![\"\u201cDANCE](\"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/jen-affleck-kids-1420x798-1.jpg\")
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The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives<\/em>\u00a0is back for\u00a0season three, but Jen Affleck has been on television screens for the past few months during her time on\u00a0Dancing With the Stars<\/p>\n <\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The MomTok member hasn\u2019t been shy in sharing her aspirations of appearing on the competitive ballroom dancing show, and that dream came true this fall when she joined the season 34 cast. While Jen has since been eliminated from the show, viewers get a closer look at her journey leading up to Dancing With the Stars on the latest season of Mormon Wives.<\/p>\n The women were given the opportunity to audition for the competition series on season three, where it was promised that one of their cast members would earn a spot in the competition. The audience, too, got to watch as a few of the MomTok ladies interviewed with Deena Katz, which led to the casting director ultimately choosing both Jen and Whitney Leavitt to join the show.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jen joined Dancing With the Stars more than two months after giving birth to her third child. The Mormon Wives star has been incredibly candid about what it was like navigating the experience postpartum, but she ultimately wouldn\u2019t trade her time on the show \u201cfor anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was obviously a dream of mine to be able to dance in front of millions of people\u2026 but more than anything, it was a dream of mine to share my story,\u201d she tells The Hollywood Reporter. \u201cBecause my story has been related to mothers, and specifically mothers dealing with postpartum and prenatal depression, even though it was challenging being on the show, I was able to reach a lot more people because of it and of bring awareness to that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Below, Jen speaks with THR about her time on DWTS season 34, her reaction to being partnered with the newest professional dancer, if she believes she was overlooked in the competition, if she felt pressure competing against one of her Mormon Wives co-stars and who she believes is going to win the mirrorball in a little under two weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Season three tackles you learning about the opportunity of Dancing With the Stars, to actually getting it. What has it been like capturing that journey from the beginning, when you first realized there was an opportunity to even go on the show?<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Well, what\u2019s crazy about that is I have been, I swear, manifesting and pushing this since I can remember, since I even started social media. Honestly, in fact, the reason why I even did reality TV was not only so I could share my story, of course, but so I could even have a chance to go on a platform such as Dancing With the Stars. After season one came out, I really pushed for that. In fact, I went to my manager and I was like, \u201cHow can I get invited to the show? I\u2019ve never been to a show.\u201d And after I went, I was like, I have to be on. I am willing to do whatever it takes. And so I pushed for it, I talked about it, I made it a storyline and then finally it became an opportunity. And I was ecstatic. What I really appreciated was the fact that MomTok, even though a lot of the girls auditioned for the spot, I think everyone was very supportive in me doing it, just because it had been something I talked about for the longest time. It was a dream of mine. And clearly I wanted it bad, because I was willing to even go on [DWTS] six weeks postpartum. The fact that it even became a storyline, and I was able to talk about my dreams and be open about that, made the journey even more exciting.<\/p>\n Do you think that you pushing for Dancing With the Stars and bringing this potential idea of Mormon Wives going on [the show] led to you and Whitney being cast?<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Oh, absolutely. I don\u2019t think it would have been an opportunity if I hadn\u2019t pushed for it, to be honest. I mean, I really did bring it up, and I even pushed when it wasn\u2019t an opportunity. I had a friend of mine, Ezra [Sosa], who\u2019s a pro even come on [Mormon Wives.] That was even before it ever became an opportunity, so I really was making it my whole everything. And now, I\u2019m sad it\u2019s over, but so grateful I was able to get a chance to be on.<\/p>\n Are you ultimately happy you jumped at the opportunity to do the show while you were postpartum?<\/strong><\/p>\n Absolutely. It was obviously a dream of mine to dance in front of millions of people and be on stage. But more than anything, it was a dream of mine to share my story, and because my story has been related to mothers, and specifically mothers dealing with postpartum and prenatal depression, even though it was challenging being on the show, I was able to reach a lot more people because of it and of bring awareness to that. I think there are a lot of moments where mothers go unseen and unnoticed, and I want to bring that forward and talk about it. And the fact that I was able to do that in a positive way, being freshly postpartum and dancing, something that I love to do, it made everything more impactful.<\/p>\n A lot of people did forget that you were postpartum. There\u2019s this argument that you might have been overlooked, and that the judges could have overlooked that piece of your story as well. I know they didn\u2019t mention [in your package] that you had the flu [during Dedication Night]. Do you agree that you were overlooked on Dancing With the Stars?