Meri Brown shed some light on how ex-husband Kody Brown and sister wife Janelle Brown are handling the death of their son Garrison Brown.
“I’ve talked to each of them, and I think there’s good days and bad days,” Meri, 53, said of the pair on the Monday, June 10, episode of the “Miss Understood With Rachel Uchitel” podcast. “I don’t know how there couldn’t be.”
Meri, who split from Kody, 55, in January 2023 after more than 30 years together, noted that she is also having a hard time processing Garrison’s death.
“There’s still times that I’ll see a picture of Garrison and I’ll be like, ‘Awww. I don’t like that this happened,’” Meri said. “It’s really sad, you know?”
Meri explained that she feels “so much” for Janelle, 55, as a mother. “I watched my mom lose two of her own kids before she passed … it’s tragic,” Meri added.
Garrison died by suicide in March at the age of 25. The Sister Wives star was one of Kody and Janelle’s six children.
“Janelle and I are deeply saddened to announce the loss of our beautiful boy Robert Garrison Brown,” Kody shared via Instagram at the time. “He was a bright spot in the lives of all who knew him. Our loss will leave such a big hole in our lives, that it takes our breath away. We ask that you please respect our privacy and join us in honoring his memory.”
Kody and Janelle — who announced their split in December 2022 — also share Logan, 30, Maddie, 28, Hunter, 27, Gabriel, 22, and Savanah, 19.
Kody also shares six children with ex-wife Christine Brown, who left him in November 2021. Kody and Meri share one child, Leon, while he and his fourth wife, Robyn Brown, share two kids. Kody legally adopted Robyn’s three children from a prior relationship when they tied the knot in 2014.
While the Brown family was fractured ahead of Garrison’s passing, they came together to mourn their loss at a private funeral in March.
The following month, Meri reflected on how much Garrison meant to the family after finding a photo with him from years past.
“Seeing it immediately moved me to tears, a testament of the love I have for him, the pain of the loss of him,” Meri captioned the April Instagram post. “It’s a reminder that grief comes in unexpected waves, memories of the moments with him all that remains. Four weeks today without him here with us. A lifetime of memories to hold sacred.”
Janelle, for her part, revealed in May that she had a “surprisingly emotional” Mother’s Day without Garrison there to celebrate.
“All weekend I felt the grief so close to the surface. And it was especially poignant when I made this simple pie,” Janelle wrote via Instagram. “Our strawberry picking excursion combined with the fact that I randomly found rhubarb at the local farmers market made it feel like this pie was destined.”
She chose to make a strawberry rhubarb pie for the holiday because it was a family favorite. “Maybe no one loved it more than Garrison,” Janelle added. “And that made this pie a little bittersweet. I love you honey and miss you every day.”
Even with their joint heartbreak, Meri revealed on Monday’s podcast that she is still not close with her former sister wives after their respective breakups.
“When I see them, we have cordial conversations, but I don’t seek them out to have a relationship,” Meri told host Rachel Uchitel. “It’s taken me a little bit to realize and just come to the understanding that it’s OK. Some people are just in your life for a season. It’s OK to let things go if the relationship is not reciprocal and it’s not building me up or building them up, it’s OK.”
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