TLC's "Sister Wives" had an emotional end to season 5. The polygamist Brown family experienced a significant change, when Meri and Kody Brown, who were happily married for 24 years, planned to divorce so that he could legally adopt fiancée Robyn's three children from a previous marriage.

The Brown family wanted Robyn's kids, Dayton, 15, Aurora, 12, and Breanna, 9, to have access to Kody's health insurance and benefits like the other children.

The situation did not sit well with fans, who berated Robyn via Twitter after the season 5 finale about allegedly manipulating the family to get her way.

The "Sister Wives" season 6 premiere kicked off on Sunday with Meri and Kody's divorce finalized, leaving her battling mixed emotions about his impending legal marriage to Robyn.

Eyes welling up with tears, Meri explained in the premiere episode that she didn't have the emotional strength to witness Kody's marriage to Robyn.

"I don't really think I really want to know when you do it," Meri said of the upcoming wedding.

"But I want you there," Robyn said. "This act isn't an act of separation, it's an act of unity. I was thinking it would be cool to have the kids there. This is about them. This isn't about Kody and I."

Meri was, after all, the person who offered to divorce Kody so he could legally adopt Robyn's three children.

"This situation really involves Robyn, Kody and I very closely," Meri said in the confessional, adding that the marriage and its legal paperwork involve only the three of them.

Kody put an end to the debate by deciding that the legal marriage to his fourth spiritual wife would be a private affair. He and Robyn would elope. No one would know the date of the marriage. No one would witness it.

Meri could not help but feel purposely excluded from attending the wedding she helped bring about by divorcing her husband of 24 years.

"There is part of me that feels just a little bit of rejection," Meri admitted, yet she knew Kody had good intentions. "I know it's not rejection, it's protection."

"I'm not rejecting Meri. I love her," Kody said in a confessional during the show.

Cameras weren't allowed to film Kody and Robyn's marriage, exactly as he wanted it.

In the next episode, the Brown family will proceed with Kody adopting Robyn's children.

Watch "Sister Wives" season 6 Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT on TLC.