Critics accuse Meri Brown of hiring friends to act as guests for her retreat, slam her ‘cheap’ food
Meri Brown hosted her first ever Real Life Retreat at her B&B, Lizzie’s Heritage Inn, and some skeptical Sister Wives fans think she lied about garnering paying customers.
As Monsters and Critics reported, Meri offered Real Life Retreats to interested customers with a hefty price tag.
Meri’s fans had to fill out an application and be hand-selected to participate in a four-day, three-night escape to Parowan, Utah, where she runs her bed and breakfast.
The cost ranged from $4,500 for a standard experience or as much as $6,400 for the VIP treatment. Meri’s guests were treated to three meals, daily activities, firepit hangs, goodie bags, and time spent with Meri herself.
Earlier this week, Meri reflected on the November retreat with a carousel post on Instagram. Meri was sure to include pics of the food offered to guests at the inn, including an assortment of fruit and cheese, meat and veggies in foil containers, what appeared to be a homemade quiche, and some ice cream and toppings.
In the caption, Meri gave a shout-out to a local BBQ company, a gluten-free bakery, and a friend for their contributions and called her charcuterie table “epic.”
Sister Wives critics slam Meri Brown’s ‘tacky’ food spread at Real Life Retreat
In the comments section, Meri’s post was mostly met with criticism from her fans and followers, who felt she cheaped out when it came to her food offerings for her retreat guests.
Many of Meri’s critics pointed out that for customers paying thousands of dollars for their retreat experience, she should have offered name-brand ice cream and used real dinnerware instead of tin foil serving pans.
One critic noted they recently spent three weeks in Portugal where they enjoyed delicious food, took in the amazing sights, and stayed in a “lovely” Airbnb for less money than Meri charged for a few nights in Utah. “Why so pricey?!” they asked.
Another one of Meri’s followers remarked, “I’ve had better food at the soup kitchen when homeless.”
Not only did Meri come under fire for her cheap food choices, but still more critics accused her of filling the retreat spots using her friends, who they believe acted as paying customers.
Critics accuse Meri’s friends of acting as paying customers
One such commenter mentioned a news story that reported Meri “begged” her friends to sign up when she couldn’t fill the spots for the retreat.
“They are all fake,” another said of Meri’s guests in the carousel post. A couple of commenters accused Meri of using her LuLaRoe friends to act as decoys and that none of them paid for the experience.
Accusing Meri of pretending the women in the photos paid to attend her retreat, another disparager wrote, “It’s out in the news you’re using non-paying friends to appear to have sold these tickets,” calling Meri’s move “Not ok.”
Despite the backlash Meri received, she recently told her IG followers that the first-ever retreat was a “huge success.” In fact, her latest IG post indicates that she’ll be offering another retreat in February 2023.
Sister Wives airs on Sundays at 10/9c on TLC and Discovery+.
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