Sources Allege Zac Affleck Restricted Jen on ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Jen appeared on the show last year alongside “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” co-star Whitney Leavitt. A source said Zac “didn’t allow Jan to fully do his job” and described him as “more controlling than any other partner that season.” The source also claimed crew members felt they had to “tip-toe” around him to avoid upsetting him.

The source alleged Zac tried to set limits on Jen’s performances, including dance moves and costumes. The account contrasted his behavior with the support Leavitt reportedly received from her husband, Connor. Jen finished ninth in season 34, leaving the competition on Halloween night during week seven. She danced to songs by artists including Taylor Swift and Lauren Daigle.

Jen and Zac met on the Mormon dating app Mutual in 2018 and later married. Their first child was born in November 2021, and they began filming “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” in 2024. The series showed their marital difficulties, including Jen’s account that Zac’s traditional outlook clashed with the life she wanted.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Jen said she had known “for a really long time” that she wanted to leave. She said she decided to act before becoming postpartum, a period she described as especially vulnerable, because she feared waiting would continue the cycle. Zac said he was blindsided by the filing and learned about it through the media. He acknowledged knowing Jen was unhappy but said he had not taken the right steps to change his behavior. Jen rejected his account, saying she had told him for a long time that she wanted to end the marriage.