Historically, Meri Brown has gotten the short end of the stick in Sister Wives, but fans think the reality star is trying to get back in Kody and Robyn's good graces. Meri has been neglected by Kody as he's opted to spend romantic time with his fourth sister wife, Robyn, but Kody's original polygamous partner has been all-in on her spiritual marriage throughout the pandemic. From abiding by Kody's strict COVID guidelines to choosing to spend the holidays with her husband instead of her daughter, here's why Sister Wives fans are put off by the effort Meri's putting into winning over Kody and Robyn.
Kody and Meri's marriage has been on thin ice for most of the time the Brown family's starred in Sister Wives. Originally married in 1990, viewers noticed Kody and Meri's union started to deteriorate when the patriarch got married to Robyn in 2010. Although it wasn't the end of their spiritual relationship, Kody's decision to divorce Meri to legally marry Robyn symbolized the end of Kody and Meri's love life. Over the past decade, Meri's felt so unloved by Kody, she's resorted to embarking on relationships with strangers online. Kody has even confessed that he regrets marrying Meri and the pair will only ever be friends.
Kody has given Meri so little affection that fans have expected the original sister wife to leave him for several years now. While there are plenty of ardent viewers who believe Meri should follow Christine's lead and ditch her polygamist spouse, Meri hasn't shown any signs of splitting from Kody in season 16. Instead, Meri has been more determined than ever to win back her spiritual husband, even though he's shown little to no interest in her. Specifically, Meri has put extra effort into getting on Kody's good side throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Kody's been unpopular for the stringent COVID protocol he's enacted in an attempt to prevent the virus from spreading through the family. While Janelle and Christine Brown have argued that Kody's rules are too strict and divide the family, Meri has dutifully adhered to the list of requirements.
The main reason why Meri's worked so hard to follow all of Kody's challenging COVID rules is to spend more time with the patriarch, Robyn, and their kids. Meri was so determined to get along with Kody and Robyn, she opted to spend Thanksgiving with the polygamous pair instead of her daughter. In response to Meri taking a dig at Janelle and Christine for choosing their kids over Kody, a Reddit user shared, "Holy double standard Meri... [Janelle] and Christine are where they need to be." Fans think Meri is trying too hard to impress Kody and Robyn. A commenter confessed, "Meri is cringe begging for Robyn & Kody to acknowledge her." Viewers are confused by Meri's inconsistency as she was threatening to leave the plural family in past seasons, but as a fan noted, in season 16, "[Meri's] fawning over Kody like a schoolgirl."
Fans feel for Meri because of how poorly Kody treated her throughout the Brown family's run in Sister Wives, but the polygamist's supporters are perplexed by her behavior in season 16. From mocking Janelle and Christine to supporting Kody's unrealistic COVID-19 guidelines, viewers can't ignore Meri's attempts to prove her loyalty to Kody and Robyn. Hopefully, Meri will receive the validation she's always sought from the pair of Sister Wives stars.
Sources: Sweetgirl82/Reddit, Scottish_squirrel/Reddit, kodiak1120/Reddit