Zac Affleck's Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Redemption Arc Explained

Zac Affleck was arguably the most controversial member of DadTok when The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered on Hulu — so how did he end up winning fans over in season 2?
When The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives debuted in September 2024, viewers met a group of Mormon mom influencers in Utah, including Jen Affleck and her husband, Zac.
Zac and Jen’s familiar last name made them the immediate standouts (even though it still remains unclear whether there is actually any relation to Ben and Casey Affleck). As the season continued to play out, the couple offered a glimpse at a traditional Mormon marriage, which certainly came with challenges.
In what is now considered Chippendalegate, Jen’s plans to enjoy a night out in Las Vegas fell apart when Zac threatened to end their relationship over her decision to go to a Chippendales performance. The rest of the season called into question how Jen was being treated in her marriage overall, only for her to decide to leave MomTok in favor of a move to New York with Zac.

Related: Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Jen and Zac Affleck’s Relationship Timeline

Courtesy of Jen Affleck/Instagram 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 […]

“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,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2024. “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.”
While Jen initially claimed filming the show improved her marriage, she later confirmed that the pair went through a separation. Jen and Zac, who shared two kids when Mormon Wives premiered, got back together in season 2 — not long before she found out she was pregnant with baby No. 3.
“[We went through] lots of therapy. When I say lots of therapy, I mean eight hours a week. We really went all at it,” Jen told Us in May 2025 about ketamine therapy. “It was definitely a game changer. Definitely life changing — and I never thought I would try ketamine. But when you’re looking for anything to help you try anything.”
Jen added: “We wouldn’t have been able to get through season 2 — honestly season 1 or season 2 — without therapy. And filming definitely isn’t a comfortable thing for Zac. I think it’s definitely harder for him to be vulnerable. So that was him really trying to break through that during season 2. Even though there’s a lot of tough conversations we need to have on and off camera, it was all helpful in the end.”
Season 2 captured Jen and Zac’s attempts to save their marriage but it was his behavior that made viewers suddenly root for the Afflecks. Zac’s TikTok videos and offscreen comments also helped redeem him after he originally faced major backlash online.
“We were so vulnerable and we shared everything about our religion and our life and our marriage,” Zac said on “The Viall Files” podcast in May 2025.. “I honestly think we went a little bit naive into the show — just not really knowing what to expect or what reality TV even is.”
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of every Zac era that helped pave the way for his redemption arc:

Related: ‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Then vs. Now: How Cast Looked Pre-Hulu Show

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives fans have watched the cast change on and off screen before the series even debuted. Season 1 of hit reality series, which follows a group of Mormon mom influencers, debuted on Hulu in September 2024 following star Taylor Frankie Paul‘s “soft swinging” sex scandal. “We’re not all swingers,” Whitney […]

Possible Relation to Ben Affleck

Zac Affleck and Ben Affleck Courtesy of Jen Affleck/Instagram; Getty Images
When season 1 debuted in September 2024, Jen claimed on the show that Zac’s dad, David Affleck, is second cousins with the famous actors.
Several of Jen’s costars — and the audience — questioned the validity of that statement. Once Zac finally broke his silence on the claims, he addressed it with a sense of humor.
“It’s never been something serious,” he explained in a May 2025 episode of Mormon Wives. “And so, when Jen started telling people that, I did tell her, ‘I don’t think you should say that anymore. I think that’s probably gonna backfire.’”
Jen stood her ground and told Zac he was “not going to make” her “feel stupid.” While Zac wouldn’t budge on the matter, he did have fun with his response, adding, “You’re not. Or maybe you are.”
One month later, Zac took to his Instagram Story, to share a post from a Hulu viewer about Ben’s interest in playing blackjack, with the caption, “I wonder if Jen and Zac know abt this. secret lives of mormon wives bouta get real crazy.”
In response, Zac, whose passion for gambling has become a story line on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, replied, “Uncle Ben is a legend.”
Rough Introduction

