SISTER Wives’ star Kody Brown made his feelings about his wife Meri known and why he doesn’t want an “intimate relationship” with her again in a one-on-one episode of the TLC show.
The polygomist family opened up about their strained relationship, which has played out on the latest seasons of the series.
In a sneak peak at Sunday’s episode shared exclusively by PEOPLE, Meri, 51, explained her reasoning for sticking beside her husband, despite no longer being intimate with Kody, 53.
When host Sukanya Krishnan questioned the star’s loyalty to Kody, the reality star replied: “This is my family, like I don’t understand people who think, ‘Well just because you don’t have this relationship with Kody, why don’t you just leave?’
“Because I don’t want to,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me when people ask me that all the time.”
Meri was Kody’s first wife who he tied the knot with in 1990, before he spiritually married Janelle, 52, in 1993, and Christine a year later.
His fourth wife Robyn, 43, later joined the family in 2010 bringing along her three children from a previous relationship.
Several years later, Kody and Meri agreed to a divorce so he could legally marry Robyn and adopt her children – seemingly beginning their marriage issues.
Christine, 49, – who announced her split from Kody in November and has vocalized her need for intimacy in her relationship – commented on their arrangement.
“I don’t know how she does it,” she said of Meri’s reaction to her and Kody’s lack of intimacy. “I guess she’s more fine with it than I am.”
Kody explained his side in his own sit down interview, saying: “There’s a point where intimacy is just damaged. It’s misleading to have intimacy in a relationship where there is no real safety, I’m not going there.”
Krishnan then asked Kody if he “feels safe with Meri?,” to which he replied: “No, and I never will again.
“I will be her friend, I will do what I can to protect her. I will build a house for her out on Coyote pass, but I’m never going to feel safe in an intimate place.”
The TV star confirmed that Meri “hurt” him, making their relationship impossible to repair.
“And that wasn’t from the catfishing, it was just the catfish woke me up out of the daze I guess,” he said referring to Meri’s previous involvement in a catfish scandal.
After Krishan asked him if her relationship with the other wives, and a “friendship” with him was “going to be enough,” he responded: “I don’t think that’s enough for anybody, but everybody makes their choices.”
BREAKING POINT
Fans have watched Kody and Meri’s struggles unfold on screen, first revealing their lack of intimacy back in April.
On the episode, Kody and his first wife celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary despite Meri revealing they’re “not a couple.”
During their picnic, Kody explained how their material issues hit a breaking point when Meri was catfished.
A few years back, Meri entered into an online relationship with someone who ended up being a female admirer pretending to be a man she thought she cared for.
The couple went to counseling after the incident, but it still seems to be weighing heavily on the Brown patriarch.
Kody explained: “Meri and I had problems like this long before Janelle even came into the family, but the catfishing thing was what really woke us up to the state of our situation.
“We went a couple of years, a lot of counseling, figuring things out and as we went through this process, I’m looking for a spark… something to initiate some form of desire for a relationship with each other. In this time, it has never manifested.”
Kody said to his spiritual wife: “I think we miss the idea of us. We don’t miss each other.”
But Meri shot back: “Speak for yourself. I do have a strong draw to you, but I do not act on that because I know how you feel. I can’t make you care for me. I can’t change that.”
‘MAGIC’ IS GONE
Meri, who shares daughter Mariah with Kody, then explained of how she initiated sex in the past: “He has said to me, ‘You just need to make it known. You need to flirt with me.’ So I try those things and he backs off more so I back off more.
“I was like, ‘Oh, that didn’t work. That was uncomfortable.’ You know? But at the same time, I want to keep putting myself out there because this is what I want. I’m not giving up. I’m not walking away.”
Meri told him: “I didn’t know I was supposed to court you. I’ve been waiting for you, honestly.”
Kody shockingly responded: “And I’m not comin.”
The dad of 18 then said in his confessional: “There has to be more magic in this than what we have. She’s not making any effort. I’m not making any effort. Where do you think that puts us?
“She wants to be loved romantically then there has to be a spark for that. And then she’ll get from that, she will receive romance, love and a full marriage and sexual relationship.”
But Meri insisted that she’s tried, as she said: “I will ask him to come over. ‘Hey, come over, let’s go do something.’ ‘Hey, let’s go on a walk.’ ‘Hey, let’s go to dinner.’ He says no. When I ask, he says no.”
But Kody admitted there is “always a chance” the two could be more of a couple in the future.
‘ALWAYS A CHANCE’
He explained: “My discussion with Meri right now isn’t about me telling Meri that she has to have a divorce with me, that she has to leave. I’m not doing that. I will never do that. My faith doesn’t allow me to, my conscience doesn’t allow me to.
“And because I haven’t done that, there’s always a chance that we might actually get back together into full fellowship.”
He added: “I’m sitting here with Meri going, ‘I’m finally out of the anger phase. I’m finally out of the bitterness. Now how are we going to do this right?’ And Meri’s like, ‘Well, you’re going to have to love me.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, well, be lovable,'”
Meri then became tearful when she said: “Do you know that every time you put your hand on my hand, how I feel? I just wish you knew.”
When she did try to flirt with her husband, he shut her down, as she said “this is a rejection. He’s really just not interested.”
Kody then said in his confessional: “Meri and I are in a marriage, but we don’t want to be part of a hookup culture. Romance and sex are saved for people who are in love.”
Despite the date, the two did not end their anniversary celebration with a kiss.
Fans have wondered if Meri is going to follow Christine’s lead and be the next wife to leave the nest.
In addition to the cryptic quotes she’s posted on social media without her wedding ring, she recently snubbed her husband and the other wives in a birthday post where she celebrated with her “favorite people.”
