Polyploidy, or whole genome multiplication, is prevalent throughout the evolution of plants. A newly formed polyploid lineage almost immediately begins to diploidize in a nonrandom and often incomplete fashion. Known aspects of diploidization include epigenetic reprogramming and gene expression changes, as well as significant rearrangement and loss of DNA. The future of a neopolyploid lineage is shaped by how extra chromosome sets fare during meiosis, e.g., in terms of genetic variation, genomic architecture, and survival. The chromosomal interactions of meiosis—pairing and recombination—are themselves modified by the consequences of polyploidization. Additionally, the behavior of meiotic mechanisms in this modified environment can provide insight into the regulation of meiosis more broadly. To elucidate the impact of polyploidization on meiosis and, specifically, meiotic recombination, I studied changes in prophase I of meiosis in three neotetraploid maize lines (two homozygous autotetraploids and one heterozygous autotetraploid) relative to their diploid counterparts. Early in prophase I, recombination is initiated by double-strand breaks (DSBs) in chromosomal DNA. DSB numbers were higher overall and differed among the tetraploid lines in both early-mid zygotene and pachytene, indicating that the early meiotic response to ploidy is significant and is impacted by heterozygosity. Incomplete synapsis, partner switches, and reduced pollen viability also characterized the neotetraploid lines. These disruptions were not caused by a misregulation of meiotic genes. In a transcriptome analysis, I found that there was little shared differential gene expression post-polyploidization and that the expression of key meiotic genes scaled as expected with ploidy. Other possible factors affecting meiosis are nuclear volume and chromatin compaction. I detected a decrease in the nuclear space available for chromosome movement, which may hinder chromosome pairing and recombination. Though much remains to be learned about the relationship between polyploidization and meiosis, this work demonstrates the necessity of studying the dynamics of meiotic mechanisms, as well as the broader nuclear environment. Overall, these results indicate that early meiosis is disrupted by polyploidization and provide insight into how polyploidy shapes the evolutionary landscape of plants.