Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jessi Ngatikaura wasn’t thrilled by Zac Affleck‘s claims that she cheated on her ex-husband — and she’s hoping to share the truth on season 2.
“He said that I cheated on my ex-husband. There are rumors about that online and I know there’s a lot of speculation,” Jessi exclusively shared in Us Weekly‘s newest cover story. “It’s actually a pretty interesting story that I’d love to share on season 2 if we get one.” (Jessi was married to Zach before she tied the knot with current husband Jordan Ngatikaura.)
Jessi, who is “not a fan” of costar Jennifer Affleck‘s husband, told Us that she hasn’t spoken to him about the allegations yet.
“I would love to talk to him about it first and see what he heard,” she said about how the drama affected her bond with Jen. “But it’s definitely hard to not have that affect our friendships — especially because we saw how [Jen] was being treated as well. But I would say overall, we’re all just here for Jen. And we’re happy for whatever she chooses. But I do think she’s finding her voice, which is really good.”
Season 1 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which follows a group of Mormon mom influencers, debuted on Hulu earlier this month. Their various friendships — and feuds — was at the center of the series but their individual relationships with their significant others caught Us‘ eye as well.
During the penultimate episode, Jen and her friends attended a Chippendale show in Las Vegas, which upset Zac. He subsequently proceeded to berate her over text and took digs at her pals, including accusing Jessi of being unfaithful in her past marriage.
“I would say that you guys just saw a little snippet of it on the show. [Zac and Jen] were a dynamic we were familiar with all throughout filming. So it wasn’t the first time we spoke up about how we felt about it,” Jessi explained. “I would say it was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, which is why you saw me and Demi [Engemann] in particular really voicing our opinions because it wasn’t the first time.”
A second season would allow the cast to hash things out now that they have seen the full picture.
“I know that there’s been a lot of us versus Whitney [Leavitt] and maybe hopefully [we can] figure that out. Then Zac said some stuff about my marriage in particular and we have issues with how he’s treated Jen,” she added. “So maybe talking about that stuff [could happen on the show]. But there’s also a lot of real dynamics in our friendship group even now that I think if we did get another season would be interesting to watch unfold.”
According to Jessi, the drama hasn’t come to an end since they stopped filming, adding, “It’s definitely heightened what happened on the show. So emotions are definitely high right now and I think that doing another season would be great because then we could kind of dig into it more.”
While reflecting on the show’s overwhelming success, Jessi revealed the reaction from the Mormon Church.
“It’s funny because when the show was announced, we got a lot of backlash from our community about the title before the show was out,” she recalled. “We got a lot of judgment and I kept telling people to just watch the show and then judge. Then once the show is out, it’s either silence from those people or they’re watching it and love it.”
Jessi has found that the “tables have turned” following premature criticism.
“Everyone is making mistakes in real life and just because you’re a member of the church doesn’t mean you’re perfect. We all sin differently and I think some people don’t like their sins out there,” she told Us. “[It is] not that we’re exposing their secrets. But I think we’re showing that Mormon women still make mistakes and slip up.”
She continued: “I think they didn’t love that. But overall people are excited to see that you can be in a religion and have a strong faith in God but also make mistakes and be a real normal human. So if anything, I think it’s helped people relate to us more.”
For more on the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
