Meri Brown Finally Admits That Kody Brown Marrying Her Ex Sister-in-Law Was Weird, ‘the Community’s Not That Small’

Meri Brown has finally admitted that Kody Brown and Janelle Brown's marriage made things complicated because of her connection to Meri's brother.

Sister Wives fans thought the Brown family aired out most of their grievances with each other in the last two seasons of the series. As it turns out, there is more drama to tell. For the first time, Meri Brown opens up about her feelings regarding Janelle Brown marrying her husband and how complicated her entrance into the family was.

Meri Brown reveals how “strange” it was for Janelle Brown to join her family.

Meri Brown and Janelle Brown haven’t gotten along in years. The tension between the sister wives was obvious in their TLC series, and while they did discuss their issues vaguely, neither opened up about how Janelle’s first marriage played heavily into the dynamic until now. During an appearance on the Miss Understood podcast, Meri finally discussed how Janelle’s first marriage complicated things.

Meri said Janelle married her brother, Adam Barber, in the late 1980s. They divorced a few years later. She married Kody Brown in 1993, following her divorce from Adam. Meri revealed that there were a lot of emotions around the spiritual union. She said Janelle and Kody’s marriage made things weird within the family. She said that the community isn’t “that” small and that most people found the pairing a bit strange. She didn’t dive into how Adam felt about the situation, but an awkward chuckle suggests things were probably rather tense. Meri pointed out that Janelle and Adam were a monogamous couple.

Adam Barber never spoke about his marriage to Janelle Brown

Meri’s Brother, Adam Barber, never spoke about the odd family dynamic caused by Kody and Janelle Brown’s marriage. He shied away from the public eye despite his connection to Sister Wives. Whatever his feelings on the dynamic were will remain secret, as he has since died. Adam died in October 2023 from pancreatic cancer. Meri paid tribute to her late brother on Instagram following his death. Janelle Brown did not publicly acknowledge his passing.

By the time Adam died, the Brown family had decided to dissolve their unions. Christine Brown announced her split from Kody Brown in November 2021. Janelle Brown followed in 2022. Meri acknowledged the end of her marriage in January 2023 despite living mostly estranged from the rest of the family for years.

In her Miss Understood appearance, Meri admitted that she has almost no contact with her former sister wives or ex-husband. She said that while they can have cordial conversations when in the same room with each other, there is no regular communication.