Meri Says Kody Blames Over Lack of ‘Affection to Robyn’

Thanksgiving looked very different for the Brown family in 2023 after patriarch Kody Brown‘s big breakups with Meri Brown, Janelle Brown and  Christine Brown.

For Kody, this brought up both positive and negative emotions for him.

“This is the first Thanksgiving that Robyn and I are having with just our children alone,” Kody, 55, said in a confessional interview during the Sunday, Oct. 6 episode of Sister Wives. “We have never had this before.”

Janelle, 55, and Christine, 52, celebrated the November holiday together alongside their children. As for Meri, the 53-year-old Lizzie’s Heritage Inn owner opted to spend it alone, passing on Robyn Brown‘s invitation to join her and her kids with Kody for the occasion.

“I had had kind of tentative plans to take a trip to California over Thanksgiving, and that fell through,” Meri told the cameras. “Robyn did reach out and ask if I wanted to go over there for Thanksgiving, and I’m not going to do that. That’s just weird.”

Although Kody noted that “it was a pleasant experience” when Meri joined him, Robyn and their children last year despite their strained marriage, he believed that his first wife’s presence posed a problem in a major way.

“Robyn and I don’t behave like a married couple when my other wives are around,” he said.

“We weren’t acting like a married couple with Meri in our presence. That’s mostly on Robyn,” he continued. “To be fair, that’s because Robyn is very sensitive to other people. She wants to be very careful about their feelings. So when Meri’s there with us at our Thanksgiving, I’m not close with Meri. And now, I’m no longer close with Robyn because Meri’s present and Robyn wants to be sensitive to Meri.”

Sharing a similar sentiment, Meri (who ended up falling ill on the holiday) said she’s “heard Kody say multiple times how awkward it is that I’m even there, because you can’t show the affection and the adoration to Robyn that he wants to.”

“And I’m not going to inhibit that,” she continued. “I’m not a member of the family. I just really don’t want to go be a third wheel at Robyn and Kody’s house.”

Janelle later told the cameras she was “surprised” to learn that Meri was not spending Thanksgiving with Kody and Robyn, since it differed from the norm. But Janelle still hoped Meri would at least be with “somebody,” adding, “I think Meri deserves a lot more and I think it’s time for her to do something different. I thought that for a while and she still is around.”

Reflecting on what it was like spending Thanksgiving without his entire brood, Kody admitted he was “really struggling in many ways” because of how “small” the gathering was amid the family estrangement, noting that it was “just the seven of us.” 

“It’s quiet. It feels safe. By safe, I simply mean that we are all in a state of respect with each other,” he explained. “Ten years ago, I was safe for everybody, but they weren’t safe for each other. It shows me in so many ways the dysfunction of just the basics in plural marriage.” 

However, Kody still missed being with his full family, saying, “I want my other children in my life. I don’t know how to do that. I believe I’m grateful for the faith and hope that I have that things get better in the future.”

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