Meri and Kody Brown.Photo: TLC (2)

Meri and Kody Brown

Kody Brownis shedding light on why his relationship with first wifeMeri Brownled him to begin a polygamous marriage.

During part 3 of theSister Wives Talk Backspecial on Sunday, Kody, 54, claimed that Meri, 52, “beat the love out of me over our first year of marriage," which prompted him to search for connections elsewhere.

“From the beginning, Meri and I had a lot of problems. I couldn’t fix them. I didn’t know what to do,” he shared as footage oftheir 2022 breakupwas shown. “Divorce wasn’t an option in my world [so] just diluting the relationship was the only option I had. I’m going, ‘Hey, I need another wife because I can’t spend all my time with her.'"

Kody and Meri Brown.Ida Mae Astute/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

Kody Brown; Meri Brown

The original Brown family pair experienced many issues over the years, withMeri’s catfish drama— in which she virtuallyconnected with a woman posing as a male admirer— serving as the tipping point in their strained relationship.

Robyn Brown, Meri Brown, Kody Brown, Christine Brown and Janelle Brown from “Sister Wives” arrive at the grand opening of Mike Tyson’s one-man show “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth - Live on Stage”

Ethan Miller/Getty

“It’s interesting to me that he’s like, ‘This isn’t what I wanted either,'" Meri added. “Because in my mind, I’m like, why don’t you try for something more?"

Meri said she no longer recognizes her ex, explaining, “He seems like a completely different person than the Kody of 10, 12, 14, 20 years ago and I’m not like being married to this person. Hence, I’m not.”

She shared that she would like to see Kody take some responsibility forthe demise of their relationship.

“I really, really wish that he would take some sort of accountability and just be like, ‘I did love you as much as I could and as much as who you and I were, like I did love you,'” she explains. “And then I realized that I didn’t and leave it at that.”

In an October episode ofSister Wives, Kody opened up about how his marriage with Meri was strained and hadlost the sparkit needed to keep it going.

“I feel like Meri and I have had a reasonably amiable relationship,” the Brown family patriarch told the cameras. “It’s distant, I don’t see her very often. I don’t know what to do with a marriage that’s supposed to be eternal, but doesn’t have any fire.”

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Sister Wivesis now streaming on Max.

source: people.com