The reality star finds it difficult to discuss the day her ex-husband announced that their marriage was “dissolved.” In the newest episode of “Sister Wives,” Meri Brown reflects on the catfishing incident that contributed to the breakdown of her marriage to Kody Brown.
“It’s important to exercise extreme caution when interacting with people you meet online,” she confides in an early scene of Season 18, Episode 12. “I was duped by a large, dishonest person a number of years ago.”
In 2015, the reality personality started dating someone online whom she mistook for a man. She confirmed to People in a 2015 statement that the individual turned out to be a woman posing as a man.
At the time she said in a statement, “Throughout this ordeal, my family has supported and stood by me. I am grateful to them for their love and strength through this difficult time.”
Reflecting on her experience in Season 18 of “Sister Wives,” Meri Brown says the story was “blow out of proportion.”
“That whole story was so completely blown out of proportion and so much crap was made up about it,” she says. “I still have a hard time talking about it just because everybody has their opinions about it. But like, I know my truth.”
The 52-year-old goes on to say her plural family also formed strong viewpoints on the matter.
“Even with our family, some of our own family has their own opinions about,” she says.
After the catfishing incident, Kody Brown had previously stated on “Sister Wives” that their marriage had “dissolved”.
It proved to be really abusive and exploitative. And as a result of that encounter, Meri and I felt like our marriage fell apart,” he remarked.
The marriage between Kody and Meri Brown was troubled for a long time before they declared in January 2023 that they were going to “permanently terminate” it.
They announced on social media, “We have decided to permanently terminate our marriage relationship after more than a decade of working on our relationship in our own unique ways.”
At one point, Meri Brown was one of Kody Brown’s four wives. During Season 17 of “Sister Wives,” she repeatedly made it clear that she wanted “to work on” their problems but noted that his approach to marriage was “disturbing.”
Kody Brown has said their marriage was “a hard relationship from the very beginning” and described their relationship as “not functional.”
Meri Brown, in the episode of “Sister Wives,” says the catfishing incident changed the way she conducts herself on the internet.
“I talk to people online for business all the time, and one of my prerequisites is that I do a video chat with them. I just want to make sure that they are a legit person,” she explains.
There are people who “put themselves out there as being somebody other than they really are,” she says.