Here's What The Original Wife From 'Sister Wives' Is Up To These Days

Season 8 of the 2010 hit show that follows a polygamist family, Sister Wives, premieres Sunday. If you'll remember back to last season, Meri and patriarch Kody had some serious issues (and I don't mean their 18 children). Meri's loneliness and jealousy aside, there wasn't enough cash for Meri's bed and breakfast, and there was that strange catfish thing in 2015? It was a lot, to say the least. With three other wives in the mix, fans are now wondering where Meri is on Sister Wives.

It turns out, Meri's been pretty busy. Just recently, Meri and Kody were spotted celebrating her 48th birthday in Flagstaff, Arizona. In an Instagram post, the TLC sister wife posted a photo as proof saying, "So Kody and I went out for my birthday the other night and found this hidden gem in Flagstaff. I mean, maybe it was hidden, maybe we're just new to town ..." As Kody's first wife, fans know she divorced him so he could marry Robyn, the fourth wife, and adopt her three kids (from another marriage). Love life aside, Meri's pretty stoked on her role as ambassador for LuLaRoe clothing. As for that bed and breakfast venture, Lizzie's Heritage Inn, Meri renovated a historic family home — one her great grandparents built in 1870 — in Parowan, Utah in December 2017. "It has been a long time dream of mine to get the home back into the family," Meri said on Instagram, "and after a lot of work, and when I say a lot, a mean a LOT, it is back in my family where it belongs!" 

With the whole catfishing scandal behind her — one where she told People she had been "duped" into thinking she was talking to, and falling for, a man online when, in fact, it was a woman — Meri's been an advocate fighting for polygymy at the Utah State Capitol, alongside her other sister wives. In February of 2018, Meri wrote on Twitter, "Even though I was Kody's first wife, I always had to hide my family before we went public. It has been so freeing to publicly own them all. I hope more plural wives will find strength to own their families & not hide. Maybe if we all band together change will happen."

As for the status of she and Kody's relationship post-TV tension (where she confessed to wanting more from the relationship, adding reconciling would require "two parties wanting to work toward it"), that reality TV tell-all revealed there was no intimacy. It's as uncomfortable to watch as it sounds. Sister wife Christine said she didn't know how to fix it other than "support" and "be there," and honestly, that's all you can ask of your fellow sister wives, am I right? Regardless of what Meri and Kody have to work through, 25 years together isn't nothing. As Kody's first wife, regardless of their current legal status going into Season 8, Meri's a force to be reckoned with.

With recent Instagram pictures showing Meri having fun with her LuLaRoe friends (even going to Downtown Disney and yes — I'm jealous!), traveling more, and using her voice to stand out from the other wives. Meri knows who she is inside and outside of her marriage and family lifestyle and hopes the show lives up to that. No matter your feelings on sister wives or polygamy, it's worth watching to see Meri's fab clothing aesthetic. Like, seriously — look at all those adorable leggings and dresses. You won't be disappointed and may even find yourself rooting for her on this journey.

Sister Wives season 8 premieres Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on TLC.