“Sister Wives”' Meri Brown Says She's 'Not a Failure' as She Reflects on Marriage to Kody on Their Would-Be 34th Anniversary

The TLC star said she didn't "regret" her marriage or divorce, and was choosing to flip the narrative of their split to instead focus on "the lessons I lived" and how they've "made me who I am today"

Meri Brown is reflecting on a bittersweet milestone and how her life has changed since leaving her plural marriage.

In an Instagram post shared on April 21, the Sister Wives star, 53, marked the occasion of what would have been her 34th wedding anniversary to her ex-husband Kody Brown with a reflective post about her life post divorce.

"So I've considered today whether or not I wanted to address this, and I've decided I will," she began alongside a photo of herself smiling next to her dog Zona. "34 years ago today, I got married. 34 years ago was the start of this family that so many of you have come to love or, well, not so much. Yes, I know full well that we are a very polarizing topic. 😆."

Related: Sister Wives' Meri Brown Announces Split from New Boyfriend After 4 Months: 'Time in My Life to Prioritize Me'

Though Meri admitted that she "never anticipated a divorce was in my future," she claimed that she didn't "regret" her marriage or her separation from the Brown family patriarch.

The TLC star went on to explain that she often looks "back on the years" and reflects where she "could have done better" in her marriage and the moments she did her best. While acknowledging that there were points where she "didn't live to my best potential," she also noted there were times she "loved as full as my heart could feel it."

"I look back and am grateful for the experiences and the lessons," Meri added.

"For a long time, I had the narrative in my head that if I couldn't make my marriage work, then I was a failure. But what if I flipped that narrative?" she continued. "What if, instead, I looked at all the lessons I lived and realized that's what made me who I am today? Not a failure, but a strong woman going after her dreams. Not a failure, but a woman realizing dreams that she didn't know she even had. Not a failure, but a woman building her own table and surrounding it with people who want to share it with her."

Related: Meri Brown Shares Inspirational Message About Being 'Willing to Eat Alone Until You Find the Right Table'

Meri said that April 21st has always been a day "surrounded with a plethora of emotions," but now she considers it a milestone "that has brought my life full circle."

"An April 21st will never pass without me remembering. Not with bitterness, not with anger, not with sadness or even grief. Just remembering my life and all the lessons and experiences in it," she explained. "But more importantly, I will remember it as a day of a new start. A full circle moment. Because sometimes, life hands you a gift of the knowing you're on the right track."

In December 2022, Meri confirmed her split from Kody after 32 years of marriage. She and her former sister wives Janelle and Christine Brown decided to part ways with the Brown family patriarch all within a span of 14 months. Robyn Brown remains his fourth and only wife.

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“I'm pretty badass, just going to say it,” Meri told PEOPLE of what she's learned post split in November 2023. “And I am very confident and I know what I'm worthy of and I am a very good business person and I know how to create safe boundaries around myself. And, yeah, it's pretty good. I'm not too shabby of a person."

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