‘Sister Wives’: Kody Brown Says Meri Brown Mistreats Her Sister Wives and ‘Won’t Be Happy’ Until She Has Them ‘Bowing At Her Feet’
Kody Brown of TLC’s Sister Wives and his first wife Meri Brown have had tension simmering in their marriage for years.
From Meri’s 2015 catfishing scandal to the couple’s legal divorce so Kody could adopt fourth wife Robyn Brown’s three children from a previous marriage, Kody and Meri seem to have essentially separated while remaining in the same family. The polygamist dad of 18 even said he and his first wife no longer have a physical or romantic relationship.
Meri also seems to struggle with feelings of alienation within the entire Brown family, especially since her only child, Mariah Brown, moved out to attend college several years ago. It’s no secret that Meri doesn’t always get along with Kody’s second wife, Janelle Brown, and third wife, Christine Brown, either.
But in Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming Mar. 1 episode of Sister Wives, “This Land Is Your Land…or Hers,” the tension between Meri and the rest of the Browns boils over. In the clip, Kody fights explosively with Robyn in particular about her defense of Meri during a major family argument.
Kody says Robyn gets everyone’s ‘table scraps’
After the Browns moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, from Las Vegas, Nevada, they purchased a piece of land called Coyote Pass.
Kody wanted to build one home for all four of his wives, but the family ultimately decided to build four separate houses on the land. And while Meri initially said she wanted to live back in the trees, the sneak peek for the upcoming episode suggests she changes her mind about which part of the property she wants for herself, meaning the plans will have to shift among all the adults.
That’s when all hell breaks loose among Kody and his other three wives.
“Look, I’m not gonna sit here and fight with her,” Robyn tells an agitated Kody as Janelle and Christine look on awkwardly. “I’ll take whatever there is,” she continues, insisting any part of the property is fine with her.
“I was already giving you everybody else’s table scraps, Robyn,” Kody yells. “Do you think that’s fair? I don’t.”
Looking frustrated, Robyn tells Sister Wives producers she’s tired of the argument and doesn’t want all the attention on her. “I think it’s so dumb that we’re fighting over this,” she laments. “I can’t sit here and complain and act like a big fat baby about this. I’m not a victim here.”
The sister wives argue with Kody about defending Meri
Kody takes Robyn’s responses as a defense of Meri, and he explodes in frustration.
“Robyn, stop. Stop defending Meri,” the Sister Wives star says as he paces near his car on Coyote Pass. “Stop acting like you’re not getting the s*** end of the stick here.”
“I’m not!” she insists, but Kody is over it.
“This is pissing me off,” he declares as Janelle, Christine, and Robyn look on in shock. “She can take what everybody else doesn’t want instead of you pretending you’re not getting the s*** end of the stick.” Robyn continues to protest, shouting, “Will you stop?! No!”
The polygamist patriarch tells TLC producers he’s exhausted from the conflict and doesn’t want to have the family’s plans for the property change yet again, especially after so many recent moves.
“I’m just done with this conversation,” he says. “I am so sick of trying to accommodate Meri…I’m so angry right now I almost can’t talk.”
Kody tells his wives Meri plays mind games
That’s when things get even more heated and personal among the Sister Wives stars. Kody tells Robyn his first wife has always played mind games in order to control the family’s power dynamic and keep her sister wives beneath her.
“This is the game she plays,” he says angrily. “She’s always played it. She’s played it from day one.”
Gesturing towards Janelle and Christine, Kody begins to claim that Meri has always treated them poorly. “She’s treated her and her—”
But Janelle steps in, not wanting to get into the family’s history today. “Kody, that actually doesn’t really solve anything,” she says.
But to TLC producers, Kody’s second wife admits she understands her husband’s perspective. “I see where Kody’s at,” Janelle confesses. “He thought this was all done, all squared away, and it wasn’t squared away.”
Kody continues to express his frustration about Meri and what he sees as her need for control within the family. “She won’t be happy unless she has all of you bowing at her feet,” he says to his three wives, “waiting for her to decide what she wants.”
“Stop saying s*** like that,” Robyn pushes back, while Christine backs Robyn up and suggests the argument isn’t going to help anything.
But Kody isn’t about to back down. “You guys just saw it unfold,” the Sister Wives star tells his wives.
According to Kody, his wives are taking Meri’s side against him in order not to ruffle any feathers. “I think they would prefer to fight with me than to fight with Meri,” the 51-year-old tells TLC producers. “In some ways, they’re taking Meri’s side on this. That’s their prerogative. They’re loyal, at least.”
