Meri Brown Asks Fans To 'Refrain From Congratulating' Her After Kody Split, Doesn't Want People To Demean Ex

Meri Brown and Kody Brown have formally announced their split.

The "Sister Wives" stars took to social media Tuesday to release a joint statement on the status of their marriage, weeks after several news outlets reported that they had already called it quits.

"In light of a recent unapproved press release, we feel compelled to share our own truth in our own way, and in our own timing," the message posted on Instagram read. "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."

Meri and Kody continued, "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."

They signed the statement, "In kindness, Meri and Kody."

Meri accompanied the statement with a lengthy caption on her Instagram account. She began her message by writing, "Today I reclaim power."

The TLC star cited an article by People magazine published last month that claimed she "confirmed" her split from Kody at the time. However, she denied doing so, claiming it was "a complete lie."

Despite saying in the recent "Sister Wives One-on-One" special that Kody had "made the decision" to end their marriage when he made comments on the TLC show about no longer considering himself married to Meri, she insisted that this was not her confirming the end to their marriage.

Meri claimed that the information, content and timing were inaccurate and were based on "a highly edited version of events that had been filmed months prior."

Meri shared that in the months since the taping of the interviews on the special, she and Kody had "many open and honest discussions" that led to their split announcement.

She went on to ask fans to refrain from criticizing her ex online.

"There is so much more to be told about this story, and I assure you, my truth will be told," she wrote. "But for now, know that there is peace in my heart, and I hold no animosity toward Kody. I am not, and pray that I never will be, in a place where I will enjoy making, or seeing you make, rude and demeaning comments about him."

While she understands that fans have their own opinions about their family issues, Meri asked them to be considerate and to not congratulate her for the breakdown of her marriage.

"Please try to refrain from congratulating me [on the breakup] of my marriage. I value the relationship I had, and look forward to stepping into 2023 and my future with grace, kindness and power," she wrote.

Meri and Kody were married for 32 years. They share a son, Leon, 27.

Kody previously had four wives before Christine Brown separated from him in November 2021. They share daughters Aspyn, 27, Mykelti, 26, Gwendlyn, 21, Ysabel, 19 and Truely, 12, and son Paedon, 24.

Janelle Brown had been married to Kody for 28 years before she announced their split last month. She and Kody also share six children — Logan, 28, Maddie, 27, Hunter, 25, Garrison, 24, Gabriel, 21, and Savanah, 18.

Following his split from his first wife Meri, Kody has one remaining wife, Robyn.