Sister Wives Season 18 Episode 14 Recap: Most Shocking Moments

Sister Wives season 18 episode 14, “Always Darkest Before Dawn,” saw Meri Brown making a critical decision about her future with Kody Brown while Christine Brown & Janelle Brown continued to talk about their relationships. Sister Wives season 18 explores the problematic dynamics between Kody and each of his wives after Christine chose to leave Kody during a previous season. With the fallout from Kody and Christine’s divorce impacting all of his marriages, Kody’s been doing his best to prioritize Robyn Brown while letting his other relationships fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, Kody’s balancing act hasn’t worked in his favor regarding how Janelle and Meri see their relationships.

After a relationship-altering argument with Janelle during Sister Wives season 18 episode 3, her marriage to Kody crumbled. Janelle has explained that she considers their relationship separated, as she doesn’t feel she’s married to Kody anymore. On the other hand, Meri has tried everything in her power to save her relationship with Kody. After he fumbled on their 32nd wedding anniversary, Meri began questioning why she was trying to salvage a relationship that was likely already over.

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Meri Shared She Feels Kody Emotionally Abandoned Her

Meri Was Hurt Long Before Her Catfishing Scandal

Although years have passed since Meri’s catfishing scandal, it still comes up often in her discussions about her relationship with Kody. Meri fell for a catfish who ultimately wound up being a woman pretending to be a successful entrepreneurial man but instead mined some salacious information from their messages that she used to blackmail Meri. The drama surrounded Kody and Meri’s marriage for years, breaking his trust in her, but Meri admitted she’d been feeling abandoned long before the scandal. While it didn’t help to repair their relationship, Kody and Meri have been having problems that she has been actively trying to fix for decades.

Janelle & Christine Shared Their Thoughts On How Kody & Robyn Have Treated Meri

Kody’s Ex-Wives Shed Light On Meri’s Mistreatment

While Meri was discussing her relationship issues, Janelle and Christine were open about how they felt about Kody and Robyn’s treatment of Meri. Throughout the run of Sister Wives, Kody’s wives have taken time to reflect on each other’s relationships. Still, Kody’s marriage to Meri has always been a more complicated point of discussion. Christine and Janelle both felt that the way Kody and Robyn have pushed Meri to stay in her marriage despite knowing that Kody wasn’t interested in her was cruel. For the couple to want to protect their family structure rather than putting Meri’s feelings first was hard, and neither woman condoned it.

Kody Believes Janelle & Christine Are Against Him

Kody Feels His Ex-Wives May Be Bitter

The patriarch of the Brown family shared that though he has Robyn in his corner, he believes that Janelle and Christine are both against him regarding where the family stands. Even though his marriages to both Christine and Janelle ended on bad terms, Kody explained that he feels his exes are hoping to turn others against him with their opinions. Kody believes his relationships with his children, like Janelle's sons Garrison Brown and Gabe Brown, have changed dramatically due to how Janelle speaks about him. While Janelle has her own opinions, Kody feels Christine has been the one to push the negativity.

Meri, Robyn, & Kody Met To Talk About The Division Of Coyote Pass

The Brown Family's Land Has Been Empty For Years

Coyote Pass has always been difficult for the Brown family to discuss, especially after Christine sold her land shares to Kody after their split. Meri, Robyn, and Kody met to discuss the land's split, but when Kody explained how things had been divided, Meri bristled. Kody explained that Christine had given him her shares, and rather than divide the land four ways between himself, Robyn, Meri, and Janelle, Kody would be taking Christine's plot. This confused Meri at how she was only given two acres when Janelle and Robyn would both be getting four acres, and Kody would be getting the remaining land.

Meri Shared She’s Always Felt Kody’s Treated Her As Less-Than

Kody's First Wife Has Never Been His First Priority

Despite being Kody's first wife, Meri has never been his priority, especially since he married Robyn in 2014. While Kody and Meri's marriage lasted over 30 years, he's shared that he hasn't been attracted to his first wife in over a decade. After spending years building his relationships with his original wives, Kody met Robyn, and she ultimately took precedence. Meri shared that she hasn't felt like Kody has treated her as well as he's treated his other wives in years. When he explained the division of Coyote Pass and her two acres, Meri shared she felt less than anyone else in the family.

Janelle Explained What Kody’s Coded Sentiments Rean

Kody's Vernacular Is Secretly Hurtful

After years of being married to Kody, each of his wives has their way of deciphering his coded language. During Sister Wives season 18 episode 14, Janelle shared that she understands when Kody is talking about someone being "mean" to Robyn, he's not actually feeling that they're being harsh. According to Janelle, Kody uses coded language when he talks about his family members, especially when urging them to treat Robyn as though she has no faults. Janelle explained that she doesn't feel anyone's ever genuinely being "mean" to Robyn, but she can't handle anyone else's opinions and takes their words as harsh.

Meri Told Kody & Robyn She’s Moving To Utah Full Time

Meri's News Was Shocking To Robyn & Kody

After much consideration, Meri decided to share that she would likely not renew the lease on her house in Flagstaff. She explained to Kody and Robyn that she felt she'd be more help at her bed and breakfast in Utah and would be moving there full time. Robyn didn't take the news well, but Kody didn't seem phased by the announcement. Meri shared that though she and Kody hadn't discussed much about their relationship, it was clear that they weren't moving forward in their marriage, which meant there was nothing to keep her in Flagstaff. Meri tried to frame the decision positively for everyone, but Robyn disagreed.

Meri’s Decision Personally Hurt Robyn

Robyn Took Meri's Choice As An Attack

As per usual, Robyn was quick to make Meri's decision to move away from their family home in Flagstaff as something personally against her. Though Meri reassured her that it was about the B&B and her marriage to Kody, Robyn stepped in to try and push Meri to commit to building on her Coyote Pass plot. Meri shared she wasn't sure what she would do, which led Robyn into further hysterics. She shared in an interview segment that she understood where Meri was coming from, but it was too hurtful for her to be impartial. Despite knowing Meri was in emotional pain, Robyn continued to paint herself as the victim.

Kody Said He’d Be Willing To Fake Being In Love With Meri For Robyn’s Benefit

Meri & Kody Discussed The End Of Their Marriage

After discussing Coyote Pass, the conversation moved on to Kody and Meri discussing their marriage. Meri shared that they'd had a private conversation a few days prior where they both agreed their relationship was over, but Kody refused to address things publicly. While Meri was clear that she was no longer interested in being married to Kody if he didn't want her, Kody shared that he would happily keep up the act of being in love with Meri if it would make Robyn happy. He explained that Robyn entered the family looking for a plural marriage, and without it, he knew things would change in their relationship.

Robyn Made Meri & Kody’s Separation About Her

As Usual, Robyn Played The Victim

As with Meri's decision to leave, Robyn had the last word regarding Kody and Meri's marriage dissolving. Though the couple had been growing apart for years, Robyn made it impossible to ignore her as she cried openly about the loss of her dream to grow old with her sister wives. After losing Christine, Janelle, and Meri in just a matter of years, Robyn was in hysterics over the fact that her life had changed so drastically without her wanting it to. Leaving Sister Wives season 18 off on a sad note, it was clear that Robyn and Kody were unsure where their marriage would go.