The Real Reason Meri Brown Didn't Move In With Her Sister Wives

The January 5 premiere of Sister Wives saw a lot of drama, especially for Meri Brown. The season premiere saw the Brown family move to Flagstaff, Arizona from Las Vegas, Nevada, with each wife moving into her own rental home.

While Meri also moved into a rental home, her neighbors weren't too happy about someone in a plural marriage living in the neighborhood. "The neighbors contacted the owner of my rental," said Meri in the episode (via Us Weekly). "I had a conversation with the owner. Pretty much the first thing she said to me was, 'Meri, I am second guessing the fact that I approved you to rent this house. She asked me if I would consider leaving the house and not renting from her."

While the owner of the rental home was aware of Meri's circumstances before she moved in, pushback from the neighbors made for a tense situation. "I was, like, completely open with her," said Meri. "They put it in the contract — in the rental contract. She knows we're a plural family. She knows we're gonna be filming in the house."

Meri was unsure how she wanted to proceed in light of the bullying. While she didn't want to give in to the pressure, she also didn't want to live in a neighborhood where she wasn't welcome. "They're bullying me," she said. "They're bullying the owner to kick me out because they don't like who I am without even knowing me. If I cave and I let them bully me out of this house, then they win."

Meri eventually ended up deciding not to deal with the hostile situation and temporarily moved back to Las Vegas while continuing to search for a permanent home in Flagstaff. The move left fans wondering why Meri simply didn't move in with one of her sister wives while she was house hunting instead of fleeing the state altogether.

The stars of Sister Wives took to Twitter to explain the situation. "Mixed feelings/emotions about staying in Vegas for three months while I found another house in Flagstaff," Meri wrote on Twitter as the show was airing. "I LOVE Vegas (no secret) but it was hard being away from the family. I traveled back and forth often those months! #SisterWives."

Her sister wife, Janelle, retweeted Meri's comment, adding, "I'm so glad that is behind us!"

A fan then asked Janelle why Meri couldn't have simply stayed with Janelle or fellow sister wife Robyn Brown. "Meri runs a business that takes a lot of room and we have all moved into smaller homes compared to what we had," answered Janelle. "The bedrooms are full. We didn't have an option."

Fellow sister wife Christine Brown also expressed her sadness at Meri having to move back to Las Vegas, tweeting, "It's just sad that @MeriBrown1 is by herself in our cul-de-sac. Super lonely! We really missed her A LOT!!"

The reason Meri needs so much space in her home is because she is a LuLaRoe retailer and needs space for her merchandise. Meri regularly posts pictures of the merchandise she has for sale on her Instagram account and has her own website where people can purchase merchandise.

LuLaRoe isn't Meri's only business venture. She also owns a bed and breakfast, Lizzie's Heritage Inn, in Utah. The business opened in 2017, and is about a five hour drive from Flagstaff. "It's not the type of thing that needs a whole lot of hands-on," she told Us Weekly about the bed and breakfast, which was originally built by her ancestors in the 19th century. "I've got employees that I hired that are there doing the cooking and cleaning and stuff like that, and my mom is there."

Some fans weren't buying the excuse that no one had space for Meri, speculating that Meri moved back to Las Vegas because of a falling out with her sister wives. "Robyn had a 7 bedroom house rental with tons of space for family meetings," wrote one fan on Twitter (via InTouch Weekly).

Another fan replied, "I thought the same thing ... no one volunteered [their] home to [her]. There is a disconnect with the ladies with Meri, except [Robyn]."

Whether or not Meri moved because of a disagreement with her sister wives, it looks like things have turned around for the reality star. Since the episode was filmed, Meri has found a home in Flagstaff and permanently relocated to the city with the rest of the Brown family.