'Sister Wives' star Meri Brown addresses sexuality rumors in Instagram interview

In the wake of her recent breakup with Kody Brown, Meri Brown says many "Sister Wives" fans have been questioning her sexuality.

The former couple, who got married in 1990 and later welcomed three more women into their plural marriage, announced their decision to "permanently terminate" their marriage in January.

During a recent Instagram Live session, Brown said she felt compelled to address her sexuality following rumors that she might be dating a woman.

The 52-year-old brought up the topic while answering fan questions with that friend, Jenn Sullivan.

At first, Brown said she wasn't sure if she felt like tackling the rumors head-on, but she soon decided to go for it after a brief debate.

“I’ve got people really wondering what I may or may not want to say. I’m just gonna do it," she said. "I am straight.”

"Y’all, you heard it here first,” Sullivan replied then explained that someone recently told her they had read that she and Brown are a couple.

The "Sister Wives" star didn't seem fazed by the suggestion but said that fending off falsehoods can get a bit tedious after a while.

“It does not matter who I take a picture with and post it,” she said. “I’m either dating this guy or dating this girl because people can’t seem to think that I can be friends, completely platonic friends, with females or males.”

Brown acknowledged that some of her fans might not have heard the rumors yet and explained why she decided to get ahead of the conversation by speaking out on the matter.

“It’s a common topic of conversation on whether or not I’m going to come out or not. I’m coming out as being straight, so there you go,” she said.

Now that she's spoken her mind, Brown said she hopes that people will just let her be and stop speculating.

“I made an announcement. Now that you all know. You heard it from my mouth,” she said.

Brown made a point to clarify that she wasn't offended by the suggestion that she is a lesbian. She has been publicly supportive of her and Kody Brown's child, 27-year-old Leon Brown, who came out as transgender in 2022 and now uses they/them pronouns.

“Listen, it’s not a bad thing to be. Whatever you want to be, it’s whoever you are. It’s not a big deal. I just know what I like,” she said.

Brown and Kody Brown's strained marriage has been chronicled in the last few seasons of "Sister Wives." The former couple was legally married between 1990 and 2014, when Kody Brown legally married his fourth wife Robyn Brown.

In 2015, Brown was part of a catfishing scandal. She entered into an online relationship with a person she thought was a man, but ended up being a female fan. Kody Brown has said that their marriage "dissolved" afterwards.

In Season 17 of the TLC reality series, Brown called Kody Brown's's approach to marriage "disturbing" but said she still wanted to work on their fractured relationship.

Meanwhile, Kody Brown called their marriage "essentially unstable" and "not a functional relationship." During a "Sister Wives: One on One" special at the end of Season 17, the father of 18 said he once considered reconciling with Meri Brown. But she said that was news to her.

In the same special, Meri Brown implied that her marriage to Kody was over.

The couple made a formal announcement in January and shared a joint statement.

“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,” it read.

Kody Brown is currently separated from his second wife Janelle Brown, divorced from his third wife Christine Brown and still legally married to Robyn Brown.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com