Latest news with #MormonWives
ABC News
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Reality TV, Mormon wives, and guilty pleasures
What do dancing Mormons, blind dates, and superyachts have in common? They've all featured on so-called 'reality TV' shows. But just how 'real' are they? Some argue reality tv is anti-feminist – yet the genre is consistently popular with young women, and a new reality TV show is breaking records with religious women at the centre of it – The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. It's not the first time The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints has been featured on reality TV, and it certainly won't be the last. So why the interest in the 'real' lives of religious people? And can 'trash' tv teach us complex lessons about gender, shame, and religion? Guests: First broadcast 19 October 2024
Irish Times
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Women are told to be assertive at work, then made to feel scummy for actually doing it
In my day job as a television journalist, I live a sort of ridiculous existence of dressing like a real estate agent in brightly coloured suits while asking people about the horrendous thing that has happened to them or their loved ones. After leaving court or an inquest or a crime scene for the day, I often want to remove my brain, give it a spray and wipe and put it back fresh for the next day. Because that's not physically possible, I have to make do with the next best thing - trying my best to melt it out of my ears with reality television. My white noise machine is the sound of very thin and very rich white women screaming at each other across various series from the Real Housewives franchise. My salve is disappearing into the beige world of the Kardashians, where nothing bad happens except having to eat those massive salads they're always shaking in giant plastic containers. Lately I've been watching the half women, half hair extension cast of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. I don't want to have a single thought while I watch producers do a truly commendable job of creating dramatic fight scenes at parties where nobody is drinking. I just want to exist as a piece of half sentient play-dough watching the shape and colours of these women doing TikTok dances in matching tracksuit sets. Maybe this is the adult equivalent of calming baby sensory videos. Perhaps like other journalists I should take up running or boxing to decompress. But I prefer the thinking woman's alternative, and welcome the comforting glow of Love Islanders on an OLED screen. READ MORE The benevolent gods over at Netflix have bestowed a second season of America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders upon us. It seems to be a show about southern women with big hair breaking the spirits of some of the most beautiful and talented dancers I have ever seen. I have neither an interest in cheerleading nor the NFL, but I am glued to the plotlines of young hopefuls trying to join the squad. Will so-and-so perfect her high kicks in time? Why are all these women pushing their body through gruelling training if being a cheerleader pays less than minimum wage? Helpfully, Dallas Cowboys' executive vice-president and the daughter of the team's owner, Charlotte Jones, explains 'they actually don't come here for the money'. 'It is about a sisterhood that they were able to form, about relationships that they have for the rest of their life,' says the daughter of a billionaire with a completely straight face. Which leaves the women to try to eke out a living doing whatever they can to pay their rent while putting in 14-hour days between work and rehearsals. This season we see the dancers refuse to sign their contracts, as they attempt to negotiate a liveable wage from a football team making huge sums of money from their labour and likeness. It's syndicalism in spandex. RIP Karl Marx: you would have loved this season and the Thunderstruck dance routine. One girl breaks down in tears explaining she's just exhausted between the demands of the team, looking perfect and working full time. 'But why do we want people to quit their full-time jobs, when that's what's so impressive about ya'll?' a team official responds. Again with a completely straight face. [ Brianna Parkins: I am quite good with money. I know exactly how to spend it all Opens in new window ] When women ask for more money, particularly young women or women from minorities, they are made to feel unreasonable for making an entirely reasonable request. You can take all the advice about women needing to be more assertive and asking for what they want, like men do, in order to close the gender pay gap. But I have found that when I have done just that, it has rarely been received well. Instead, especially in my early career, I was gaslit into thinking I was just lucky to be there. Or they would plámás me. Telling me how much they loved my work. I was very important to them. They just couldn't show me that by giving me more money. Which is odd because in free-market capitalism, money is probably the most popular way of rewarding someone for doing a good job. Instead I was made to feel greedy and scummy. As if I was cheapening myself and my profession for stooping to something as low as 'working for money'. Until I finally had a (male) boss in Australia who hinted at me to ask for a pay rise and then rolled his eyes at my lowly request and added another $10k on the figure. I can never make up for the years on less money than I should have been earning. But I can advise young women (and cheerleaders) to learn from my mistakes.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jen Affleck gives birth to her third child with husband Zac
