Meri Brown Talks Current Relationship with Former Sister Wives, Garrison's Death, Kids and More

In fact, she looks prepared to mostly allow that chapter of her past to mostly stay there, though she said she does stay in touch to an extent with her former partners.

"When I see them we have cordial conversations, um, but I don't seek them out to have a relationship," Meri explained of her relationship with the women during an appearance on Rachel Uchitel's Miss Understood podcast. "I feel like had a lot of time to be able to do that."

Now, since her separation from Kody, she said, "I have a lot things that I'm working on myself and I think it's really, really important to be surrounded by the people that really encourage that."

She went on to explain, "Sometimes people are just in your life for a season and it's okay to let them go. If the relationship is not reciprocal and it's not building me up or building them up, it's okay not to force it."

"It's taken me a minute to realize, like that's okay," she continued. "I think for a lot of years, I was like, wait a second, we're a family, we need to really stick together."

While Kody was seemingly married to four women, he was only ever legally married to one. For most of the time, that one was Meri, who wed Kody when both were in their early 20s in 1990. Janelle joined the family in '93 with Christine coming the following year.

Things started to change when Robyn came into the picture in 2010. Suddenly, Kody wasn't satisfied with just having her as a "spiritual wife," as had been the arrangement with Janelle and Christine. In 2014, he and Meri divorced so he could marry Robyn.

Christine announced the end of her relationship with Kody in November 2021. Janelle announced her own separation in December 2022, with Meri following suit a month later.

When asked about the closeness that Janelle and Christine have displayed of late, Meri noted that this was something new, but she was here for it. "I think it's awesome that Janelle and Christine are close," she said. "They were not when we were all together. They were not for all those years, so whatever's made them close like that now, I think it's great."

Rachel also asked about Robyn's apparent sadness over the course of this most recent season, wondering if Meri thought she was being sincere. "I mean, it seemed real," said Rachel. "I think it was real," Meri said, agreeing to Robyn being "broken-hearted that it was all ending," as Rachel put it.

When further asked if she thought Kody and Robyn might open their marriage back up, Meri didn't think so. "I highly doubt they will. I would be shocked," she said. "I've heard him say it. I highly doubt that that would ever happen. I think they are very happy together."

They also talked about the kids, which Meri noted the "sister wives" had always treated as if they were all their kids. Now, she lets the kids decide the level of their relationship with her.

When asked about their feelings about fame, Meri said it was a mixed response from the kids. "Some of them are very open and welcoming to the fame and some of them want to live very private lives," she shared.

One thing they appear to be much more united on is whether or not to follow their parents' footsteps into polygamy. When asked, Meri said, "I don't think any of our children are."

One of the things that did bring the family back together, in a way, was the tragic death of Garrison Brown, who was 25 when he took his own life on March 5 of this year. Janelle is his biological mother.

When asked how Kody and Janelle are in dealing with this loss, Meri said, "I've talked to each of them. There are good days and bad days. I don't know how there couldn't be. There's still times that I just -- like, I'll see a picture of Garrison or something and all of a sudden just, like, 'Oh, I don't like that this happened. It's really sad, you know?'"

"I just feel so much for Janelle," Meri continued. "I watched my mom lose two of her own kids before she passed … it's tragic. It's tragic."

As for her own grief, Meri talked about losing both of her parents and three siblings, as well. "Every one of those losses, and Garrison, like, every single one of them hits different and you really have to do what you need to do in the moment."

"Embrace the pain, cry when you need to, spend some time alone, and when you're feeling okay to get up and take a walk or go visit a friend, or whatever, do what you need to do," she continued. "But when you need to take the time for yourself, take the time for yourself."

"I think that a lot of times people have a -- how do I say this? -- I think a lot of times people have a box that they think you should live in in grief. Like, it's not linear, there's not a checklist," she said. "It's all the emotions all the time, and whenever they decide to pop up."