The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jessi Ngatikaura thinks it’s possible Zac Affleck could have lied to his wife, Jen Affleck, about his relationship with Ben Affleck.
While discussing speculation that Jen, 25, and her husband are not related to Ben, 52, Jessi admitted, “I don’t know if this is true.”
“But I will say that I could see a world where Zac told her that, and she believed it because why wouldn’t you?” Jessi, 32, said on the Friday, September 27, episode of Scheana Shay’s “Scheananigans” podcast. “I don’t think Jen would lie about that. I really don’t, but maybe he could. I mean, we’ve seen a little bit of how he can be.”
She continued, “But also maybe Ben Affleck’s team’s like, ‘We want nothing to do with you guys.’ So let’s dig and, like, plant this story because Zac is looking a little bad.”
After casting was announced for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Jessi recalled Jen gaining attention because of her relation to Ben. (Jen explained in the show that Zac’s dad, David Affleck, is second cousins with Ben.)
The Hulu series also leaned into the connection, writing out Jen’s last name during scenes — while other cast members, including Jessi, were only labeled by their first names.
“On the show they were like, Jen Affleck, every scene,” Jessi said. “Everyone else was just like, ‘Jessi, 31.’ I’m like, ‘You could have left my age out, but cool.’ It’s just funny because like, I think they made the last name such a thing.”
Since the series dropped earlier this month, reports have surfaced that Jen and Zac are not related to Ben. Jen, who became connected to the A-lister after marrying Zac in 2019, revealed exclusively to Us Weekly that they have never crossed paths.
“We’ve never met him,” she said earlier this month. “Zac’s dad has, a long time ago.”
Despite not meeting Ben yet, Jen expressed his desire to connect with him in the near future. “Hopefully we meet him sometime soon because we are family,” Jen said, while costar Mikayla Matthews joked there will be “a family rekindling coming.”
Jen went on to call herself the “new Jenny from The Block,” referring to Ben’s estranged wife, Jennifer Lopez. “That’s me, baby,” Jen joked. “Last Jen standing. That’s me.”
Aside from the Ben drama, Zac and Jen’s relationship on the Hulu series raised eyebrows — particularly during one episode of the Hulu series where he threatened to end their marriage after she went to a Chippendales show with her costars in Las Vegas.
“I would say that you guys just saw a little snippet of it on the show. [Zac and Jen] were a dynamic we were familiar with all throughout filming. So it wasn’t the first time we spoke up about how we felt about it,” Jessi shared in Us’ latest cover story. “I would say it was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, which is why you saw me and Demi [Engemann] in particular really voicing our opinions because it wasn’t the first time.”
