Sister Wives’ Kody Brown Is ‘Willing to Fake Being in Love With Meri’

Kody Brown gets real about the end of his and Meri Brown’s marriage in the upcoming episode of Sister Wives — and no one is happy with the outcome.

“I’m willing to fake being in love with Meri. Doing my duties as a husband. Sort of putting up with things that frustrate me so deeply that I struggle to be around her,” Kody, 54, says in Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek from the Sunday, November 19, episode. “If I need to for the sake of, whatever, I don’t know. I can fake through this.”

The patriarch, who legally married Meri, 52, in 1990, admits to the cameras: “I don’t want to. But if you’re going to insist, then I will. She’s like, ‘I don’t want that.’”

Meri then reveals in her own confessional that she thinks Kody checked out of their relationship years prior. “Why is he saying he’s willing to keep acting when he clearly hasn’t been for eight or 10 years?” Meri asks in the clip, which was filmed in fall 2022. “Also, I wouldn’t want him to do that. I’ve wanted to heal our relationship and even create a new relationship, but I’ve never insisted on it.”

Kody divorced Meri in 2014 to legally wed fourth wife Robyn Brown and adopt her three children from a prior relationship. He and Meri remained in a spiritual union in the years that followed until they released a joint statement in January announcing the end of their romantic relationship.

In Us’ exclusive sneak peek, viewers see a heart-to-heart between Meri, Kody and Robyn, 45, in which they discuss the real end to their plural romance. While Robyn argues that there’s no way Kody doesn’t “consider” himself married to Meri at this point, Kody tells Robyn that she’s not seeing the truth.

“This is the agreement you required of me in order to get married,” Kody says while looking Robyn in the eye and speaking about his broken union with Meri. “This agreement that I gave you, our sacred covenant, was if I’m ever not in love with you, I won’t just sit there and be in a pathetic place with you.”

Related: Sister Wives’ Kody and Meri Brown’s Family: A Complete Guide

Kody Brown started off his married life with Meri Brown (née Barber), whom he wed in 1990. The Sister Wives stars expanded their family in 1993 and 1994 when Kody spiritually wed Janelle Brown and Christine Brown, respectively. In July 1995, Meri and Kody became parents to Leon. After trying to have a second child, […]

Robyn starts to cry because she doesn’t want things to change between the family, especially after both Christine Brown and Janelle Brown recently distanced themselves from the group. (Christine, 51, announced her split from Kody in November 2021. Janelle, 54, revealed in December 2022 that she and Kody have been “separated for several months.”)

“It’s not fair to either of us. It’s not fair for me to be alone like I have been for years. It’s not fair for him to feel like he has to do a duty,” Meri tells Robyn in the preview of her current dynamic with Kody, before admitting “it’s not what I want.”

Kody, for his part, concludes by telling the women, “It’s not what I wanted either.”

Sister Wives airs on TLC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.