthy statement saying "thank you to 2022," fans rushed to wish her well and applaud her for branching out from her relationship with Kody.

Sister Wives Kody Brown
"Sister Wives" star Kody Brown, shown above, had four wives: Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn. All of the women except for Robyn, his legal wife, have broken up with him. TLC

"So glad you found your peace! You radiate happiness!" wrote one fan, while another said: "I'm so happy for you to start a new life and be happy. You deserve it! Happy new year!"

"You look amazing. I think clarity has given you peace and it shows all over you. The stress in your face is gone. May the Lord bless you and bring you an easy, happy path going forward," gushed another of Meri's followers.

News of Meri and Kody's split, while somewhat anticipated by fans, was officially confirmed during the first of three tell-all specials that aired at the end of the most recent season, season 17, of Sister Wives.

The long-running series normally concludes with Kody and his wives sitting down together to go over the events of the season, but in recent years host Sukanya Krishnan has conducted individual interviews with the cast.

In her one-on-one with Krishnan, the first part of which aired on TLC on December 18, Meri was shown a clip of Kody saying he doesn't consider himself married to her anymore.

"If she wanted to move on and marry another, she wouldn't get an argument with me," he told cameras in a confessional interview.

The admission seemed to come as a shock to Meri, who said: "I've never heard him say that to me," before revealing that Kody had "led [her] to believe that he was trying" to work on the relationship.

Meri then said that she was extra surprised as she had previously suggested to Kody that they should officially split but he declined, saying he didn't "want that judgment."

Sister Wives Janelle and Christine Brown
Janelle Brown (L) and Christine Brown (R), stars of "Sister Wives," have both ended their relationships with Kody in the last 14 months. The two women both have six children with Kody, respectively. TLC

Krishnan then asked Meri: "Where does that leave you? Are you still married to Kody? Or, do you get to decide?" to which she responded: "Well, he's already made the decision. You just saw him say that."

Meri is the third wife to end their relationship with Kody in the last 14 months, as Christine, 50, announced her split from Kody on Instagram in November 2021, and Janelle, 53, confirmed she had also left the plural marriage in the same tell-all episode as Meri's break up news.

Kody remains married to his legal wife Robyn, who he shares five children with, two of which are from her first marriage. He has 13 other kids: one with Meri, six with Janelle, and six with Christine.

The final part of the Sister Wives Season 17 tell-all episode will air on TLC on January 8 at 10 p.m. ET. Previous seasons of Sister Wives are available to stream on discovery+.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Laura Donaldson is a Newsweek Film and TV Reporter (SEO), based in Edinburgh, U.K. Her focus is on reality TV. ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go