Jen Affleck filed for divorce from Zac Affleck on 3 November, and is expecting the couple's fourth child.
Jen Affleck, 27, says carrying her fourth child is what made her confront uncomfortable truths about her marriage to Zac Affleck. In a conversation with Us Weekly, which ran on Tuesday, 10 November, she explained: "It was this fourth child. I had to ask myself very hard questions like, 'Is this the type of relationship I want this child to look up to?'"
She went on: "When I realised it was a no, that's when I realised that I needed to make a change."
On 3 November, Jen initiated divorce proceedings against Zac, 30, giving irreconcilable differences as the grounds. E! News confirmed the filing on 4 November. The couple married in 2019 after a year of dating, and they are expecting their fourth baby.
The marriage has been a central storyline on Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Legit.ng reports that Zac pushed back against Jen's wish to pursue acting and modelling in season 5, which aired in September. In a confessional, Jen said: "I feel like if he truly loved me unconditionally, he would want to support me. And I don't even feel like there's a conversation of a compromise. I feel like it's a no."
Shortly after the filing, Zac posted a public apology on TikTok. "I married my dream girl, and I messed it up," he wrote. "Jen, I'm sorry. I was supposed to protect your heart, and I failed." He also pledged to remain Jen's "biggest fan."
Jen's reply was understated. She shared an old clip of Zac telling her to stop filming when her chest is sagging all over, a comment he made two weeks after she gave birth. She captioned it: "He was never my biggest supporter." Zac later addressed the video directly, calling his 2022 words "obviously horrible and should have never been said." He said: "When I saw the video today, I was absolutely shocked I had said that. I said a lot of horrible and hurtful things, but I have tried my best to learn and grow."
In a five-minute TikTok posted on 5 November, Zac said: "This is something we've been talking about for a long time." He added: "Jen came to me about a year ago, after Dancing With the Stars, and told me she was unhappy and wanted a divorce." He said that he "basically begged her to stay." In a statement to People the same day, he said he will "always be Jen's supporter."
Jen told People she is focused on her children: "I'm taking one step at a time and doing the best that I can." She added: "As long as I am doing that and showing up for my kids, that's all you really can do."
Jen admitted to E! News that the timing was bad, but she stood by the choice:
"Ultimately, it was the best decision for us."
She also said this year was the first time she felt she was reclaiming her identity. "What's funny is there was no reinventing this time," she said. "I just showed up as me."
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County premieres Thursday, 12 November, on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
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