SISTER WIVES What does Meri Brown think about Leon’s genderqueer coming out?
When Leon Brown came out as a lesbian in 2016 (back when they were socialized as a woman) Meri Brown had a tough time accepting it. She eventually became very accepting of Leon’s partner Audrey and their LGBYQA+ status. Has Meri reacted to Leon coming out as trans and genderqueer?
Meri still hasn’t made an official statement, but she has already expressed support for her child via an Instagram Story.
She wrote “you are my sunshine” over Leo’s coming-out Instagram post.
The story, however, is no longer up because Instastories are transitory, and there is no permanent post on Meri’s feed about it. Many Sister Wives fans are speculating that the upcoming season of the show may deal with this in some way, as they did with Leon’s original coming out.
Leon’s father Kody hasn’t publicly commented his thoughts on Leon’s identity, which may say a lot in and of itself. Definitely, a lot of people are assuming things about Kody’s silence given his past political thoughts. After COVID-19 first hit and Leon visited for the first time, it was addressed on the show that Kody and Leon would often argue about political things when they talked, which damaged their relationship.
In Leon’s heartfelt message they also set some clear boundaries about people who refuse to honor their name and pronouns, which signals that they may cut Kody or anyone else in the family off if they aren’t respectful. “If you choose to not use my correct name or pronouns, then you do not need to speak to or about me,” Leon said. “My name is Leo or Leon, and my pronouns are they/them. please only refer to me in that way.”
Sources say that Leon has been going by Leon privately for a long time. They have chosen to use the “@mariahbrwn” Instagram to open up to and set boundaries to the world, which is a brave yet important step for a public figure. Technically, Leon never asked to be so public as they are one of the many children who have grown up in front of the world on reality shows. Still, it shows bravery and respect to live an authentic life as a public figure.
Leon is Meri’s only child with Kody Brown. Meri is in a polygamous relationship with Kody Brown and two other wives (there used to be three other wives, but Christine Brown left the marriage in 2021.) She was initially legally married to Kody but divorced him so he could legally marry his fourth wife Robyn and adopt her children from another marriage.
After that Meri had an emotional affair with a catfish, and soon her relationship with Kody disintegrated. Meri still believes herself to be spiritually married to Kody, but he has said in many different ways that he wants no relationship with her. They rarely speak or see each other, even while filming their reality show.
During Leon’s initial coming out in 2016, (which aired in 2017,) Meri struggled with the new idea based on how she had thought the world was supposed to work. She had expected her child to live a life similar to their siblings Madison (Janelle’s daughter,) and Mykelti (Christine’s daughter,) who both got married to men in 2016.
“When I had Mariah, you know, I had this cute little girl, I just, I just always expected that she would grow up, meet a guy, get married, have kids. I see Janelle and her relationship with Madison’s husband Caleb, and I see Christine building this relationship with Tony, and I kind of always expected that,” Meri said at the time.
“I always wanted to have a son,” Meri continued. “I always kind of thought, well, you know, since I never had a son I’ll be able to kind of adopt Mariah’s husband into, you know, kind of being a son, and I looked forward to seeing who that was gonna be, you know. And that’s not gonna happen!”
Meri had always wanted a son and had looked forward to having a son-in-law so he could be her “son. She mourned that this was never going to happen. Meri has since let go of these gendered expectations and has been supportive of Leon and their partner Audrey, who are both trans and genderqueer.
Photos via Meri Brown’s Instagram
