Sister Wives' Meri Brown Reveals Why She Went Public With Kody Brown Breakup

And then there was one.

In a sneak peek at the Nov. 19 episode of Sister Wives, Meri Brown explained why she decided to go public with her split from Kody Brown and break the news to sister wife Robyn Brown, who is now Kody's sole remaining partner.

"So a couple of days ago, Kody and I had had this discussion about where our marriage was and that it really was not going to move forward," the 52-year-old said in a teaser shared exclusively with E! News. "But the thing is, every conversation that he and I have had about it has been private. It's just been between me and him. And he actually has said that he did not want it to be public. And I don't think that's fair because I think it's important that it's public, and I think it's important that Robyn hears it."

As for Robyn's reaction, she began to cry after Meri revealed she wasn't going to renew her lease in Arizona and instead live in Utah where she maintains a bed and breakfast. The 45-year-old also expressed how she feels being the last one married to Kody following the end of his relationships with former wives Meri, Janelle Brown and Christine Brown. 

"Meri is saying that she needs to move," Robyn said in a confessional. "Despite the fact that I just feel like my world is crumbling down, I can't fight it 'cause it's not fair to Meri. What I really wanna do is yell. What I really wanna do is scream. What I really wanna do is just say, 'No, please don't do this.'"

However, Meri noted she has to do what feels right to her.

"I'm not gonna apologize for what I know in my heart is what I need to do," she shared. "If it's gonna hurt Robyn's feelings, if Kody's gonna be jumpin' for joy, whatever the emotion that somebody else has about it is irrelevant."

And while Meri told Kody she hasn't ruled out building on Coyote Pass, the Arizona property they purchased years ago, she doesn't expect things to go back to how they were after the conversations they've had. 

"It's not off my radar at all," she continued. "It's just so different. Things that you've said to me and about me this year, it changes things."

However, Kody viewed things differently. 

"You're making it about what I said," he replied. "Why can't we get on the page where we're making it about where we are instead of about what I say?"

Meri was the first to marry Kody in 1990. And while the duo—who share one of Kody's 18 children—divorced in 2014 so he could legally wed Robyn and adopt her kids, he still considered himself spiritually married to her, Janelle and Christine.  

But in January—less than a month after Janelle and Kody publicly confirmed their separation and more than a year after he and Christine broke up—Kody and Meri revealed on Instagram that they'd decided to "permanently terminate" their marriage. 

Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC. For a recap on the stars' love lives, keep reading.

"She looked like a soccer mom," Kody Brown once joked on Sister Wives of meeting then-single mom Robyn in 2009. "She had a van, three kids and was divorced. I thought, 'I didn't need a van, a divorced woman, and three kids in my life—that's just trouble.'"

Nearly a decade and a half on, though, they're still kicking it, the pair adding son Solomon, 11, and daughter Ariella, 7, to the squad. As for bringing on other teammates, it's not in the game plan. "I really, really struggle with it because it feels, like, 'Oh, well. Those didn't work. So, on to [someone] new,'" Robyn said on the December Sister Wives: One on One special of Meri, Janelle and Christine leaving the fold. "That's hard for me. That's really, really hard for me. It feels disrespectful."

She got the man and the family. Going official with her and David Woolley's romance on Valentine's Day 2023, Christine Brown shared, "I finally found the love of my life, David. The first time he held me close, it felt like my soul took its first breath. He's wonderful and kind, incredible with my children and an adorable grandpa. I never dreamed I could find a love like this."

Two months later he added to the fantasy with a spring proposal. "David treats me like a queen and tells me I'm beautiful everyday," Christine told People. "I've never been in love like this before and the world seems like a brighter place with him in it."

Tying the knot in Utah Oct. 7, she wrote, "I'm so blessed! I've married my best friend."

The first of the 18 Brown children to walk down the aisle, Janelle's eldest daughter, Madison Brown, now 27, wed Caleb Brush at a 2016 outdoor wedding in Montana captured by TLC's cameras. Nearly seven years later, the two have multiplied their love with Josephine joining big brother Axel, 6, and big sister Evie, 3, in February.  

"One month as a family of 5 and my heart is bursting," North Carolina-based Maddie wrote on Instagram in March. "I didn't know this kind of peace amongst chaos could be had."

Four years after their engagement aired on the TLC reality show, Meri Brown's only child, Leon Brown, has settled in Denver with partner Audrey Kriss. "my sweetest symphony," Leon, 27, raved of their fiancé. "Life with you truly is so sweet." Echoed Audrey, "Being your partner and watching your growth and coming into yourself over the years has been an honor and joy."

Eldest kid Logan Brown, 29, got the gang back together when he married longtime girlfriend Michelle Petty in Arizona this past October. "It was a beautiful day and this mama's heart was mush the whole time," Janelle shared on Instagram of her son's wedding. "You always have such a sense of peace when your children find amazing life partners."

More than six years after her 2016 wedding to Antonio "Tony" Padron, Mykelti Brown joked that they'd already tested the limits of their marriage vows by welcoming twins Archer and Ace into the fold this past November. 

"We have 3 kids and 4 moves under our belt," noted the 27-year-old, also mom to Avalon, 2. "A whole lot of good times and some hard times #surprisetwins But here we are still doing this whole marriage thing."

In the nearly five years since they wed, Christine's daughter Aspyn Brown, 28, and husband Mitch Thompson have traveled everywhere from Paris to Alaska. But this past December, they put down roots, Mitch sharing on Instagram, "We bought our first home! Just in time for Christmas."

Before hitting their one-year anniversary, Christine's daughter Gwendlyn Brown and love Beatriz Queiroz went to the happiest place on earth and marked six months together with chocolate fondue. Then came the really sweet part. The 21-year-old shared a glimpse at the candlelit, rose-filled proposal on Instagram in November, writing simply, "i'm engaged!!" 

The couple wed in July, sharing the news on Instagram the caption: "Say hello to mrs (x2) queiroz."