‘Sister Wives’: Kody Brown ‘Really Glad’ He Didn’t Have More Kids With Meri Brown

Sister Wives star Kody Brown is “really glad” he and Meri Brown only had one child together. The exes, who welcomed their only child, Leon, in July 1995, looked back on their fertility struggles during part one of a reflective Sister Wives special Sunday, during which they rewatched clips from 2012 surrounding their IVF hopes.

“Retrospectively, I’m really glad we didn’t have more children,” Kody said in the Dec. 24 special. “It wouldn’t have been good for the child because Meri and I weren’t healthy then.” Kody and Meri were optimistic in the 2012 episode about their chances of having another child, however. “It just freaks me out to go through that again. I want to have another baby. I would love that,” Meri said in the old clip, as Kody added, “When we’re dying when we’re 110, we’ll look back and we’ll be glad we did the IVF.”

The following year, however, Kody changed his mind following the couple’s fertility challenges and Meri’s miscarriage. Asked by Meri, “Do you want to have another baby with me or do you not?” Kody responded, “I would do it if it just happened,” but added that “because of the stakes, I’m not burning in my gut to do it.”

Kody explained in Sunday’s special that it was “more realization that our marriage is not really healthy” that put him off from having another child with Meri at the time. Meri agreed, admitting that she and Kody “were in a slightly tumultuous time.” Even so, Meri shared, “I really wanted to have more than just one,” even after the five-year journey to have Leon. 

Kody and Meri announced in January that they had split after more than three decades together. “After more than a decade of working on our relationship in our own unique ways, we have made the decision to permanently terminate our marriage relationship,” the two said in a joint statement at the time. “During this process, we are committed to kindness and respect toward each other and to all members of our family, and we are also committed to the continued healing of any and all relationships within the family so that we can move forward with forgiveness, grace, and love.” Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.