Meri Brown Reveals Text That Had Kody Calling ‘Within 20 Minutes’ Of Her Terminating Marriage

On Sunday’s all-new Sister Wives, Meri opened up about her decision to end her three-decades-long marriage to Kody while meeting with friends Jenn and Brandi.

Meri, who legally divorced Kody in 2014, noted that “within the week, he goes, ‘Why did you do it so fast?’ … He’s like, ‘I don’t understand why you did it so fast. You have a guy on the side waiting?'”

The reality TV personality said she found Kody’s comments “insulting” because he had “no interest” in maintaining their marriage, adding that divorce was the “only other option.”

Meri then revealed she had texted him after she received the official termination of their marriage through their church.

“I texted him and he called me within 20 minutes,” she said. “It was a good text. … Do you want to hear it?” Meri continued, before going to retrieve her phone.

“I said this. I’m gonna read it back. ‘Hi Kody, just wanted to follow up from the text I sent a couple weeks ago. Just wanted to let you know that I had a conversation with the leadership in Utah today and the official release was granted. I’m brokenhearted that our life came to this. I will always love and respect you. Thank you for many years of joy. I hope you truly will have peace now and I release you from any responsibility or worry about me. I got this.'”

While detailing their divorce in a previous Season 19 episode, Meri shared that she opted to terminate her marriage through the family’s church, explaining that she was “granted what is called in our church, a release, which is basically the equivalent of a divorce.”

“It was a very, very hard conversation, hard in meaning heartbreaking because this is not what I wanted to do. This is not what I intended when I married Kody,” she continued. “Back in 2014, Kody and I did do a legal divorce, and for me, that whole process was purely for the fact that he could then marry Robyn [Brown] legally and then adopt her three older kids. But our spiritual marriage, our spiritual ceiling was still intact.”

While the couple legally split in 2014, they didn’t officially separate and bring their marriage to a close until January 2023 — months after Kody’s marriages with Christine Brown and Janelle Brown also dissolved.

And though they’ve both seemingly come to terms with the end of their union, viewers saw Kody having a particularly difficult time saying goodbye to Meri during an episode of the TLC series in late November, breaking down in tears while sending his “favorite” ex-wife off to Utah, where she decided to re-settle.

“We had something special and it feels like it just all went to s–t, sort of,” Kody said through tears. “I’m not bitter anymore. I’m not angry. I’m glad you and I got that figured out. I’m glad that we were able to be friends. I’m glad that you’re my favorite ex-wife. But it’s the weirdest thing to be in that place. It is just heartbreaking in a way. And I love the life I have, but it’s a very different life than what I had three years ago, you know? It just seemed like everybody else just went, this isn’t important.”

Kody then admitted he’s “been going through an anger phase of divorce,” and though he’s no longer angry, he said he’s found himself “sad” as he mourns the “loss” of their marriage.

He continued, “And now with you, I’m through that anger phase. I’m sorry about the seven years, but I’m glad we did it because now I can mourn a loss instead of being angry.”

Meri was taken aback by Kody’s apology and unexpected emotional response to her move after he disregarded their relationship for years.

“He’s saying it’s the end of an era and I’m thinking it didn’t have to be this way,” she told the cameras. “I do not understand. I don’t get it. I don’t know where this is coming from. I do not understand it. He has made it clear that he did not want me in his life. So why this emotion? … I am floored. I don’t know what to do with this.”

Looking to the future, Kody said he wouldn’t be “weird” about her remarrying someday, and even said he’d love to walk his ex down the aisle.

Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET on TLC.