<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n I do think so. I don\u2019t know if they intentionally meant to do that. There are a lot of storylines. There\u2019s a lot of contestants, and there are a lot of things going on in each person\u2019s life that probably even got unnoticed. But I definitely do think that it wasn\u2019t talked about enough, and I wish I did get recognized for that. But you know what? It\u2019s OK if I didn\u2019t get recognized from the judges, because I got recognized by millions of other moms who could see that, and that\u2019s all that mattered to me. I think there\u2019s a couple of things that didn\u2019t go noticed, being postpartum, not having a dancing background, those were the main two things, and being sick, of course. That would have changed how people perceived my routines throughout the season (laughs).<\/p>\n There\u2019s also this argument that having two people from the Mormon Wives cast pit you against each other. Does having one of your co-stars on Dancing With the Stars put an added layer of pressure on both of you to outdo one another?<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n You know what? I never actually felt that pressure, surprisingly, just because I was so focused on my journey, and we are on completely different journeys. I mean, she is a professional dancer and has a degree in dance, and she grew up performing. And so her wanting to execute that and show people that was awesome, but just different than what I was trying to do. I was just trying to barely survive. I mean, I just had a baby. I don\u2019t have any dancing experience, so this was all really new to me. Even performing on a stage was new to me. We were just on two completely different journeys, and I\u2019m grateful for mine even though I didn\u2019t last as long as I wanted to. I still got the most out of it.<\/p>\n Looking back to when you first joined the show and when you learned that\u00a0<\/strong>Jan [Ravnik]<\/strong>\u00a0was going to be your partner, what was your reaction? Because he is a new addition, but he\u2019s known because he was an Eras Tour dancer.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n I was so excited. Especially with us both being newbies, it made the journey even more exciting, because this was his first time, so we didn\u2019t know what to expect. At times it did make it challenging, just because Jan was new to it too. Even in the beginning, with the simple things, like, Look at this camera and wave at this camera at this point. There are things that he didn\u2019t know that we need to [do], but it still made the journey amazing, and I wouldn\u2019t trade it for anything. I feel like the biggest takeaway, or the biggest blessing I got from Dancing With the Stars, was my friendship with Jan. I will forever, always cherish that.<\/p>\n If Jan moves on with the show next season, what would you say to the next person who gets to be paired up with him?<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019re gonna be laughing a lot, and even though you\u2019re gonna have the best time dancing with him, just know that you\u2019re probably going to spend more time laughing, because that guy is the funniest guy I\u2019ve ever met.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve also revealed that you and Jan are neighbors and you\u2019re living in Los Angeles. Have the Affleck\u2019s really moved to L.A.?<\/strong><\/p>\n As of right now, yes. But you\u2019ll have to tune in and watch the rest of the seasons of Secret Lives to find out what happens.<\/p>\n What does that mean for your future with the show? Do you still plan on being on [Mormon Wives<\/em>]?<\/strong><\/p>\n For sure. I will always be a part of the show, so don\u2019t doubt that. But yes, it\u2019s always been my dream to be a part of the entertainment industry. Like, creating music and acting. My goal is to end up in L.A. and stay to make sure that we stay down here.<\/p>\n During this time, you\u2019ve been filming for\u00a0<\/strong>Mormon Wives<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/strong>Dancing With the Stars<\/em><\/strong>. What has it been like juggling filming for both of these reality shows and also still juggling your home life?<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Luckily, with reality TV, it\u2019s not like a nine-to-five where you have to always leave your kids. With reality TV, you can film and be with your kids and whatnot. But that doesn\u2019t change that it\u2019s still taxing, and it\u2019s still a lot. I\u2019ve just been doing the best that I can, and at the end of the day, that\u2019s all you really can do, right? It has been a crazy season of life. No question.<\/p>\n How do you go from filming the segments for Dancing With the Stars and the live show to switching to filming Mormon Wives? Has that been hard?<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Oh, yeah. It has been very hard. I almost feel like I\u2019ve been on autopilot, just because to even get time to just, like, take a shower, that even has felt like a lot. And any break that I get, I am spending time with my kids, because they need their mom too. I really have been trying to do the best that I can. I think people are starting to catch on towards the end of my journey on Dancing With the Stars, that I was looking tired. I mean, I also caught the flu. I\u2019m not getting a lot of sleep. I have a newborn. But if anything, it just shows that, again, us mothers, we\u2019re really capable of so much physically, mentally and emotionally. And as moms, that\u2019s just what you do, right? You don\u2019t ever really catch a break. If you get sick, you don\u2019t get a day off. You still have to show up. And that was my mentality with everything, with Dancing With the Stars, the show. Being a mom, you just show up (laughs).<\/p>\n Taylor Frankie Paul is the new Bachelorette, and you have this unique experience of filming both [Mormon Wives and DWTS]. She\u2019s filming right now, but did you give her any advice on how to juggle filming two huge reality shows? What advice would you offer her for how to navigate the experience?<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n The main advice I could give her is to follow her intuition and follow her heart. