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These days, Meri Brown of Sister Wives has a career as a reality TV star, LuLaRoe consultant, and bed and breakfast owner. But it wasn’t always that way. Not long after her family’s show premiered on TLC, Meri ended up losing her job as a mental health worker because of her polygamous lifestyle.

Meri Brown was fired after ‘Sister Wives’ premiered in 2010

Meri Brown was the first of Kody Brown’s four wives. They married in 1990. Second wife Janelle joined the family in 1993 and Christine married Kody in 1995. Kody’s fourth wife Robyn became part of the family in 2010. 

While the Browns had long lived a polygamous lifestyle, the practice of having multiple wives was still illegal in Utah, where they resided. After Sister Wives premiered in 2010, the family soon felt the fallout from their newfound fame. Police in Lehi opened an investigation into the Browns. And Meri found herself unemployed. 

Meri said she ‘loved’ her job and was ‘sad’ when she was let go

Meri Brown during an interview segment in an episode of 'Sister Wives'
Meri Brown of ‘Sister Wives’ | TLC via YouTube

Meri had been working in the mental health field prior to Sister Wives’ debut. At the time, she was studying psychology and had hoped to eventually work with at-risk teens. But once the show began airing, her sudden notoriety was too much for her employer, even though they had been aware of her polygamist lifestyle. 

“They felt that they needed to protect the company, I think,” Meri explained in an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show (via The Salt Lake Tribune). “It actually makes me really sad because I loved my job. It breaks my heart, definitely. … But I understand where they’re coming from.”

Meri said losing her job because of polygamy stung 

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With the Browns facing scrutiny (and the threat of criminal prosecution) because of their unconventional lifestyle, they quickly decided that the best move for their family would be to leave Utah for good. By the time the second season of Sister Wives premiered, they’d pulled up stakes for Las Vegas. 

Relocating helped Meri deal with the blow of losing her job. But getting fired still hurt. 

“The sting of losing the job because of the lifestyle — that still stings. Having now moved to Las Vegas, it’s lightened that a bit,” she said during an appearance on Today in 2011. “It’s like, I couldn’t have kept the job anyway. But the fact that it happened is hard. I’ll be looking (for a new job). I want to get back into the same type of job. I love working with the kids. I was so excited to get that job.”

Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC. Episodes also stream on discovery+.

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