As Kody Brown’s first wife, Meri Brown often gets the most sympathy from viewers of Sister Wives. That doesn’t mean everyone is on her side or that they aren’t willing to call her out on her own bad behavior. With all the drama between the wives and with Kody, audiences see a large amount of passive-aggressiveness and manipulation. Sometimes Meri is the victim of these attacks and sometimes she is the perpetrator.
Everything is up in the air for the Brown family right now. Season 15 has them in separate rental properties around Flagstaff, Arizona, while the bulk of their money went towards a parcel of land. While Kody has grand plans for one big family mansion, the other wives aren’t sure they want to live in one home, and not all of them can even agree if they should live in Arizona or return to Utah, as Christine wants, but none of the other wives do. Whatever happens, it seems no one in the family is going to truly be as happy as they thought they’d be in polygamy.
Viewers took to Reddit to discuss Meri’s behavior in a certain episode. While Meri was arguing with her family about her bed and breakfast, one fan felt Meri “literally just switched her stance and then tried to lie and say that had been her point the whole time….she is just so manipulative. Like in the Parowan house situation, she's using the pretense of family nostalgia to make a financially irresponsible decision.”
https://old.reddit.com/r/SisterWives/comments/myn6uj/just_saw_a_very_clear_example_of_meri_gaslighting/
Some Redditors agreed Meri often acts manipulative or selfish, but excuse her because of her upbringing and life stuck in polygamy. Another fan said, “She has been with a Con man, a [charlatan] for 30 years so guess something rubbed off.” The way Kody manages his wives and children hasn’t impressed any fans. One viewer said, "Meri grew up and then at a very young age got married into a system that is set up for women to fight for resources love attention status etc…i think thats the only way she knows how to 'win' in a completely warped religion.”
Other Redditors disagreed with the initial comment. They saw Meri’s poor communication with her sister wives and Kody were more their fault than hers. The family was trying to change how she was operating her bed and breakfast business. Some fans thought the family was in the wrong for trying to tell Meri how to run the business that Kody refused to let them fund. One fan said, “since she paid for everything out of her own pocket and the family did not contribute, she can do what she wants with it.” And since the bed and breakfast is doing well, Meri clearly doesn’t need their input.
All of the sister wives are in a difficult situation. They made the decision to enter a polygamous marriage, but many of them under religious pressure. Clearly, none of them are happy in their situation, but all of them are choosing to stay in the miserable plural marriage. And the more unhappy they get, the worse they treat each other. Sister Wives has highlighted the polygamous family’s lack of healthy relationships and life skills. One viewer made a harsh but valid point based on what is shown on the show: “None of the Brown adults seem to have any idea of how to function as mature adults.”
Source: Reddit