Yahoo Lifestyle In 'Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives,' Religious Undergarments Take The Drama To The Next Level
Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives follows a group of Mormon TikTok stars.
In one scene, cast member Jen Affleck shares that she wears temple garments.
She tells Women's Health about the significance of the underwear—and why she doesn't wear it now.
Hulu's newest unscripted series, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, has all the hallmarks of the genre: There's drama, secrets, and a seemingly uncrossable divide within a longtime group of friends. But during the cast trip, one of the group's members, 25-year-old Jen Affleck, reminds viewers that this isn't the same as every other reality show.
While unpacking her bag, Jen exclaims, "Aw, shiz. I forgot my garments."
"Can you DoorDash garments?" one of her friends jokes in reply.
Jen, of course, is referring to Mormon temple garments, an item worn "under the clothing that has deep religious significance," per the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The garments themselves include two white pieces—a top and longer shorts. Members can purchase them in-person at a LDS store or online.
Garments are worn by adult Mormons who have made "sacred promises of fidelity to God’s commandments" in the temple, they say. Per Jen, those promises can happen when you "go through the temple"—taking part in special ceremonies to bring members closer to God—or get married in it.
"It's honestly the same as wearing your wedding ring," Jen tells Women's Health. "It's just a reminder of the promises that you made."
Although the Church sets rules around when to wear garments (their site says members wear it "everyday"), for Jen, it's a "personal decision." She doesn't wear them all the time, but wanted to do so during filming.
"Before doing the show, I made a promise to myself that I'm going to really try hard to wear my garments throughout the show, because I wanted those reminders," she says. "It helped me a ton."
Of course, in this group, the garments could conflict with their passion for fashion. "There were so many days where I wanted to wear something more hot or more revealing!" she says. "I went back and forth."
Ultimately, Jen stuck with the garments during filming—most of the time. (She did forget them during the cast trip, after all.)
Now, Jen doesn't wear the garments, since she doesn't "need those reminders."
But it doesn't mean she's any less faithful. "I have a lot of members who follow me, and I think a lot of the time they're like, 'Oh, if Jen's not wearing her garments, is she not devout anymore?'" she says. "No, that's not the case at all. I think it's just a personal decision and you have to make that decision day-by-day."
Jen—who is married to husband Zac, a distant cousin of actor Ben Affleck—says it can be difficult dealing with negative perceptions from their community. That can even come from Zac's family, who traces their Mormon lineage back to the 1800s. During the series, the couple is challenged by their family's shifting financial dynamics, since Jen becomes the breadwinner while Zac applies to medical school.
Overall, Jen says she tries not to "feed into expectations" of what her life as a Mormon should look like—and hopes viewers do the same.
"We're young moms, still twerking, and dancing, and doing all the things that normal people do," she says. "Everybody's relationship with God looks different. I just hope people can just accept me for who I am and where I'm at."
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