“Sister Wives”' Meri Brown Was 'Disappointed' by Family Collapse: 'Didn't Ever See This Coming' (Exclusive)

"If the best for ourselves is not within the same family structure that we built and that we've had for so long, it is what it is, and I just want everybody to be happy," Meri Brown tells PEOPLE

Meri Brown is reflecting on the collapse of her polygamous family within 14 months.

The Sister Wives star, 52, tells PEOPLE that she is “very sad about what has happened with the family” after three of Kody Brown’s marriages came to end, including her own with the family patriarch.

“It's very disappointing to me,” she shares. “And also, I get that we're all unique individuals and we want the best for ourselves. And if the best for ourselves is not within the same family structure that we built and that we've had for so long, it is what it is, and I just want everybody to be happy with where they are.”

She added: “So no, I didn't ever see this coming. I really didn't. But I really truly just want everybody to be in a peaceful place with themselves.”

Related: Sister Wives' Meri Brown on the Biggest Misconception About Her — and Why It Made Her Fight for Her Marriage (Exclusive)

Christine Brown announced her split from Kody in November 2021 after nearly 26 years. She was the first of Kody's four wives to leave their polygamous arrangement. A year after her departure, Kody's breakups with first wife Meri and second wife Janelle Brown were confirmed. He is currently only married to fourth wife Robyn Brown.

Meri admits that she was surprised by her marriage coming to an end, saying, “It was not something that I ever saw happening in my marriage, especially when we got married 33 years ago.”

“You don't think that that's ever going to happen,” she continued. “And as we built the family, you just don't think that what is going to happen is going to happen. You don't know. You have no idea.”

Related: Sister Wives' Meri Brown Emerged from Years of Marital Struggles to Realize 'I'm Pretty Badass' (Exclusive)

The TLC star notes that she “100 percent gave it my all” before announcing her split from Kody in December 2022, saying, “I did everything in my power that I could do. And if I would've walked away any sooner, there would've always been a question in my mind of did I do everything that I can do? But I'm very confident knowing that I did everything that I could do, and I'm very at peace with the timing of it and how it all played out.”

Related: Sister Wives' Meri Brown Shares Bittersweet Memories of Being an 'It Couple' with Kody (Exclusive)

Despite the marriage coming to an end, the reality star says she would do it all over again.

“There's definitely things in the past three decades that I would've done different, different conversations that I would've had. But I mean, hindsight's 20/20, right?” she says. “You don't know until you know, and there are a lot of things I didn't know, Kody didn't know, all of us didn't know 20 years ago, 30 years ago.”

She continues, “So I think that my family and the life that I have lived and all the experiences that I have had has really only contributed to who I am now, so I can't regret that at all.”

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Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.

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