The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jessi Draper came to her own defense after moving into a new home amid her divorce from Jordan Ngatikaura.
“New beginnings,” she wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, April 1. “My sisters stocked my new home with food and all the essentials + helped me unpack and organize all day.”
Jessi, 33, expressed appreciation for her loved ones, adding, “Grateful to have family and friends that remind me that even though I’m not perfect & I make mistakes, I’m worthy of being loved and I’m just a human being like everyone else. Here’s to a new chapter.”
Jordan, 32, filed for divorce on March 19 after five years of marriage. “This has not been an easy decision, and it comes with a heavy heart,” he told Us Weekly at the time. “I’m grateful for the shared memories and the lessons. While our paths are now moving in different directions, my priority remains my children and ensuring they feel loved, supported and protected through this transition.”
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He continued: “I am committed to handling this next chapter with kindness and respect. I kindly ask for privacy and understanding as we navigate this as a family.”
The estranged couple, who share 5-year-old son Jagger and 3-year-old daughter Jovi, continued to make headlines when Jordan filed a restraining order against Jessi later that month, which was ultimately denied. Jessi has since broken her silence about the drama.
“I felt so trapped in that marriage. I couldn’t do anything right. I was so beaten down emotionally, and I was just so deeply unhappy,” Jessi said during the March 25 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. “He made me feel like I couldn’t leave, and for my kids, too. I was just really, really upset.”
Jessi reflected on how she “woke up one day” and “something flipped.” She then decided it was time to end her marriage.
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“In the last year, I’ve told him, actually, a few different times [that] I want to get divorced. But he always calms me down,” she noted. “I had been in limbo for a while, and anyone that’s lived in limbo knows it’s excruciating.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Jessi accused Jordan of being emotionally abusive. (Jordan has not addressed her claims.)
“I think Jordan wants someone submissive. I was kind of like that in the beginning. Then it started to this place where I’m like, ‘No,’ and I would fight back,” she added, claiming that’s what made things “really bad” before their split.
She continued: “We started going to therapy during our separation, and in therapy, he finally admitted, like, ‘I do know I got you to this place. I am the instigator in this. I started this cycle, and it was emotional abuse.’ He has said all of those words to me. He may deny it now, but he has said all of that.”