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever a perfect or right way to go about these situations, because they\u2019re new and it\u2019s something that she\u2019s never experienced before. She\u2019s been through a lot in the past couple of years, and right now, it\u2019s the time to just soak it all in, follow her intuition, follow her heart, and no matter what happens, we\u2019ll be here to support her in whatever she decides and however her journey folds.<\/p>\n Speaking of support, which member of MomTok has been the most supportive of your journey on\u00a0<\/strong>Dancing With the Stars?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Jessi [Draper Ngatikaura] has been the most supportive and biggest hype girl, which I\u2019ve really appreciated.<\/p>\n Which\u00a0<\/strong>Mormon Wives<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0cast member should go on the next season of\u00a0<\/strong>Dancing With the Stars?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Taylor. That would be so fun to watch, and I think she\u2019d do awesome.<\/p>\n Looking back at your experience on\u00a0<\/strong>Dancing With the Stars<\/em><\/strong>, is there anything that you wish you could have done on the show? Was there an upcoming night you wish you could have taken part in that you didn\u2019t get to?<\/strong><\/p>\n I was really hoping to do Prince Night. Jan and I had a plan, and he was going to be a Chippendales dancer and was going to bring out the [Eras Tour] ladder. We had a whole plan for it. It\u2019s devastating now thinking about it, just because that was gonna be so funny and so fun, and I\u2019m sure people were gonna die over it. But it is what it is.<\/p>\n Before season three, you took a mental health break and stepped away from the show. What has it been like returning to MomTok? Do you feel the support from the women given this hectic period of time in your life? Are you glad that you came back?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, absolutely. I feel like season three was needed for me. During that time, I was able to see who my real friends are and who maybe isn\u2019t. Honestly, I just feel like I\u2019m in a good place with MomTok, and hopefully, we keep it there.<\/p>\n Who is going to win season 34 of\u00a0<\/strong>Dancing With the Stars<\/em><\/strong>? Who\u2019s going to take the mirrorball?<\/strong><\/p>\n Robert Irwin, that\u2019s what I\u2019m betting on. He\u2019s gonna win it by a landslide.<\/p>\n Kyle Richards<\/strong>\u00a0recalled a run-in she had with\u00a0Lisa Vanderpump<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Ken Todd<\/strong>\u00a0at\u00a0BravoCon<\/strong> over the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n As she also reacted to\u00a0Stacey Rusch<\/strong>, 53, suggesting she wasn\u2019t friendly, addressed\u00a0Reza Farahan<\/strong>\u2018s shade on\u00a0Watch What Happens Live<\/em><\/strong>, and fired back at allegations of\u00a0not showing her life\u00a0on\u00a0The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills<\/em><\/strong>, Kyle, 56, admitted to taunting Ken at the Beverly Hills Hotel.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw Ken and Lisa. And I sat there and I thought, \u2018Well, what should I do,\u2019 because it doesn\u2019t always go well when we see each other in person. So we both kind of \u2014 maybe she did see me, maybe she didn\u2019t. But as he was leaving, I said, \u2018Goodbye, Ken!\u2019 Kyle revealed, giving a nod to the way in which Ken\u00a0kicked her out of his home\u00a0on season nine. \u201cI don\u2019t know if he heard me or not, but I just had to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Kyle then responded to the question about Stacey\u2019s comment.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to say, that\u2019s not a comment that usually comes from people because I\u2019m always friendly with everyone, and I\u2019m just going to be honest, I don\u2019t know the, I don\u2019t \u2014 god, this is not going to go over well, guys. I don\u2019t watch reality television,\u201d she explained. \u201cI don\u2019t watch a lot of these shows, and I don\u2019t know a lot of the newer people, so I don\u2019t always know, but I\u2019m nice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know which one she is. I\u2019m just being honest. I\u2019m not trying to be mean,\u201d she continued. \u201cI\u2019ve not seen [The Real Housewives of Potomac<\/em><\/strong>] for many, many years. That\u2019s just the truth. I don\u2019t know all the cast members of all the shows. That\u2019s just a fact.\u201d<\/p>\n When\u00a0Tamra Judge<\/strong>, 58, who was also on Kyle\u2019s panel at BravoCon, mentioned that Reza, 52, made a negative comment about her, as well, Kyle confirmed, \u201cI heard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Reza\u2019s the first one who comes up to me and is so nice to me to my face \u2014 every time. So I just laugh,\u201d she stated, as seen in a clip shared to\u00a0Bravo\u2019s Story.<\/p>\n Moving on to claims of not sharing enough of her life on\u00a0RHOBH<\/em>, Kyle admitted to being confused by the allegation.<\/p>\n \u201cI always think, \u2018This is so wild to me because I\u2019ve shown my life for 15 years and everything, and people have seen a lot of great things that have happened with my family, Portia turning two years old, and now applying to college, which is so crazy, but I\u2019ve had\u00a0major falling outs\u00a0with my family. Having blood on the show is a very different thing than falling out with people that you\u2019re not as close with, and it was really painful to go through that in the public eye,\u201d she noted. \u201cI show so much. I\u2019m like, \u2018Do I need to put a camera in the shower or next to the toilet?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills<\/em>\u00a0season 15 premieres on Thursday, December 4, at 8\/7c on Bravo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives\u00a0is back for\u00a0season three, but Jen Affleck has been on television screens for the past few months during her time on\u00a0Dancing With the Stars .\u00a0 The MomTok…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n