- Meri and Kody Brown have announced the end of their relationship on Instagram.
- They had been "spiritually" married for over 30 years but legally divorced since 2014.
TLC's "Sister Wives" stars Meri and Kody Brown have officially announced the end of their relationship after more than 30 years of "spiritual" marriage.
"After more than a decade of working on our relationship in our own unique ways, we have made the decision to permanently terminate our marriage relationship," a statement posted to their Instagram accounts on Tuesday read.
The statement said that they were "committed" to showing each other and their family members "kindness" and "respect" through the process of their official split. They also said that they wanted to continue "healing" all relationships in the family so that everyone could move forward with "forgiveness, grace, and love."
Kody and Meri legally married in 1990. Kody then "spiritually" married his second wife Janelle Brown in 1993 and "spiritually" united with his ex Christine Brown in 1994.
His fourth marriage to his wife Robyn Brown in 2010 was documented on "Sister Wives," the TLC reality series that began following the couple and their entire polygamous family that year. Four years later, Meri and Kody legally divorced so that Kody could legally marry Robyn and adopt her three children from a previous marriage.
Meri and Kody remained united "spiritually" in accordance with their faith, but in 2015 Meri fell victim to a catfishing scandal that strained their union. Though Meri was adamant that she wanted to stay with Kody, viewers saw the romantic aspect of their relationship begin to dissolve.
Viewers have watched Meri attempt to repair the romantic aspect of her marriage for eight seasons, and though Kody has given her hope at times, her attempts have been fruitless.
"We're not legally married. I want to work on the relationship but Kody has basically said that he doesn't," Meri said on a season 17 episode of the show that aired in November 2022. "Does that mean we're just not married anymore? That's not how I consider it. I feel like we're still married."
But in that same episode, Kody said in a solo interview, "I don't really consider myself married to Meri. If she wanted to move on and marry another, she wouldn't get an argument with me."
As of the final part of the "Sister Wives" season 17 tell-all, which aired on Sunday, Meri was still living as part of the family in the hopes that Kody would one day want to rekindle their romance.
In the caption of her Instagram post of the statement, Meri said her split from Kody had been leaked by People.
"There is so much more to be told about this story, and I assure you, my truth will be told. But for now, know that there is peace in my heart, and I hold no animosity toward Kody," she wrote. She also asked her followers to "please try to refrain from congratulating me at the break up of my marriage."
Meri and Kody share one biological child, 27-year-old Leon Brown.
Kody is currently only romantically involved with Robyn. He and his ex Christine announced their split in November 2021 and consider themselves divorced. He and Janelle announced that they were "separated" while filming the tell-all special in 2022.
"Sister Wives" episodes are available to stream on Discovery Plus.