A TLC star has revealed she left her husband after a short marriage before she went on to form a polyamorous relationship with his sister.
Janelle Brown, 56, and Meri Brown, 54, became sister wives, sharing husband Kody Brown, but before that they were sisters-in-law.
On Sunday night’s episode of TLC show Sister Wives, Meri explained, “Janelle and I were actually sisters-in-law before we were sister wives.
“She had been married to my brother and she was actually at my wedding with him, and then they divorced after Kody and I got married.”
Janelle said, “I met Meri’s brother when I was a senior in high school, and we got married about a year, a year and a half or so after I graduated.
“It lasted, it was very short. We were married for less than a year.”
Meri admitted it was “really hard” for her when the conversation about Janelle joining her and her husband Kody as part of a polyamorous relationship began.
“It was a tough thing to wrap my head around on multiple levels,” she revealed, mainly because Janelle had been married to her brother.
“It was definitely a thing for me, for sure,” Meri said, while Janelle told the TV cameras, “I don’t know about Meri but for me it wasn’t really a thing.”
Talking about her brief marriage to Meri’s brother, Janelle explained, “It was such a small period of time, it almost was like, it didn’t really matter.”
However, after Janelle married Kody, the new family unit began experiencing ongoing tension – with both women, as well as ex-wife Christine Brown, 53, eventually pursuing spiritual divorces from Kody, 56, whose only remaining relationship now is with wife Robyn Brown, 47.
After a clip of Janelle and Meri sharing details of their relationship on Sister Wives was shared by the official TLC ccount on Instagram, many fans said the fact the two women were previously sisters in law could have played a part in the fracturing of their polyamorous arrangement.
One said, “Now I understand why they didn’t get along. She went from being Meri’s sister in law to sharing her husband. That’s not normal.”
Another viewer wrote, “The way Janelle continues to brush it off and dismiss it…girl…”
A third posted, “Janelle is so wrong marrying her ex- sister inlaw’s husband. Stop trying to invalidate Merri’s feeling Janelle, you were in their family for 4 year, do not trivialize this. This right here can make anyone go crazy. I feel bad for Meri.”
“JANELLE! YOU WERE MARRIED. IT MATTERS,” one more said.
A viewer commented, “It mattered to Meri, so it matters… plus I’m sure it was hard for Meri giving up her husband to another woman.”
Someone else posted, “Didn’t really matter? Maybe just Maybe Meri’s brother really mattered to her.”
A person said, “Meri is finally telling her truth. She was so loyal to Kody and the family that she always kept quiet. I like Janelle but she did Mari wrong. I can’t imagine my sister Inlaw marrying my husband. It’s actually sickening to think about it.”
And another shared, “So this just tells me Cody never REALLY cared about Mari or her feelings.”