'Sister Wives' star Kody Brown doesn't feel 'emotionally safe' with wife Meri and says she can 'marry another'

• Kody Brown said on "Sister Wives" he wouldn't argue with Meri Brown if she were to "marry another."
• "I don't believe that I will ever be emotionally safe with her," he admitted.

Kody Brown mourned the end of his 26-year marriage to his third wife Christine Brown on Sunday's episode of TLC's "Sister Wives." However, he showed zero emotions towards his first wife Meri Brown.

"I don't really consider myself married to Meri," Kody said in a solo interview, detailing the complicated nature of separations in plural families. "If she wanted to move on and marry another, she wouldn't get an argument with me."

"I don't believe that we can ever be functional. And I don't believe that I will ever be emotionally safe with her," he added.

After 24 years of legal marriage, Meri and Kody couple divorced in 2014 so that he could adopt his fourth wife Robyn Brown's three kids from a previous marriage. Then in 2015, Meri got entangled in a catfishing scandal,which strained her romantic relationship with Kody and the Brown family.

Despite Kody's apathetic attitude, Meri felt differently. "We're not legally married. I want to work on the relationship but Kody has basically said that he doesn't," she said in a solo interview. "Does that mean we're just not married anymore? That's not how I consider it. I feel like we're still married."

Meri also spoke about Christine's upcoming move to Utah, saying, "I don't feel jealous of Christine that she's leaving and I can't, because I can. I can do whatever I want."

"My strength is sticking around and seeing if Kody would be willing to work on a relationship," she continued. "So, I leave that door open, but I'm not pining away for it."

In "Sister Wives: One on One," a tell-all special that aired in early 2022, Christine told host Sukanya Krishnan that her "heart breaks" when she thinks about the state of Kody and Meri's marriage.

"I don't want to be in a loveless marriage. I have no intention of living like that. And if that's what my future looks like, I'm not going to live that way," she said.

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