Christine Brown spilled her former sister wife's tea in a Season 18 "Sister Wives: One on One" special, out Dec. 30. She shared a story from a "very painful" time in Meri and Kody Brown's marriage, as Meri put it, going back to their wedding ring.
During Season 18 of the TLC season, Meri Brown noticed that Kody Brown was wearing a new wedding ring. When asked about the moment, Christine Brown shared the "backstory" behind the situation.
"I don’t feel like it’s all the way my place, but here we are," she said.
Christine Brown explained that Kody wore a wedding ring from the time he and Meri got married. After he welcomed two other wives into his plural family and Robyn Brown came into the picture, Christine Brown said he got rid of his original wedding ring.
"He melted down the ring, saved the gold, saved the diamonds. Well, Meri found out (and) she’s like, 'Well, where’s my ring? You don’t wear it anymore,'" she told host Sukanya Krishnan.
"He’s like, 'Oh, I melted it down,' just like that. And I was (shocked). He’s like, 'I didn’t want Meri to have control over me and power over me anymore.' I’m like, 'It’s still your wedding ring. It’s what you’ve had for 15, however many years, right?" she said.
Christine Brown said the four wives together and purchased a new claddagh ring for Kody Brown.
"We all went in on the design, the four of us. We got him the ring and that’s what he wore for a long time. And then he designed his own ring with Robyn ... I’m sure they went together and bought a ring because maybe it’s signifying a new beginning for them," she said.
After filming the "Sister Wives: One on One" special, Meri Brown learned that Christine Brown had shared the intimate story and wasn't thrilled, to say the least.
In a post-special confessional interview, a visibly distraught Meri Brown shook her head, cleared her throat and composed herself before launching into her thoughts.
“I am extremely frustrated right now, beyond (frustrated). After we did the taping for the one-on-one interviews with Suki, I found out that a story was brought up about me that is not a story that I have ever shared publicly,” she said.
Meri Brown expressed her anger over the situation and how her story was revealed.
"That is my story to tell when, where and how I want to. And somebody else took it upon themselves to tell that story, and now I’m being forced to talk about it. I’m not happy about it," she said.
When Christine Brown was initially asked about the ring story, she laughed. Meri Brown made a point to call her reaction out.
"She can laugh about it all she wants, but it was not her business to tell. If I had wanted to have shared that story in the last 13 years in a public way, I would have done that. She doesn’t get to come on here and tell my story without me even knowing it and me finding out later that this is what happened," she said.
Meri Brown shared her side of the story and confirmed Kody Brown said he wanted to stop wearing their wedding ring "right around the time that Robyn came into the family."
"Right around that same time, he had told me that he did not want me to have claim on him. He didn’t think that it was fair that I had claim on him. And so his way of doing that was to melt down the wedding ring," she continued.
The reality star's hurt was visible as she said, "That was a symbol that was a sign of our marriage and our commitment, and he melted it down. Who’s to say that he didn’t just melt down our whole relationship in that moment? Symbolically, that’s what he did to me."
She recalled asking her ex husband if she could keep the ring. By then, he'd already melted it down.
"It was a very, very painful situation," she said.
As for when this happened? According to Meri Brown, about seven years before the catfishing incident that Kody Brown said led to the end of their marriage. Meri Brown said the ring story contributed to the feelings of loneliness she experienced in her marriage.
"I spent those seven years trying to be in this relationship with Kody that he did not want to be in with me," she said.
Eventually, Krishan came face to face with Kody Brown himself. She asked why Kody Brown replaced the Claddagh ring with one he bought with Robyn Brown.
"I saw this really cool ring. It was way nicer and I went, that’s cool, I want that. And it was over here (points to his right hand) and my wedding ring was on and and some things happened and I went, 'You know, those relationships are over,'" he said.
Back in his interview with Krishnan, Kody Brown said, "I'm done. It's a new beginning."
Kody and Meri Brown announced their decision to permanently terminate their marriage in January 2023. Christine and Janelle Brown had already announced their separations by then — Christine in November 2021 and Janelle in December 2022.
The father of 18 was once married to four women, but now has one remaining wife: Robyn Brown.