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jen Affleck gave birth to her third child with husband Zac Affleck. Jen, 26, and Zac, 28, introduced their newborn daughter Penelope - via Instagram on Wednesday. The couple share kids Nora, three, and Luca, 23 months. Jennifer revealed that she gave birth 'unmedicated,' which she called 'the most painful but empowering experience of my life,' noting that she couldn't have done it without Zac and her doula. 'I'm so grateful and so happy that Penny is earth side now,' Jennifer wrote in the post. Just days prior, Jennifer revealed she went into labor while getting a manicure at a nail salon. The influencer shared the moment to her social media on June 27, adding the caption: 'POV: you start having contractions at your nail appointment.' In the video, Jen is asked by a friend how she's feeling, to which she says: 'I'm feeling great!' as she begins to time her contractions, do squats and also show off her pink nails. She proceeds to make a call - presumably to her husband Zac- before laying on the group so a woman could check her cervix. Jen announced her third pregnancy in February, revealing that the baby was a 'surprise' but that everyone was 'excited.' During an episode of The Secret Lives of Mormon Lives, Jen broke down talking about her marriage to Zac, revealing that they were not 'on the best of terms' after they briefly separated. They split up during the end of season of the hit show, with the couple deciding to work on their relationship while waiting for their third child. 'Just because of everything that we went through last year and because of everything we've had to do so much therapy,' she told People. They briefly lived apart as they worked on their marriage and themselves. Zac deferred his medical school acceptance in Arizona as they worked on their marriage. 'We are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Right now I'm focusing on my mental health, my marriage and becoming the best version of myself that I can be,; she told People in May.
Graziadaily
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Graziadaily
The Biggest Bombshells From The Mormon Wives S2 Reunion
*Warning: This article contains themes of sexual assault and abuse that some readers may find triggering.* Anyone who watched season two of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Disney+ will have a long list of questions after that cliffhanger of a finale. What happened between Demi and Marciano? And, importantly, what happened between Jessi and Marciano? Elsewhere fans were left wondering how Jen and Zac are feeling after stepping back from the show, whether Whitney is back in the group chat, and what's going on between Taylor and Dakota. Thankfully most of these points were addressed by The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast in the season two reunion special, hosted by Nick Viall. If you haven't had a chance to watch it for yourself, here are the biggest bombshells from the episode. The biggest Mormon Wives reunion bombshells Demi wasn't there Demi Engemann, the undisputed 'villain' of season two, did not attend the special. She says filming clashed with a pre-planned family trip to Disney World, which the rest of the girls struggled to believe. Instead, she sat down with Nick Viall for a one-on-one podcast discussion in advance. Clips from the interview, where she addressed some of the biggest storylines in the season, were shown to the rest of the cast. Read on to find out what Demi had to say. The Marciano rumours are addressed head on At the end of the season two, Layla Taylor paid Vanderpump Rules star Marciano Brunette a visit to get to the bottom of the rumours that there was something happening between him and Demi. He then alleged that it wasn't Demi he had an ongoing romance with, but her best friend Jessi Ngatikaura. However, when these questions came up at the reunion, the cast said there was still more to the story. Mikayla says the cast of Vanderpump Villa had presumed the MomTok cast were all swingers because of the origin of the show and claims Demi spent a lot of time flirting with them. Jessi then whipped out 'receipts' to prove Marciano and Demi were flirting. The text conversation showed Demi allegedly sending Marciano sexual emojis and innuendos. Jessi did not have her wedding ring on After the season two bombshell, Jessi revealed she and Jordan are 'working through a lot of hard things'. However, she did not have her wedding ring or engagement ring on, so it looks like the events with Marciano may have taken a toll on their relationship. She was asked point blank by Nick if she'd had sex with Marciano, as he alleged. 'Ummm, so a lot of this story is unpacked in season three so I can't talk about it yet,' she replied. As the husbands waited and watched from backstage, Nick then asked Jessi how she thinks Jordan might be feeling. 'I'm sure he's anxious, nervous, sad,' she said. 