Courtesy of Jen Affleck/Instagram
While the Chippendales drama made viewers cringe, Jen expressed her gratitude for the show because it allowed the couple to work on their issues.
“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,” she shared with Us in September 2024. “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.”
Jen said she was proud of the progress she and Zac made off screen, adding, “Ever since we finished filming, we’ve been doing nonstop therapy and it’s been great. So if anything, [watching the show] is just going to be exposure therapy at this point.”
Putting Jen First

Instagram
After Zac received so much backlash that he had to lock his social media accounts until season 2 premiered, he showed Jen and fans a new side of him when he promised to prioritize her. (He also started to bond with Demi and Jessi after they had multiple hour-long phone conversations.)
“I reached out to my dean and put in my application to leave medical school. My feelings toward MomTok haven’t completely changed but I feel like a lot of our marriage I made about me and what I want to do,” he told Jen in a May 2025 episode. “I don’t know what I am going to do with my life, to be honest. I am here to support you and support your career.”
As Zac and Jen fought for their marriage, she found out she was pregnant with their third baby. Zac supported Jen as she dealt with depression and suicidal ideation that led to her checking into a wellness center.
“Spent 11 days away from my loved ones, focusing on healing and working through my trauma,” she wrote via her Instagram Story in March 2025 before the second season premiered on Hulu. “It was definitely one of the most challenging and impactful experiences I’ve ever had 🤍. Not the pregnancy journey I expected, but definitely what baby and I needed.”
Jen elaborated on the “moments of processing, learning, pain and healing” at the retreat, which included counseling sessions, yoga classes, spending time with horses and painting.
“It’s not every day you have the chance to be surrounded by professionals and mentors who dedicate their time to support you,” she continued. “I am truly grateful for everyone who made this possible.”

Sharing His Sense of Humor

Courtesy of Zac Affleck/TikTok
Part of Zac’s public rehabilitation was showing his sense of humor — and what better way than on TikTok? One of Zac’s greatest hits was a collaboration with Whitney Leavitt’s husband, Conner Leavitt, where they poked fun at the rumors that they were secretly gay.
“When the lavender marriage rumors finally get to you but you have each others backs,” Zac captioned a TikTok in June 2025 which featured a transition that showed Conner with his legs around Zac’s shoulders.
Zac noted that the video was a way to “welcome” Conner to DadTok. Conner replied to the video, writing, “Always hear [sic] for you bro. Day or night.” In response to a fan joking that the video was “giving double lavender marriage,” Zac noted, “Yeah that was the joke lol.”
Bringing the Receipts to the Reunion

Disney/Fred Hayes
It feels safe to say that Zac didn’t cement his place on the show until the Mormon Wives reunion. After coming to his wife’s defense amid her feud with Demi Engemann, Zac came prepared with receipts: a conversation of Demi appearing to give him and Jen talking points.
“When we were in contract negotiations for season 2, Demi called Jen on the phone and was on speaker. I was sitting there and Demi said the craziest things about Jessi — who was her best friend — that she had no respect for her, that she was disgusting and that she wanted nothing to do with her,” Zac claimed during the Hulu special. “This was her best friend. I turned around and I said, ‘She is talking about Jessi that way. How do you think she’s talking about you?’”

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The conversation between Zac, Jen, Demi and her husband, Bret Engemann, continued when cameras weren’t around.
“We get in the car, and we are driving home when Bret and Demi call us on the phone. Brett had said, ‘Hey, we really need to figure out [Demi’s] whole victim [narrative].’ Because he didn’t like that she said [she was] a victim because I think he was afraid that she was gonna claim victim and it was gonna be clear to the whole audience that she was not a victim,” Zac noted. “As he started saying that, I’m like, ‘I’m gonna press record,’ because I had heard what she had said about Jessi and I’m like, ‘To cover our own backs, we’re just gonna get the receipt on this.’”
Other Zac highlights from the reunion include him having to explain to Jen the sexual implication behind the clam emoji while she told him what “the big O” meant.