JEN AND ZAC AFFLECK ARE GETTING A DIVORCE, BUT IS THIS A LONG TIME COMING?

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars have been rumored to be getting a divorce, as in, TMZ posted that Jen had officially filed for divorce from her husband, Zac, just recently. While I am a newer fan, I do think this deserves to be talked about. I just recently watched the SLOMW this semester for the first time, and I have to say that while they weren’t my favorite couple, I think they sadly have been on a rocky slope since the first season. Let’s talk about it. 

The news happened to drop right before the premiere of Jen’s new show, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County, which of course caused a lot of publicity (what do ya know). I do think that the rumors are true, even though the timing is impeccable. I think part of her wanted to please the fans who have been telling her to divorce Zac since season one, but also wanted to prove everyone wrong, that yes, she can stand up for herself (or as she would put it, she stops “people pleasing”). I also read that Zac found out about the divorce filing the same way we did, through their post… yikes. 

I think since the beginning, Jen seemed to be off to a rough start. She prided herself on the rules she followed, different from her fellow MomTok friends, and seemed to put her and her marriage on a pedestal. The majority of her interviews in season one consisted of comments targeting her friends and the actions she didn’t agree with. She was also much more careful with what she chose to put out there about her and her marriage. But of course, the infamous “Chippendales” episode broke the image she had created for her and her marriage. The way Zac acted in that episode left a lot of fans uneasy, begging Jen to get a divorce if she respected herself. But she didn’t, and chose to work on her marriage. 

We watched Zac redeem himself through the next couple of seasons, and then the Jen hate train began. Zac gave up medical school to help support Jen’s desire to continue MomTok, moved across the country to LA to be with her while she followed her dream of being on Dancing with the Stars, and became a stay-at-home dad for the foreseeable future. 

I think people started to dislike how Jen would react to Zac in conversations, and started to see Jen as selfish. Viewers thought that Jen just didn’t realize that she had a lot more responsibilities than just MomTok. It looked like she wanted to be famous more than she wanted to be a wife and mother. While having a career while being a mother is extraordinary, viewers thought that she seemed to drop all of her responsibilities to “follow her dreams”, leaving Zac in the dust. 

Season 5 didn’t paint her in a good light either; fans just seemed to lose interest in Jen as a whole. People began to take Zac’s side, claiming he needed to divorce her and find someone who supports his dreams as well. While, of course, he is a dad and husband too with the same responsibilities, viewers just wanted to see him be given the support that he gave Jen. 

So, what do you think? Were you surprised by the news, or was this just a long time coming?

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