Jessi Draper from ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Thanks Hulu and Producers for Production Pause, Looking Forward to Getting Back to Filming
Jessi Draper is navigating a challenging period as her reality show, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, faces a production pause, she experiences a divorce, and a close friend has her season of The Bachelorette shelved due to a domestic assault investigation.
Recently, Draper, who has signed with CAA, appeared on the podcast Call Her Daddy where she provided insights into the filming hiatus associated with the Hulu series.
During her conversation with host Alex Cooper, Draper explained that the show’s producers at Jeff Jenkins Productions initially put filming on hold. Subsequently, the cast, which includes Jen Affleck, Miranda Hope, Whitney Leavitt, Mikayla Matthews, Mayci Neeley, and Layla Taylor, made the collective decision to pause once they learned about a troubling incident involving Taylor Frankie Paul.
“Me and the girls, we did decide to stop filming when we found this out because we were starting to hear things a little bit before it leaked. We just didn’t want to be filming and say the wrong thing on camera, not knowing the full story yet. We didn’t want to have to process all this information for the first time and then also be speaking about it. We just thought for everyone’s mental health, let’s take a beat and let’s not film right now. That’s probably the best thing for everyone in this situation,” Draper said.
This decision followed an initial pause from the producers. The series is a collaboration between JJP, 3BMG, and Walt Disney Television Alternative.
Draper expressed her appreciation for the production team and Hulu, highlighting their supportive response to the unfolding situation.
“Before I went on reality TV, everyone was like, be careful, producers are slimy. That may be the case for some people. I genuinely love my production like they’re family. Production, network, they have been incredible to us. They paused things for a minute because I think they were like, ‘We care about you guys as people’,” she added.
After resuming production briefly, the cast once again decided to pause filming upon discovering that Mortensen had filed a police report.
“We went to production and the network and they were all so supportive and they were like, ‘We totally get it. You guys come first’. They handled it so well. Because of that, we all felt comfortable being like, ‘You know what? This is our real lives and if we want this show to continue to be successful, we have to handle this the right way’,” she said.
Draper’s remarks contrast with recent reports expressing concerns about Disney’s management of the situation.
Asked about the implications for the upcoming season of Mormon Wives, Draper remarked, “I feel like all of us right now are just trying to like be like, ‘Okay, we’re human beings first and let’s figure that out and then we’ll get back to filming the show’. Clearly there’s no shortage of drama in our lives. So, if we get another season, it’s going to be good.”
The series was renewed for 20 new episodes, effectively encompassing Seasons 5 and 6, in November.
