The third episode of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2 ends with a scene that makes for a watershed moment for reality TV. Jen Affleck, who recently reunited with her husband Zac, takes a pregnancy test. Before the positive result even shows, she bursts into tears. “I should be happy looking at this, but I’m not. I’m really scared,” she says. I can’t think of another scene in a reality show—or even a scripted series in recent memory—where a woman’s reaction to being pregnant is so raw and sorrowful.
The first few episodes of Mormon Wives’s second season, which premiered on Hulu on May 15, had led up to this moment. Jen and Zac’s marriage became a major talking point after a season 1 arc when Zac threatened to divorce Jen because she went to a Chippendales meet-and-greet. By the time season 2 began filming, the couple had been separated for several months following the incident, and they began their journey towards reconciliation in episode 1. They needed time to work through Zac’s controlling nature and Jen’s communication issues, which is why Jen describes the positive pregnancy test as her “breaking point.” The unfiltered moment is different from standard reality TV fare, and Jen isn’t any Netflix star or Bravolebrity; she’s a Mormon raised in a culture where motherhood is the highest calling for women. In a way, Jen is breaking one of the ultimate taboos. But after all, isn’t this what #MomTok is all about?