'We're both going through a lot right now, but he's willing to tell his truth too. There was a lot more to the story and it's not what you think it is. There are no secrets. We expose it all.' Jessi says Demi is no longer part of the group As her absence might suggest, tension was running high between Demi and the rest of the group when the reunion episode was filmed. Jessi, who was formerly Demi's right hand woman, said no one is currently talking to her. Whitney attempted to jump to her defence and said the girls were mocking her at their group shoot for People magazine and that Demi has just become the 'common enemy'. Layla has had an orgasm 'I've officially become a woman,' she declared after two seasons worth of pressure (or encouragement) to have her first orgasm. Layla revealed it was the work of a vibrator rather than her boyfriend, but she was happy to join the club. Mikayla and Whitney address their beef Despite Whitney being reluctantly voted back into the group at the end of season two, Mikayla has always insisted they will never be friends again. The pair addressed the tension during the episode and Mikayla explained that she opened up to Whitney off camera in season one and was unfollowed a week later when she left MomTok, which is why she can't trust her anymore. Whitney then brought up the Jay-Z party, which was when she asked the girls to bring all the issues they had with her to the table, and then apparently positioned herself as a 'victim of the situation'. At this point, Mayci joined the argument and told Whitney her and Mikayla tried to be there for her when she was going through a hard time with Conner, but she kept insisting they were 'better than ever' so eventually they stopped. Mikayla added that she was going through her own chronic illness struggles at that time, and that Mayci was in the throes of IVF, so they had their own problems to deal with too. Taylor and Dakota are still Taylor and Dakota If one thing is guaranteed to stay the same, it's Taylor and Dakota's toxic love-hate relationship. According to them, they are still following old patterns, but Taylor claims she never wants to be with Dakota again because of how much he has lied, and reportedly continues to lie, to her. Dakota apologised for his behaviour and reinstated that he was addicted to drugs for 10 years and is possibly addicted to toxic relationships and sex in a different way. When asked if he could ever be a faithful partner he said, 'Yes 100%'. Taylor admitted that she finds it hard to break away from Dakota completely, and found it especially hard when their baby was first born. However, she also admitted she has found out 'much more' about the cheating scandal with Jenna which was exposed at start of season two. And even found out new details weeks before the reunion special. All of which is likely to play out next season... Demi shares her thoughts privately with Nick 'There's definitely some things going on with the girls, but I would have been there,' she told Nick on his podcast. 'We had planned a Disney Land trip with my family.' Demi proceeded to lift the lid on her relationships with the girls and claimed everyone but her is scared to stand up to Taylor. After famously calling herself a 'fan favourite' after season one, Demi said Taylor, the founder of MomTok, doesn't give the other cast members enough credit. She said people are scared to confront Taylor because she takes all her arguments online and has a 'cult following' who jump to her defence. When asked about her argument with Jen and the way she refused to back down even after Jen admitted she was suffering with pre-natal depression, Demi did not back down. 'I wish I could say I regret the way I handled that, I don't,' she said. 'There's a humanness to me that thinks "yeah, you were going through something," but we're all going through a lot. It doesn't discredit you lying about people and discrediting their reputation.' 'I don't know if it was the pregnancy or the absence that I felt like she was leaning into that,' she continued, 'as though it was her stepping away for her mental health instead of saying "I'm ashamed". What I saw was her running away from the problem.' Whitney said Demi has 'bully tendencies' The girls were aghast after Demi's comments and all in agreement that she had gone too far, but Whitney defenced her again and said she's not a bully but she has 'bully tendencies'. Jessi then added that the only reason Demi has gotten away with it for so long is 'because she's funny'. DadTok join the Mormon Wives on the sofa The first husband to be questioned was Jordan about the Demi and Marciano allegations. 'I knew what happened because of the conversations I'd had with Jessi,' he explained, 'but it was really tough to have the allegations made that were made.' There is tension between Brett and the other husbands Apparently, they still 'wave at the gym', but are otherwise estranged from Brett because of the divide between Demi and the rest of the group. Conner Leavitt opens up about his past trauma Conner addressed one of the biggest storylines in season one, admitting that he not only has a porn addiction, but he was indeed found on a dating app while married to Whitney, something they had previously denied. However, his explanation was heartbreaking and had several of the cast in tears. Reading a letter he had written at the special, Conner bravely shared his story about being abused during his childhood with the hope of making others feel less alone. 