The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jen Affleck has filed for divorce from her husband, Zac Affleck, after seven years of marriage.
The split, which comes amid the couple’s well-documented marital struggles on the reality series, marks the end of a relationship that began in 2018 after the two met on the Mormon dating app Mutual.
The legal filing includes a proposed co-parenting plan for the couple’s three children, Nora, 5, Luca, 3, and Penelope, 16 months. The timing of the divorce matters because Jen is currently pregnant with the couple’s fourth child, an announcement she shared on Instagram in August 2026 as “Chapter Four.”
The Decision to End the Marriage
“I had to ask myself very hard questions like, ‘Is this the type of relationship I want this child to look up to?’” she told Us Weekly. “When I realized it was a no, that’s when I realized that I needed to make a change.”
The couple’s tumultuous relationship was a central storyline across seasons of the original The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Their history included a brief separation following the debut season, after which they reconciled and announced the pregnancy of their third child, Penelope.
“I feel like if I hadn’t done reality TV, I would have still made this decision.” “It just would have been way longer down the road,” she shared. She also admitted that rewatching the series allowed her to see how she had previously trained herself to “forget” and “survive” in order to maintain the marriage.
Disputed Accounts of the Filing
Zac, 30, claimed in a TikTok video that he was blindsided by the news, stating he learned about the divorce filing from a reporter rather than his wife. He said that he had told her to “become whoever she needed me to be” to save the union.
Jen has firmly disputed the claim that Zac was blindsided. In interviews conducted while promoting her new spinoff series, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County, she said that the decision was not sudden.
“He’s not blindsided. I’ve been telling him for a really long time,” she told Entertainment Tonight. She further explained that she felt it was necessary to finalize the split before entering her postpartum period to avoid repeating past behavioral cycles, calling the divorce “the best decision for Zac, for my kids.”
Zac Addresses the Footage and Marriage Struggles on Instagram
Following the backlash, Zac acknowledged the footage—which he confirmed was from 2022—was “obviously horrible,” and he wrote on Instagram, “I married my dream girl, and I messed it up.” “I was supposed to protect your heart and I failed.”
“The goal was to file jointly, but that changed,” Jen told Elite Daily. “That goal is the reason why the divorce took so, so long.”
Career Conflicts and Production Tension Strained the Marriage
During the fifth season of their Utah-based series, the couple clashed over Jen’s desire to act and pursue modeling opportunities, such as potentially posing for Sports Illustrated. Jen recounted in a confessional that Zac had threatened to divorce her if she took an acting role involving an onscreen romance.
Furthermore, reports from production sources during Jen’s time on Dancing With the Stars alleged that Zac was difficult on set, an experience that added to the strain on the couple.
As she prepares for the premiere of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County on November 12, Jen is focusing on her children and her individual path forward.
She has intentionally excluded Zac from the new project, stating that leaving him out was “the best decision I made.” “I’m counting my blessings, and I think gratitude can go a long way,” she said. “My baby is healthy and happy and strong and that’s all I can really ask for right now.”
