Jen Affleck’s first season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.
Throughout the Hulu series, Jen faced serious questions — and concerns — from her costars about her relationship with husband Zac Affleck.
A turning point came when Zac found out his wife was stopping by a Chippendales performance during a girls trip to Las Vegas. He threatened to divorce the mother of his two children after she briefly attended the striptease show.
“If we were at a bachelorette party and we’re just celebrating, it wouldn’t have been a big deal,” Jen told Today. “But because we’re representing our church, and he knew that millions of people were going to see that, [he was] scared that they would put me in a tough situation with filming and that they would portray me in a different light that I’m not.”
Their disagreement, however, threatened Jen’s future with MomTok as she vowed to keep her family the main priority.
As viewers continue to stream The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, take a look at what Jen has said about her future with the group:
When Did Jen Affleck Threaten to Leave MomTok?
In the season 1 finale of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Jessi Ngatikaura revealed to costar Demi Engemann that Jen was done with the group.
“Jen told me that she’s leaving MomTok because of Zac,” she said. “He doesn’t want her associated with us. I am really sad that this is just a continuous pattern that’s not getting better.”
In a separate conversation, Jen explained to her husband that she wasn’t fully supportive of him doing medical school in New York. (He ultimately chose to enroll in a school closer to Utah.)
“I know that part of you thinks that New York, that’s where we’re supposed to be. But I just don’t know if it makes sense,” Jen told Zac. “It holds me back from business opportunities with MomTok.”
Zac, however, questioned whether MomTok was truly that big of a deal. “They’re not that significant,” he argued. “I don’t think you’re going to be missing out. I honestly don’t.”
How Did the Show’s Premiere Affect Jen and Zac Affleck’s Marriage?
When the Hulu series premiered on September 6, both Jen and Zac started to hear opinions about their relationship from thousands of viewers. From their point of view, however, watching the show made them stronger.
“Being on camera and having those moments happen made us take a step back and actually look at a relationship and make us just see what we have to change,” Jen told Us Weekly before the show kicked off. “Ever since we finished filming, we’ve been doing nonstop therapy and it’s been great. So if anything, [watching the show] is just going to be exposure therapy at this point. We’ve healed and now we’re ready to talk about it once it comes out.”
Do Jen Affleck’s Costars Think She’s Leaving MomTok?
If Jen were to step away from MomTok, Jessi believes Zac would be the one to blame. “He’s the man of the house and has a lot of opinions on things,” she noted to Us. “So I don’t think Jen would ever make that decision [to leave] on her own because she loves the friend group and she loves being around us. I would say that he definitely has a lot of influence on her decisions.”
What Is Jen Affleck’s Status With MomTok Today?
While appearing on the September 11 episode of “The Viall Files” podcast, Jen confirmed she is still very much a part of MomTalk. “My husband still supports the show, believe it or not,” she told host Nick Viall. “He was in on the show for a reason. He saw it as a way to monetize and grow my business so you see the villain side of Zac, but he’s very supportive and wants me to do it.”
But when speaking to Us weeks earlier, Jen said fans will have to keep watching to see just how much she is a part of the group.
“There are so many factors — not just our relationship — like religion, friendships and my children,” she told Us. “In order to make the right decision for me and my family, I really had to take a step back and ask myself, ‘How am I going to move forward and what’s best for us?’ You’ll just have to wait for season 2 to see what happens.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is currently streaming on Hulu.