'When I was a little boy, I was raped and when I was finally honest with that emotion and that memory, everything made sense. The validation I needed. I hate that I did that to you but I'm so proud I was able to be honest and start working through some really hard stuff.' He made sure to emphasise that he is not trying to 'flip the script' on Whitney, who he thanked endlessly for her support, but he wants to explain his actions and say that he is seeking help. 'I want to thank everyone here for the sensitivity around the topic. I don't trust myself or my emotions when talking about it. 'I know so many people carry experiences like that even though they may not talk about them. For me, those experiences shaped me and developed truly destructive habits, but they don't define who I am today. What matters is how we grow, how we find resilience and how we support each other moving forward. If anyone is listening has been through something similar, I want them to know I'm sorry. Healing is possible and your story doesn't end with what happened to you.' Jen returns with Zac During a particularly difficult time between Jen and Zac in season two, she found out she was pregnant and decided to step back from filming to focus on her mental health. In the reunion special, she opens up about her pre-natal depression during one of the worst periods of her life. 'I dealt with a lot of suicidal ideation,' she said. 'It was definitely one of the hardest times in my life and I felt like I couldn't turn to anyone. I didn't want anyone to feel like they were the reason. It really just is your body going through so many changes. Without the love I received at that time, I don't know where I'd be.' Jen is still on bad terms with Demi Jen claims that after her argument with Demi about the Vanderpump Villa rumours, Demi and Brett called her while she was in the car with Zac and he recorded the conversation. In the audio, Demi can be heard telling Jen that she should tell people they simply have 'different values' but she 'admires the open and honest communication that Demi and Brett share'. Demi added, 'Say "I may have jumped the gun and judged her" and then you don't have to go into any detail about what may or may not have happened.' Layla opens up about her self-harm struggles Layla made the devastating admission she has attempted to take her own life several times in the past. She has struggled with an eating disorder in the past, which is a theme on the show, as well as self-harm, admitting that she decided to seek help when her sons noticed her scars. Layla has since had her scars removed and says she is well on the path to recovery. Mikayla opened up about past sexual abuse After Conner's admission, Mikayla opened up about her own experiences being abused as a child and revealed Conner had reached out to support her, which she really appreciated. 'I think I physically cannot ignore this,' she explained, adding that Conner encouraged her to go to therapy. 'I know me and Whitney were going through a lot and he wanted me to feel supported from someone who had been through something similar.' This was, of course, another emotional scene, which resulted in Whitney and Mikayla hugging. A sign of healing friendships in season three? Let's see. If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, help is always available. Contact the UK's 24 hour rape and sexual assault helpline by visiting the Rape Crisis website here, or calling 0808 500 2222. For urgent mental health support, visit Mind for more information or call the Samaritans on 116 123.
Express Tribune
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt join Dancing With the Stars season 34
Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt, stars of Hulu's hit reality series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, are set to compete on Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars this fall. The announcement was made during the show's reunion special on Monday night. Affleck and Leavitt have been part of Mormon Wives since its September 2024 premiere. The series quickly became Hulu's most-watched unscripted program. When Season 2 launched on May 15, it surpassed the debut season's success, garnering five million views in just five days. Leavitt, who was cast as the group's 'villain' in Season 1 for distancing herself from the #MomTok influencer circle, worked to reconcile with fellow cast members in Season 2 — with mostly positive results, aside from holdout Mikayla Matthews. Affleck experienced a more turbulent second season. She and husband Zac Affleck faced marital challenges early on, but reconciled after learning they were expecting their third child. Affleck later exited filming due to prenatal depression. As of a June 27 Instagram post, she revealed she was in labor during a nail appointment, but has not confirmed the birth publicly. Taylor Frankie Paul, another central figure on the show, recently told Variety that the group is ready to welcome Affleck back. 'She stepped away for her mental health and is taking it step by step,' Paul said. 'We're very welcoming to her.' Affleck and Leavitt are the third and fourth celebrity contestants confirmed for the upcoming season, joining Robert Irwin and Alix Earle. Dancing With the Stars will return this fall on ABC and Disney+, with next-day streaming on Hulu. Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough will co-host, while judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough return to the panel.
