Sister Wives star Christine Brown addressed the decision to share Meri Brown’s wedding ring story publicly — and explained why Kody Brown was given a new band.
“Oh, my gosh, the whole ring thing was so interesting,” Christine, 51, exclusively told Us Weekly in November, noting that she wasn’t surprised Meri, 52, noticed Kody, 54, wearing a different wedding band while taping season 18 of the TLC series.
Christine recalled Meri having a strong reaction during an October episode of Sister Wives when she realized that Kody had replaced his Claddagh ring with a new one that appeared to be from fourth wife Robyn Brown.
The Claddagh — which is a Celtic symbol of love, loyalty and friendship — was Kody’s second wedding ring. His first was the one he and Meri exchanged at their wedding in 1990.
Christine, for her part, revealed in Us’ exclusive first look at the Sunday, December 3, episode of Sister Wives: 1-on-1 that Kody melted down his ring from Meri, claiming he said, “I didn’t want Meri to have control over me and power over me anymore,” when Robyn, 45, came into the plural family’s lives in 2010. Kody later divorced Meri in 2014 and legally married Robyn so he could adopt her kids from a prior marriage. He and Meri stayed in a spiritual union and officially announced their split in January.
“Meri’s very sentimental about the ring that she gave Kody,” Janelle Brown exclusively told Us last month in a joint interview with Christine. “And I think it bothered her when he melted down the wedding ring.”
Christine chimed in, saying, “I know it did. That was really hard.”
Meri appeared upset about Kody’s actions in Us’ exclusive tell-all clip, but she was more “frustrated” with Christine for telling her story publicly without her consent. “It was not Christine’s business to tell,” Meri said while getting choked up. “If I wanted to have shared that story in the last 13 years in a public way, I would have done that.”
Christine didn’t directly address how Meri felt about her sharing the wedding ring story with viewers during her interview with Us, but both she and Janelle, 54, said they felt strange about giving Kody his Claddagh ring after Meri was so hurt by him discarding his first band.
“As best I remember it, we did it for the sake of giving [our daughters] rings made from all the parents’ rings,” Janelle recalled to Us. “I know it was hard on [Meri]. I know it was really hard on her.”
Christine noted that she “thought it was a mistake to do it” and it was “super sad no matter what.” She explained that it was Kody’s “choice” to melt the gold and make something new.
“To me, it felt like he was giving them a token. I felt like it was, like, ‘I am passing on this thing to you,’” Janelle added. “I guess I felt like it was sort of an heirloom situation.”
Kody seemingly stopped wearing the Claddagh ring in 2022 while filming season 18 of Sister Wives, which showcased his tension with Janelle ahead of their separation. When he swapped out the second band for a new piece of jewelry, he and Meri were still in a strained marital relationship. He previously split from Christine in 2021.
Part 2 of Sister Wives: 1-on-1 airs on TLC Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
