Meri Brown was a “clingy” wife.
According to her ex-husband, anyway.
Kody Brown says that Meri was “all over him” to the point of making his other wives uncomfortable.
Kody opened up about Meri’s “clinginess” in Sunday’s Sister Wives episode, Love Covers All Wrongs.
The topic came about when the family celebrated Valentine’s Day.
As Robyn explained, Kody’s exes, Christine, Janelle, and Meri, decided not to show affection in front of the other wives before she came into the family.
Admittedly, Robyn saw it as a “mistake” because it made Kody and all of his wives feel alone.
Although it may have caused jealousy among the wives, Robyn reasoned that they were already jealous of each other anyway, and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.
Kody explains why he began ‘withdrawing’ affection from Meri
During a confessional in the new episode, Meri told producers that Kody had said it was hard to have her around because he couldn’t be affectionate with Robyn like he wanted to.
Kody added, “When Meri and I got married, Meri was clingy,” during his confessional. “She was all over me.”
“She was always all over me,” Kody continued, imitating himself receiving affection from Meri.
Kody also claimed that while he was courting his second wife, Janelle, his first wife, Meri, would sit in his lap.
“Janelle’s mom pulls me aside and says, ‘Hey, you know, Janelle’s not comfortable seeing that affection that you’re giving to Meri,'” Kody confessed.
Kody justified that because of this opinion, he began “withdrawing” affection from Meri and “never even” established it with Janelle.
Kody’s exes weigh in on showing affection
The rest of the Browns offered their opinions about showing affection in their plural marriage.
Janelle communicated that there should be no rules. She believes husbands and wives should do what works for them and the sister wives.
For Meri, it depended on where they were in the marriage. She didn’t mind seeing him affectionate with his other wives when they were in a good place.
But if Meri and Kody were on bad terms, it was “really hard” for her to witness.
Christine called it “insulting” to watch Kody and another wife be affectionate when her marriage to Kody was in a “terrible” state.
Additionally, it seemed to Christine that Robyn was “always more interested and [wanted to] have physical affection, like, in front of the other wives.”
Christine was correct in her assumption, as evidenced by Robyn.
Robyn has always been pro PDA
Robyn said that showing affection toward each other makes couples feel “safe and secure.”
“It would have made each wife feel more secure and more comfortable if Kody would have been able to show affection, or we would have been able to show affection to him,” Robyn admitted.
“It was OK to fight in front of each other. It was OK to sit there and get edgy with each other,” she added, “But it wasn’t OK to show love, support, care, a tender word—that wasn’t allowed.”
Sister Wives Season 19 Part B airs Sundays at 10/9c on TLC.