Jen Affleck Has Her Sights Set Beyond Reality TV

In the past year, Jen Affleck has experienced the highest highs and lowest lows. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star took a mental health break while filming Season 2 as she struggled with prenatal depression and marital issues with her husband, Zac Affleck, stemming from the infamous Chippendales debacle that went down on the Hulu show. However, her time away from MomTok only fueled her to return stronger than ever.

“If I were to choose the easier option, it definitely would have been just walking away,” Affleck, 26, tells Elite Daily. “But I knew the right thing was to come back and face those traumas and everything I went through.”

Affleck made her Season 3 comeback count, moving back to Utah after a brief stint in Arizona to rebuild friendships with former frenemies like Jessi Draper Ngatikaura and take advantage of brand partnerships and TV opportunities that have come from the show. “I have been able to grow in so many ways and also grow with so many of my friends in MomTok, which I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise,” she says. It helped that she and Zac were no longer the hottest topic in the group. “This is the first time that we’ve gotten a break,” she adds, laughing. “It was so much fun.”

I don’t think there will ever be closure, unfortunately.

This doesn’t mean that she avoided the latest MomTok drama, of course. Affleck had a front-row seat as Ngatikaura navigated marriage woes in Season 3 in the aftermath of her emotional affair. “It made me want to be there for Jessi even more because I know what it’s like to be isolated and not have anyone there for you,” she says. And she has her own scores to settle with Whitney Leavitt and Demi Engemann, which are still a work in progress.

“I don’t think there will ever be closure, unfortunately, and the group is not on the best of terms with Demi,” Affleck says. “But hopefully through watching this season, this can give her a chance to reflect and maybe learn from it and be a better version of herself.”

The undeniable peak of Affleck’s return was getting to audition for Dancing with the Stars, and making the cut alongside Leavitt. “I think Season 3 shows a little bit of the light at the end of the tunnel,” she says. “I’m pregnant, I’m happy, I’m healing, and wanting to focus on the things that make me happy, such as dancing.”

On DWTS, Affleck was partnered with Taylor Swift’s fan-favorite Eras Tour dancer Jan Ravnik in his first year as a professional, and the duo slayed both the ballroom and TikTok. They were eliminated in the seventh week of the competition, but she has no regrets about the experience.

I grew up writing music, so I would love to tap into that and maybe start producing, and then also acting.

“I learned so much about myself,” she says. “I really pushed myself harder than I ever have, and that says a lot, knowing I’ve done a lot of physically hard things in my life, like running a marathon. This trumps all of it. I came out a stronger and better version of myself, and for that, I’m forever grateful.”

If it’s up to her, DWTS and her Dunkin’ ad with Ben Affleck are just the first steps in Affleck’s planned takeover of the entertainment world. “I grew up writing music, so I would love to tap into that and maybe start producing, and then also acting,” she says. “Doing the Dunkin’ commercial sparked something in me, and it’s fun doing something scripted. I just want to dip my toes in everything and see what happens.” And for the record, she confirms, “We’re not related.”

Below, Affleck shares her favorite Swift song, the show she wants to be on next, and the advice she gave Taylor Frankie Paul before she went on The Bachelorette.

Elite Daily: What’s harder, filming Dancing with the Stars or Mormon Wives?

Jen Affleck: Filming Mormon Wives, by far. I can dance all day in the ballroom. Tell me what to do. I can do a flip. I’ll do whatever. Mormon Wives, on the other hand, mentally is a lot harder.

ED: Do you watch any other reality shows?

JA: Yes. I love Love Island. Who doesn’t?

ED: What show would you love to go on after Dancing with the Stars?

JA: I know what show I’d like to see my husband on, and that’s The Traitors. I think he would be literally the best. He’s made for that.

ED: Why not both of you?

JA: I would be terrible. But I think Special Forces would be fun and scary.

ED: Who is your favorite reality star of all time?

JA: All of the girls from the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ show, America’s Sweethearts. I loved that show and loved the whole cast.

ED: What was the best advice you received during Dancing with the Stars?

JA: To have fun and to soak in every moment, because it’s not going to last forever.

There’s never any winning. You just have to come to terms with that.

ED: What’s your best tip for surviving a MomTok argument?

JA: Stay grounded, don’t take anything personally, and speak your truth.

ED: What about your best tip for winning a MomTok argument?

JA: There’s never any winning. You just have to come to terms with that. No one ever wins.

ED: Except the viewers.

JA: Yes, that’s right.

ED: What advice did you give Taylor Frankie Paul before she went on The Bachelorette?

JA: To follow her heart and her intuition, and to remember what she wants most in life. I think it’s easy to be infatuated and distracted by other things, but remember what’s most important and what you’re looking for. You want to be happy, and you want someone to love you and give you all the things that you need.

ED: Which MomToker would you love to see on Dancing with the Stars next?

JA: I would love to see Taylor on there. I think she would do great.

ED: There are so many celebrities that have confessed to being Mormon Wives fans. Who was the most surprising person that watches the show?

JA: Jennifer Lawrence, Millie Bobby Brown, Lana Del Rey. There have been so many. It’s crazy.

ED: What’s one word you’d use to describe the current state of MomTok?

JA: Fallouts.

ED: What are you manifesting in 2026?

JA: To produce my first album. I know that’s a big one. Maybe I shouldn’t spill that. I’ll say to be a good mom.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.