This week Sister Wives fans learned of the sudden and unexpected passing of Meri Brown’s mother, Bonnie Ahlstrom. Now that Meri has lost her mother, could this mean she’s about to make some major life changes?
Meri’s mother Bonnie was the innkeeper at Lizzie’s Heritage Inn, so that will definitely change how things are run at the B&B.
Meri has plenty of ties to Utah
Some fans might speculate that Meri could either sell the B&B or move back to Utah to be closer to it. The inn, located in Parowan, Utah, is a home that has been in Meri’s family for generations and obviously holds a lot of sentimental value for her, so it’s hard to imagine she would give it up too easily.
Although the rest of the spouses were leery about her purchasing the Inn, Meri stayed determined and made it happen without their help and never looked back. Lizzie’s Heritage Inn officially opened in 2017 and has been successful ever since.
When viewers first met Meri on Sister Wives in 2010, the Brown family was living in Lehi, Utah. Fans watched earlier this season when Meri and Kody’s daughter Mariah announced that she and her fiance Audrey were moving back to Utah to be closer to the family.
With her daughter and her bed and breakfast both in Utah, it would make sense that Meri would consider moving out of Flagstaff and heading back north.
Meri admitted that no one visits her anyway
Meri recently revealed that “nobody comes over here anyway” and said, “we don’t see each other” when asked about being taken care of in the event she would fall ill. Kody also admitted that the two don’t “date” anymore and he only sees his estranged wife “once in a blue moon.”
Kody has not hidden the fact that he’s pretty much given up on Meri and their estranged marriage. Kody and Meri legally wed in 1990 and added new sister wives in 1993 with Janelle entering the marriage, 1994 with Christine joining the threesome, then again in 2010 when Robyn became Kody’s fourth wife.
Kody and Meri then legally divorced in 2014 after 24 years of legal marriage. Fans know that Meri offered the divorce as a solution for Kody to adopt Robyn’s three children from a previous marriage.
Meri is free to leave the family at any time, according to Kody
Since Meri hasn’t had any legal spousal ties to Kody for seven years, she’s free to do as she pleases. In fact, Kody made it clear that any of his four wives have the freedom of choice to leave the family at any time, but claimed he doesn’t share that same option.
Janelle gave insight into what a divorce might look like if one of the wives would leave the family in a recent interview. She explained that if a wife leaves Kody, they leave the family, too. Janelle shared that if one of the wives ever left the family, she would have “no legal right” to see the other wives’ children.
Meri has shared that one of her hobbies is hanging out with the youngest children in the family. In fact, she recently shared a post about Kody and Robyn’s youngest child, Ariella Mae. So would she risk not being able to see the younger kids if she moved away to Utah?
Meri is financially independent and it appears that her businesses are thriving
Meri rents a huge, million-dollar home in Flagstaff for $4,500 per month, where she lives alone. Besides Lizzie’s Heritage Inn, Meri also runs a seemingly lucrative LuLaRoe business as a trainer.
Before COVID-19 hit, Meri was often seen traveling frequently on trips she earned through her clothing line. Her B&B has received rave reviews and Meri recently added faux mink eyelashes to her growing list of business ventures when she became an ambassador for Juvanae.
Since her legal divorce from Kody, Meri won’t be afforded the same financial benefits as her sister wife Robyn, likely giving Meri even more motivation to work hard.
Another sister wife has hinted at moving to Utah
Meri’s sister wife Christine, Kody’s third wife, has hinted several times at moving back to Utah as well, most recently in last week’s episode of Sister Wives when she pleaded her case to try and convince her daughters to move back to Utah.
The reason the Browns left Utah was to escape prosecution from the state’s previous laws against polygamy. Being that polygamy was a felony in the state at the time, Kody uprooted the family to Las Vegas where they couldn’t be legally charged for living in a plural marriage.
The laws have since been lessened from a felony to a minor infraction so polygamous families can live with their plural families without fear. If Meri and Christine moved back to Utah, would that prompt the rest of the family to follow?
Some fans think Meri has already started her transition from Arizona to Utah. Only Meri knows for sure, so fans will have to wait and see.
Sister Wives airs on Sundays at 10/9c on TLC.