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The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Viewers quickly noticed that there was a cast member with a famous last name.
Jen Affleck is one of eight TikTokers from Utah starring in Hulu's new reality series. Naturally, fans have been wondering if Jen is related to Good Will Hunting Star Ben Affleck and his brother, actor Casey. The short answer is: yes!
The mother of two is married to Zac Affleck, Ben and Casey's second cousin. Zac, a medical student who met Jen when she was just 18, is the son of Dave Affleck, Ben and Casey's cousin.
Talking with People While promoting the hit reality show, Jen confirmed her family ties to the actors, admitting that she has yet to meet them.
“Zac's father has [met them]when [Ben] “He was very young. I hope to meet him one day too,” she told the outlet.
And to make things even more peculiar, Jen pointed out a detail in her name that connects her to Ben Affleck's current wife.
She confessed: “It turns out my name isn’t just Jen, but Jennifer Lynn Affleck, which is exactly the same as JLo. She went from Jennifer Lynn Lopez to Jennifer Lynn Affleck, which is crazy.”
Lopez will soon stop being Affleck, as she and the Missing girl The stars are divorcing after just two years of marriage.
Like their cousins, Jen and Zac officially rose to stardom with the debut of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives attracting greater attention.
According The wrapper, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has become the most-watched unscripted series on Hulu this year.
Jen, Taylor Frankie Paul, Mikayla Matthews, Layla Taylor, Demi Engemann, Mayci Neely, Whitney Leavitt, and Jessi Ngatikaura first appeared on TikTok in 2021, posting about their lives at home as young parents and dedicated Mormons. Then, in 2022, a scandal broke out when Taylor divulged the news of her not-so-secret swinging habit.
At the time, Taylor opened up to her followers, admitting that she and her now-ex-husband Tate were splitting up and that they had been “softly hooking up” with a few other Utah couples, declining to confess which ones.
Now, curious viewers will be able to watch the details of their drama unfold on television.
In conversation with BustleTaylor and Neely talked about how they've had to adjust to fame and who their current role models are. For Neely, the level of attention surrounding “Mormon life” has been very surprising and unexpected.
“I don’t think I’ve talked about being Mormon that much in my entire life over the last month,” she said. “On social media I never really talked about religion. The only time I talked about it was if people asked me, or if I was doing a TikTok about getting pregnant at BYU as a Mormon, then I would make fun of it. But I never really talked about religion until this show, so it’s very strange to have it so mainstream.”
Taylor added: “Yeah, we don’t understand the fascination it creates. We were born and raised with it, so it’s our normality, it’s our life.”
For both, using their new platform to pivot and launch custom brands is the next step in their careers.
“I think it’s hard because we haven’t watched a lot of reality TV… The only ones I really know are the Kardashians, right?” Neely said after being asked to name her reality star role models. “They all have their businesses and they’re super successful. So if we could take inspiration from them, sure, I would.
“Yes, because everyone turned it into a business,” Taylor agreed.
