Viewers have a lot of opinions about Jen Affleck and Zac Affleck‘s marriage after watching their relationship play out on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
The couple started dating in 2018 and got married one year later. After expanding their family twice, Jen and Zac joined the cast of Hulu’s reality series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which followed a group of Mormon mom influencers in Utah. Season 1 showed Jen and Zac nearly calling it quits before admitting they were still a work in progress.
“Ever since we finished filming, we’ve been doing nonstop therapy and it’s been great,” Jen exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2024 after the series premiered. “So if anything, [watching the show] is just going to be exposure therapy at this point. We’ve healed and now we’re ready to talk about it once it comes out.”
Jen also denied that her husband had anything to do with her leaving MomTok, saying, “It had a lot to do with just me and just figuring out everything. There are so many factors — not just our relationship — like religion, friendships and my children.”
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She continued: “In order to make the right decision for me and my family, I really had to take a step back and ask myself, ‘How am I going to move forward and what’s best for us?’ You’ll just have to wait for season 2 to see what happens.”
That same month, Jen praised Zac for how he supported her — emotionally and monetarily — since they started dating.
“Zac bought me my first laptop when he had $10 in his bank account. When I shared my dream of running a marathon, he trained alongside me and ran it with me. I told him I wanted to start my videography business, so he saved up money and bought me my first camera. When we were expecting our first baby, I wanted a place to call home, so he worked hard, saved up, and bought us our first house,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “He gave me both stability and freedom, which allowed me to post videos online and launch my career on social media. This, in turn allowed me to support him and our family while he’s been in school.”
Jen noted she “couldn’t have” found success on her own without Zac by her side.
“Is Zac perfect? No. Does he have flaws that we’ve needed to address? Yes. But I can confidently say he’s always supported and believed in me more than anyone else,” she continued. “We’re still young, we have two precious babies, and we still have struggles like so many marriages. But do we love each other? Yes. Are we willing to put in the work to be better? Yes. Have there been moments when we wanted to walk away? Of course. But there’s so much more to our marriage and what we offer to each other than people realize.”
After Hulu renewed The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives for season 2, viewers questioned the status of Jen and Zac’s marriage. The pair took a step back from sharing highlights from their relationship once they made the move from Utah to New York so Zac could attend medical school.
Keep scrolling to relive Jen and Zac’s relationship before — and after — The Secret Wives of Mormon Wives:
2018
Jen and Zac started dating in 2018 after meeting on Mormon dating app Mutual. After one year of dating, Zac proposed at Top of the Rock in New York City.
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2019
The duo tied the knot in 2019 at a local The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple.
“I knew Zac was the one when I realized I couldn’t imagine life without him & his amazing qualities,” Jen wrote via Instagram ahead of their wedding ceremony. “I’m grateful to have someone who loves me unconditionally, puts me first, & makes me want to be a better fiancé, friend, daughter and person. Can’t forget he makes me the happiest girl alive.”
2021
Zac and Jen welcomed their first child, daughter Nora, in November 2021. The reality star reflected on the milestone moment three years later, writing via Instagram, “Nora brings so much joy and light into our lives, and I feel incredibly blessed to be her mom 
There are countless things that I adore about her — she’s spunky, kind, and full of life. … To us, she truly is everything.”
2022
“Three years ago today I made the best decision of my life. That was to marry my best friend. It was a day we’ll always remember,” Jen gushed on social media. “To be surrounded by everyone we love, promising each other the world, we were so excited to start this new adventure. I wish I could relive every second of this day. It truly was a DREAM.”
2023
Jen and Zac’s son, Lucas, was born in July 2023.
“We were so young when we first became parents, with lots to learn, but Zac has always been there every step of the way,” Jen wrote via Instagram in honor of Father’s Day in 2024. “He’s never wavered in giving Nora and Luca everything they need.”
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September 2024
Zac and Jennifer weathered some public storms when season 1 of The Secret Wives of Mormon Wives premiered on Hulu. Initially, Jen was presented as a more conservative Mormon, but it wasn’t until the end of the season that her costars — and viewers — got a glimpse at her marital issues when Zac told her she had “no values or morals” for enjoying a girls’ night out in Las Vegas.
Jen’s costar Demi Engemann claimed she saw text messages in which Zac threatened to end their marriage, said he didn’t love her anymore and made his wife come to his hotel room in the middle of the night to work out their problems. Demi also accused Zac of having a gambling problem, which is forbidden by the Mormon church.
“I think that there was a lot of things that Jen was doing at the time — and I think she would admit this — that were kind of driven by Zac’s insecurities,” Demi told Us at the time “I really do feel like she has found her voice. She’s now, like, ‘Hey, we are individuals as well as a couple. I have every right to do what feels right for me too within certain boundaries and respect for the relationship.’ But I think she has found her voice and I’m excited to see how that dynamic shifts.”
Costar Jessi Ngatikaura, meanwhile, questioned “the influence” Zac had on Jennifer.
“He’s the man of the house and has a lot of opinions on things,” Jessi noted to Us. “So I don’t think Jen would ever make that decision [to leave] on her own because she loves the friend group and she loves being around us. I would say that he definitely has a lot of influence on her decisions.”
September 2024
The pair didn’t just make headlines because of their rocky marriage. After Zac claimed on screen that he was actor Ben Affleck‘s second cousin, fans and costars alike questioned the validity of that connection.
“I don’t think Jen would lie about that. I really don’t, but maybe [Zac] could. I mean, we’ve seen a little bit of how he can be,” Jessi said on Scheana Shay’s “Scheananigans” podcast. “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.”
Jessi noted that Jen and Zac “made the last name such a thing.” Reports later surfaced that Jen and Zac are not related to Ben, which they have not addressed. Jen previously told Us that she never crossed paths with Ben.
“We’ve never met him,” she said in September 2024. “Zac’s dad has, a long time ago. Hopefully we meet him sometime soon because we are family.”
September 2024
Despite social media backlash about her marriage, Jen stood by Zac.
“I definitely think it was the best thing to happen to our relationship. While watching the show, a lot of people are going to think that maybe this would break our relationship apart. But if anything, it did the opposite,” Jen explained to Us when asked how the show impacted her marriage. “Being on camera and having those moments happen made us take a step back and actually look at a relationship and make us just see what we have to change.”
September 2024
Jen took to Instagram to share a message reflecting on the highlights from her relationship with Zac.
“We were just kids when we got married. Young, naive, and inexperienced, we truly had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Coming from completely different backgrounds, families, and upbringings, it didn’t seem to make sense. We were polar opposites,” she captioned the post. “How could we make this work? How could we see the same picture?”
Jen admitted that the twosome aren’t always on the same page, adding, “We didn’t always see eye to eye, and a lot of times, we still don’t. But that’s what marriage is, we keep trying. I truly believe there were lessons we both needed to teach each other.”
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October 2024
Jen sparked split speculation when she shared multiple TikTok videos that clearly showed her missing a ring on her left hand. Jen didn’t address the rumors but Zac was still featured in posts across her various social media platforms.
December 2024
Hulu renewed The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives for a second season one month after the show premiered. Jen and Zac moved from Utah to New York once filming started, which left their status with the show unclear.
“Choosing to step away from social media has been one of the best things I’ve done for my mental health,” Jen wrote via Instagram Story. “I can’t lie — these months have been some of the toughest I’ve faced, but they’ve also helped me gain clarity about myself, my relationships and the mother and friend I aspire to be.”
Zac, meanwhile, kept his Instagram account private while his bio read, “Official Fan Page of Jen, Nora and Luca @jenniferlaffleck.”
