“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County” bridged the gap between Jack and Molly Mormons, creating a new MomTok of sorts.
While less obsessed with TikTok drama and the ins and outs of their burgeoning friend group, this group of Mormon wives has plenty of secrets to spill. OG MomTok member Jen Affleck’s move to California for “Dancing With the Stars” inspired a new take on the popular Hulu reality series.
The 27-year-old soon-to-be mother of four formed friendships with a group of women with ties to the Mormon church in Orange County. She brought together traditional Mormons and women who had left the church, creating a community of social media moms.
During the first season of filming, Affleck discovered she was pregnant again while considering filing for divorce from her husband, Zac. She revealed on the show that they had planned to file jointly, but a week before the series premiered, the reality star filed on her own.
“The plan was to file jointly because I wanted to do what was best for the kids, and I wanted Zach and I to be on the same page,” Affleck told TheWrap. “It came to the point where I couldn’t wait any longer … but I’m just now moving forward and taking one day at a time and just doing the best that I can.”
While the reality star did not clarify any details further, she has since posted videos from during their marriage that paint a picture that he was unsupportive. She also shared in the reality series that they had been separated for months.
Another breakout star from the new series was YouTuber and content creator Aspyn Ovard. The first-time reality star was candid about her divorce, her new throuple relationship and her daughter’s terminal cancer diagnosis, which production asked members of the press not to discuss with Ovard.
She said that communicating with her audience on social media can’t quite compare with the access and vulnerability required of a reality series, but that she felt the experience was right for her family.
“There’s been a lot of things, obviously, in my life and things that are shared in the show that I just was like, I don’t know how to carry this. I don’t know how to share this. I don’t want that responsibility solely on me,” she told TheWrap. “Production was so good to me, and so respectful, and just gentle and kind with my story. They made me feel very safe to like open up my life in this way.”
She revealed a 10-year secret she had kept from her audience: Her ex-husband, Parker Ferris, hid his alcohol use from her, which ultimately led to their divorce. The subject was especially sensitive for Ovard, whose father died from alcoholism.
Despite difficult couples counseling sessions and tough conversations between the exes, Ovard hoped the show would give Ferris a platform to continue making videos and earning money from his creativity. The former couple had a popular YouTube channel together in the 2010s.
“Our story and everything that we shared it’s not just my story, but it’s ours, and I hope that even through everything that we’ve shared, that the world will be gentle to him, too,” she said. “We could use all the love and support for our family.”
“I hope that even through everything that we shared when there’s hard things or things that maybe don’t make either of us look good I hope that people can kind of see what we have been through, and just like be understanding and supportive of both of us together,” she adds.
When asked what advice they got from the OG Utah Mormon woves, Avery Woods said that Jessi Draper warned her that nothing is off limits. The content creator learned this lesson as one of the women found her old Only Fans account and nude photographs.
“She was like, ‘If you think that you’re gonna have off limits of any part of your life or your past, you are wrong,’” she told TheWrap. “It was really good advice because it just makes you let your guard down even more and make a reality show real.”
Many of the women were not friends before filming the reality show, including Bobbi Althoff and McCall DaPron, who spoke to TheWrap paired. They shared that looking ahead toward a potential Season 2 their friendships are already more dimensional.
“It would be so much better because we’re friends now. It’s not just a forced thing,” Althoff said. “This season was very cool because you get to watch our friendships actually form in real time. But I think Season 2 … we’re not little newborn babies anymore we know what to do now.”
“If there is confrontation, it’s going to be a little bit more real,” DaPron added. “This time was real, but we chalk it up now like we didn’t understand each other…I think it’ll even be harder on us because we have a bond now and we formed friendships.”
“Now we’ll have real fights,” Althoff joked.
Other cast members included Salomé Andrea, Madison Bontempo, Jordan McClanahan and Ashleigh Pease.
All eight episodes of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Orange County” are available to stream on Hulu now.
