Ben Affleck's cousin is the worst part of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered to much fanfare earlier this month, with the show making waves as it lifted the lid on the Mormon influencers living in Utah. 

From ketamine usage to ridiculously giant sodas, what doesn't this show delve into? But on the serious side, the show also explores the negative moments faced by these women — many of which have spurred from their marriages. 

For Jen Affleck and her husband, Zac Affleck, the show highlighted cracks in their relationship and led to "non stop therapy." Their marital woes became a main plot point at the tail end of the season.

Jen and Zac Affleck have become the talk of the town after The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Image: Instagram.

Jen and Zac met on a dating app in 2018 when she was 18 and he was 21. The couple got engaged six months later, and tied the knot in 2019. They had their first child, Nora Affleck, in November 2021, and their second child, Lucas Lowell Affleck, in August 2023.

Zac's claim to fame is that he's distantly related to Ben Affleck (they are cousins, once removed). He's hoping to become a surgeon one day, but currently his wife Jen is the one raking in cash as part of the infamous MomTok group.

As an influencer, Jen has long documented their "idyllic" family life on her social media channels. But beneath the surface, the cracks began to appear on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. 

One key plot point that left fans reeling was how Jen had become the sole provider for her family while Zac belittled her career as an influencer. The couple discussed moving from Utah to New York for his career opportunities in medical school — a move that would mean that Jen would have to "leave" the MomTok group behind and face financial loss as a result.

When Jen told Zac her MomTok career and friendships were important to her, he said — and I quote — "I don't really care". When she asked if he thought she'd be missing out on any career opportunities or bonding moments with the rest of the MomTok girls if they were to move to New York, he said, "I don't think they're that significant".

But the pivotal moment came when Zac and Jen had a fight over a night out in Las Vegas.

Ahead of a group trip to Vegas, Jen floated the idea of the girls heading to a Magic Mike-style show.

"Being divorced and taking care of two kids would be kind of tough, so I guess you make the decision," Zac quipped, when she asked how he'd feel about her attending that kind of event. Enough said.

While in Vegas, Jen was caught off guard when the cast made a surprise stop at Chippendales, a venue known for its male stripteases

"I definitely think this goes against everything we believe in as Mormons. I think it's disrespectful to my husband, it's disrespectful to our marriage. Even though this is all a joke, I feel like from the church's standpoint, it looks really bad," Jen said. But it quickly became clear that the root of her concern was Zac's reaction.

"I literally will be a divorced woman. I'm literally telling you Zac would literally divorce me over something like this," she said.

While other cast members rubbed oil on Chippendales dancers, Jen worried about whether or not she should even stay in the venue. She chose to message her husband Zac, who immediately called her.

Jen cried to Taylor Frankie Paul after her conversation with Zac. Image: Disney Plus.

The call quickly became chaotic, as Jen asked her husband, "Can you just stop for a second and think of me and a person, and my character? I'm a human being and I did nothing wrong in the situatio."

After the call, Jen told her friends that Zac said he didn't want to stay married to someone who "does stuff like this".

As the evening continued, she received more messages from Zac while he simultaneously ignored her phone calls. 

"Seriously, I don't want to hear one more thing about your heart. Start taking accountability for your actions and for the situations you put yourself in. You're a grown woman," one of the texts visible on screen read. "It doesn't matter your intentions. You were there, and that's the image you portray of yourself, your family, church etc."

In scenes after she'd left Vegas — at 2am, to go see Zac — the other Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars dissected his texts.

"Zac is the biggest narcissist," Demi said. "The things he was saying, she had me read their entire thread and I'm so glad I did because it was 10 times worse than I could imagine."

They claimed he had sent her messages saying he 'didn't love her anymore', that she was 'disgusting' and threatened to take their kids.

At the same time that Jen had been at the Chippendales show, Zac had been gambling, which is also considered "morally wrong" by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

Following the Vegas incident, the couple again discussed their potential move to New York. While Jen wanted to delay moving for one year in order to work on their marriage and see how her career as an influencer panned out, Zac did not.

"Being completely honest I don't know if our marriage will last," she said of moving. "It's hard because I am the provider."

The couple have since moved to New York.

Though Jen is standing by her man, the comments on her Instagram page paint a clear picture of how Zac was perceived by viewers.

"Your marriage breaks my heart," one of the top comments on her latest post reads.

"Oh man, did my heart break for you during the Vegas episode. Love doesn't shame, and isn't oppressive," wrote another.

"May a love like this NEVER find me," added another.

"Girl you need to be the 3rd Jennifer to divorce an Affleck," said one.

Jen and Zac became engaged in 2018.

Zac's family have allegedly hit back at his portrayal, with fans screenshotting comments from "relatives" circulating online claiming he has been misrepresented. Also sticking by his side is Jen, who says she has been in "non-stop therapy" with her husband since filming. She claims Zac is "changing" now.

"We had to go to therapy and he had to take a hard look in the mirror and ask what he needed to change about himself," she said on Nick Viall's podcast. 

"Now that he's in med school [our life] is definitely going to look like this for a long time, but at least I know where I stand and if I need to, I have the option of walking away but I'm not walking away right now. There is a side of him that people haven't seen and I truly believe he's an amazing person."

Viall pushed the conversation further, bringing up the fact that their "relationship is very old school and conservative, where Zac is afforded a lot of privileges and rights that you are not."

Jen responded, "I didn't realise. I got married at 20, I was so young, I didn't know what i needed" before saying she wants an "equal partnership."

On the Chippendales fight, Jen told Decider it had "strengthened" their marriage.

"I definitely think that we both learned so much and we both saw where we went wrong," she said.

"There are a lot of times where I'm going to fall short and he's going to have to pick up the rest of the pieces and there are moments where he's going to fall short and I'm going to have to pick up those pieces. And it was definitely one of those moments for me."

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is now streaming on Disney Plus.