Mormon Housewife Jennifer Affleck Confronts Her Chippendales Scandal and Controlling Husband

Look, folks: We’re no longer covering Bravo celeb-reality shows and haven’t for a few weeks. The Real Housewives coverage wasn’t working. I get it. We’re no longer in the business of making fetch happen.

However, I inexplicably got hooked on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives last year. Yes, the Damon Lindelof, Mike Schur, Bill Lawrence guy with a love-hate relationship with Taylor Sheridan got sucked into Mormon housewives. I don’t entirely understand why, except that the whole clan reminded me of my white-trash upbringing — only with McMansions instead of trailers. The line separating the two is so thin: sh**ty marriages, multiple pregnancies, fragile relationships, chain restaurants, and 72-ounce drinks from 7/11. They were basically the rich kids in my hometown.

And now, Mormon Wives’ fashion is everywhere among teenage girls. It’s insane. It’s just Jesus-wrapped TikTok culture. I found it wildly compelling.

One of the most interesting “characters” on the series, though, was Jennifer Affleck (who claims to be, but is not actually, distantly related to Ben Affleck). She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and is married to a nice-looking, blond surfer type named Zac who resembles every youth pastor in America.

He’s also an insecure, thin-skinned, patriarchal douchebag. This became painfully clear near the end of the season when the Mormon Housewives decided to visit Chippendales. A few of the women, married to confident, secure men, had no issue with it. Zac, however, very much had an issue. And Jennifer was terrified of his reaction.

What was supposed to be a fun girls’ weekend turned into a crisis. After some pressure from her friends, Jennifer freaked out about Zac finding out she was even considering going to Chippendales. So she called him to confess. This tiny man in a large man’s body basically told her that if she dared step foot inside a Chippendales, he’d divorce the hell out of her. He said it loudly. He said it with conviction. Never mind that Zac had followed her to Vegas to “keep her out of trouble” but spent the entire time feeding his own gambling addiction.

You see why this reminds me of my white-trash upbringing now, right?

Many of the other Wives thought, “She’s finally seeing Zac for the controlling asshole that he is,” and there was this collective sense of relief — maybe she’d get out of a lousy marriage. But that’s not the culture. Instead, she left early, ran back to her husband, practically begged for forgiveness, and (if rumors are to be believed) moved to New York with him so he could pursue a medical degree — which shocked me, considering he seems about as sharp as a box of hair.

I bring all this up because, ahead of the May 25th season two premiere, Affleck was spotted on stage at a Chippendales show. She was visibly pregnant with her third child—because that’s how some couples deal with marital issues. My first thought was: Whew. She broke free, and this was her announcement to the world.

Nope. It turns out Zac “gave his wife permission” to attend the show—probably only so he could use the opportunity to rehab his reputation as a controlling rage monster.

@jenniferaffleckk 😏… I was a good girl don’t worry @Zac Affleck #exposuretherapy #chippendales #secretlivesofmormonwives ♬ original sound - Morgan Cates

Again, the show returns on May 15th. Here’s the teaser trailer, and yes: The police get involved again. JUST LIKE HOME.