At time time, Meri told People, “During an emotional and vulnerable time earlier this year, I began speaking with someone online who turned out to be not who they said they were. I never met this person, and I regret being drawn into this situation, but I hope because of it I can help others who find themselves in similar circumstances.”
On Sister Wives Look Back: How We Started, Meri denied having an affair.
On the show, Kody blamed the incident for “dissolving” their marriage. However, in 2023, Meri told People, “I’m going to clarify something here, and this is what a lot of people really misunderstand, and that is the fact that a lot of people look at the catfishing as a defining moment of the demise of our marriage or even the family. And it’s really not, because there was a lot of things that were happening for years prior. [Looking] at that moment as the thing that broke the marriage is very inaccurate.”
Meri and Kody separated in 2022. Afterwards, Jackie — still posing as Sam — tweeted, “My comment so the tabloids stop contacting me. Once upon a time we fell in love and we were happy together. We laughed until we didn’t. I know she will find a new guy and be happy. Leave her alone.”
