Mormon Wives Star Jessi Draper Says This Year Has Been Brutal Amid Divorce

Jessi Draper is doing the post-split reset in real time, and she is very much letting us watch. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star has been fielding a divorce, a denied restraining order, and headlines about an on-camera affair — and now she is aiming straight for a clean slate.

Jessi’s new chapter, one Instagram Story at a time

Over the weekend, Jessi, 33, hopped on Instagram with a sunglasses selfie and basically said this year has been a mess. She framed it with a Chinese zodiac spin — first calling out how rough the current Horse year has felt, then sharing a DM that told her Snake year is about shedding what does not fit, and Fire Horse is about burning a new trail. She added a line that gets right to how she is thinking about timelines: there is hope for 2027.

Is it a little niche? Sure. But it tracks with how a lot of reality stars process life: publicly, in pieces, and with a metaphor or two.

Where things stand with Jordan Ngatikaura

Back in March, news broke that her estranged husband, Jordan Ngatikaura, filed for divorce after five years of marriage. They share two kids: Jagger, 5, and Jovi, 3. Jordan put out a statement at the time that sounded measured and focused on the kids.

My priority remains my children and ensuring they feel loved, supported and protected through this transition.

Soon after, Jordan sought a restraining order against Jessi. A judge denied it.

For added whiplash, the pair had publicly marked an anniversary just a few months before the filing.

Jessi’s side of the story

Jessi spoke up in March on the Call Her Daddy podcast and did not sugarcoat it. She said she felt trapped, emotionally worn down, and deeply unhappy in the marriage, and that she did not feel like she could leave — especially with the kids in the picture. According to her, something finally flipped one morning and she decided she was done. She also said she had told Jordan multiple times over the past year that she wanted a divorce, but he would talk her down, leaving her stuck in limbo — and living in limbo, as she put it, is brutal.

The Marciano Brunette of it all

Since the split news, Jessi has been seen with Vanderpump Villa cast member Marciano Brunette, 33 — the same person she previously described as an emotional affair. Earlier this month, talking to Vulture, she owned the fallout from that storyline and said it is the one thing she would take back from filming. She would not do it again, definitely not in public, and called it a huge mistake. She also admitted she struggles to cry or be vulnerable on camera and felt like what viewers saw barely scratched the surface of what she was feeling.

Quick catch-up

• March: Jordan files for divorce after five years; releases a statement prioritizing their kids. He later requests a restraining order against Jessi; it is denied. Jessi tells Call Her Daddy she felt trapped and had wanted out for a while.
• Recent weeks: Jessi is spotted with Marciano Brunette, with whom she had an emotional affair on the show. She tells Vulture it was a mistake and the one thing she would change.
• Sunday, May 10: Jessi posts Instagram Stories about this Horse year being rough, shares a message about shedding and blazing a new path, and says she is looking to 2027.

Bottom line: the marriage is ending, the public narrative is messy, and Jessi is leaning into the fresh-start arc — zodiac pep talks and all.