‘Mormon Wives’ Star Jen Affleck Says She and Husband Zac Are Navigating ‘A Lot’ Behind Closed Doors During Fourth Pregnancy

Jen Affleck and Zac Affleck in New York City together.

Jen Affleck is opening up about an especially demanding chapter in her life as she prepares to welcome her fourth child while filming a new reality series, adjusting to a major move and continuing to work through challenges in her marriage to husband Zac Affleck.

The 27-year-old star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives recently spoke with PEOPLE while promoting her partnership with Quest Nutrition, admitting that the past several months have been far from easy.

“It’s been a lot the past couple of months, I’ll be honest,” Jen said.

Despite the difficulties, she said she is beginning to feel more optimistic.

“I do feel like I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and just trying to count my blessings every single day.”

Jen’s turbulent year has included a move from Utah to California, production on a new television series, an unexpected fourth pregnancy, serious dental problems during her first trimester, prenatal depression and continued efforts to strengthen her marriage.

Through it all, she says Zac has played an important role in helping their family get through one of the most difficult periods of her pregnancy.

Jen Affleck Moves to California for ‘Mormon Wives’ Spinoff

Earlier this year, it was announced that Jen would join the cast of Hulu’s upcoming spinoff, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County.

The new series expands the world of the original reality show, which introduced viewers to a group of Mormon influencers and their complicated friendships, marriages and family lives.

To participate in the spinoff, Jen and her family relocated from Utah to California.

She and Zac share three children: daughter Nora, 4, son Luca, 3, and daughter Penelope, 1.

The entire family moved to Orange County, where filming for the first season of the new show is now nearing completion.

For Jen, however, the transition was about much more than filming television.

Shortly after the move, she discovered she was pregnant with the couple’s fourth child.

She later celebrated the news publicly with a stylish maternity photoshoot, posing in a flowing yellow halter-neck dress while showing off her growing baby bump.

Behind the glamorous pregnancy announcement, however, Jen was experiencing an extremely difficult first trimester.

A Painful Dental Emergency Complicated Her Pregnancy

Only three weeks after arriving in Orange County, Jen developed an infected wisdom tooth.

Normally, the problem would already have been painful and stressful, but her pregnancy made treatment considerably more complicated.

Jen explained that she needed surgery but was unable to undergo the procedure in the same way she ordinarily might have because of her pregnancy.

She was also struggling with severe nausea and vomiting.

“I have to go into surgery, I can’t go under, I can’t take the meds because I’m nauseous and throwing up,” she recalled.

“I mean, I was just going through it.”

The dental emergency occurred while Jen was simultaneously adapting to a new home, raising three young children, filming a reality show and dealing with the physical demands of early pregnancy.

But her difficulties were not only physical.

Jen Opens Up About Prenatal Depression

Jen previously revealed that she experienced prenatal depression during her fourth pregnancy.

In an emotional Instagram post, the reality star said her mental state became frightening during her first trimester, explaining that her thoughts had gone to “some really dark places.”

She admitted that the experience scared her.

Rather than keeping that struggle private, however, Jen decided to share it with her millions of followers.

She told PEOPLE that she believes being open about painful experiences can have a purpose, particularly when her story might help someone else feel understood.

“I definitely feel like everything that I’m experiencing right now is for a reason,” she said, “and I do believe that it’s supposed to help people.”

Jen acknowledged that the specifics of her life may not be relatable to everyone.

She is a young Mormon mother preparing to have four children while living much of her personal life in the public eye through reality television and social media.

Still, she believes the emotions underneath those circumstances are universal.

“I think I’m in a very unique and interesting situation, where maybe people can’t relate with being Mormon and having four kids at such a young age,” she said.

“But I do think there are different things that people can relate with.”

She Says Criticism Won’t Stop Her From Sharing Her Story

Jen is also aware that vulnerability online often attracts criticism as well as support.

As a reality television personality with a large social media following, she has frequently faced public opinions about her marriage, parenting and personal decisions.

Nevertheless, she said helping even one person makes the criticism worthwhile.

“I think there’s always going to be hate, and there’s always going to be criticism,” Jen explained.

“But as long as one person is benefiting from me sharing my story, that’s all that matters to me.”

That philosophy appears to be guiding how she approaches both her pregnancy and the public discussion surrounding her relationship with Zac.

Their marriage has already been a significant storyline within the Mormon Wives franchise.

Zac Had to Take Over While Jen Was Seriously Ill

During the worst period of Jen’s first trimester, she said she became so sick that she was unable to properly care for their three children.

That forced Zac to take on significantly more responsibility at home.

“I could not be there for my kids, and so Zac really had to show up,” she said.

Jen added with some humor and directness, “I mean, he didn’t really have a choice.”

Still, she made it clear that his support was critical.

Despite acknowledging ongoing problems in their marriage, Jen said she does not believe she would have managed the first trimester without him.

“I wouldn’t have survived the first trimester without him,” she said.

That support has apparently become particularly meaningful because Jen and Zac are simultaneously continuing to address unresolved issues within their relationship.

Jen Affleck.

Jen and Zac Are Still Working Through Marriage Challenges

Jen and Zac married in 2019.

Their relationship became one of the most closely watched marriages on the first season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives in 2024, when viewers saw some of the tension between them play out on camera.

The couple’s disagreements and difficult dynamics generated considerable discussion among fans of the Hulu series.

Now, as they enter another major chapter together, Jen admits that their marriage is still a work in progress.

“There’s a lot that we’ve been navigating behind closed doors,” she told PEOPLE.

She did not go into detail about exactly what those private issues involve.

However, her comments suggest that the couple’s current situation is more complicated than simply presenting themselves as having overcome their previous problems.

At the same time, Jen’s remarks also indicate that she sees meaningful improvement in some areas of their partnership.

Zac’s willingness to step in during her difficult pregnancy appears to have become an important part of that process.

A Major Transitional Year for the Family

Jen’s fourth pregnancy comes at an unusually transitional moment for the Affleck family.

Within a relatively short period, they have moved to another state, adjusted their three young children to a new environment and entered production on another reality television series.

Jen has also had to manage pregnancy-related health problems while continuing her career as an influencer and television personality.

Meanwhile, the couple is still trying to navigate their marriage away from the cameras.

That combination has made the past few months exhausting, but Jen says she is finally beginning to see progress.

Her comments reflect a mixture of gratitude and realism.

She is not pretending that her marriage is suddenly perfect, nor is she minimizing the physical and emotional difficulties she experienced during her first trimester.

Instead, she is acknowledging both sides of the situation: Zac has supported her through an extremely difficult pregnancy, while the two of them continue dealing with unresolved relationship issues privately.

As production on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County approaches completion and Jen moves further into her pregnancy, viewers may eventually see more of how this period unfolded for the family.

For now, Jen appears focused on getting through the remaining months of pregnancy, caring for her children and continuing the personal work that she and Zac have been doing away from public view.

After a year filled with significant changes, she says she is finally beginning to recognize something she desperately needed during those darkest weeks: a light at the end of the tunnel.