Meri Brown Is the Only Sister Wife Who Sought a Spiritual Divorce Through the Church

When Meri Brown decided to walk away, she really walks away. She sought a spiritual release from her former husband. Christine Brown and Janelle Brown did not do the same.

In September, Sister Wives will return to TLC for a 19th season. While the season promises to bring a lot of drama, even more is happening behind the scenes. With three of his four marriages over, Kody Brown no longer considers himself a polygamist. His former wives largely don’t believe in polygamy anymore, either. Still, only one of them is seeking a spiritual divorce. Meri Brown is moving to cut ties with her former husband completely; she already has a legal divorce from him and is now looking to be “unsealed.”

Meri Brown sought a spiritual divorce from Kody Brown

A decade ago, Meri Brown agreed to legally divorce her husband so he could marry his fourth wife and adopt her children from a previous marriage. At the time, Kody and Meri insisted they were still spiritually wed. They claimed that only a spiritual divorce granted by the church could truly end their union. Meri is now using that option.

According to an official synopsis for season 19 of Sister Wives, Meri sought an official “release” from her former church to punctuate the end of her 32-year union. According to the Apostolic United Brethren, the polygamist religion the family once belonged to, a marriage is only considered over when the church unseals a couple. You have to request to be unsealed. Meri decided to do that; her other former sister’s wives did not.

Christine Brown didn’t bother with the process

Christine Brown opted not to pursue a spiritual divorce because she no longer believed in the religion that she initially belonged to. Shortly after Christine opted to leave her plural marriage, several fans questioned if she planned to seek a spiritual divorce. She told fans and followers that she didn’t feel it was necessary, as she was no longer subscribed to the religion. Since she had no plans on entering into polygamy again, and had never been legally wed, there was absolutely nothing, legally at least, holding her back from marrying again.

Christine did go on to marry again. In 2023, she married David Woolley, a man she met on a dating website. TLC’s cameras captured Christine and David’s wedding. The couple has decided on a monogamous, legal marriage. They do not attend a polygamist church and do not believe in the faith.

Janelle Brown doesn’t consider herself divorced

Janelle Brown is the only former sister-wife who has shown any interest in potentially exploring polygamy again after the end of her marriage to Kody Brown. Even though she is somewhat open to joining a plural family again, she has opted not to seek a spiritual divorce. In fact, the mother of six never uses the term divorced when describing her relationship woes.

In a chat with People, Janelle revealed that she won’t call herself divorced from Kody Brown. She explained that because they were never legally wed, they couldn’t be divorced. The TV personality says she considers herself single and often tells people she and her partner “split up.” Janelle has not started dating. She doesn’t seem interested in finding love again right now. Her disinterest in dating might explain why she is in no rush to have her former church deem her divorced.