The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Star Jessi Draper Reveals What Dating After Divorce Really Looks Like

Jessi Draper hopped on Instagram with a very unvarnished life update: how she’s piecing herself back together post-split — and yes, she’s dating. It ’s candid, a little raw, and very much aimed at people telling her how she should be healing.

Her update: healing, dating, and 50/50 mom life

In a Saturday, April 25 'get ready with me' video, the 33-year-old 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' star talked about the weirdness of healing after divorce when the internet has an opinion about every move you make. She says she did a lot of mourning while she was still in the relationship, so stepping into single life now feels less like chaos and more like relief — especially when people she meets actually treat her well.

'One of the biggest comments I see is, "Go heal and focus on your children." And what I want to say to that is: two things can be true. I have my kids 50 percent of the time now, so I am focusing on healing and spending time with them but when I don’t have them I’m also focusing on myself and reprioritizing being happy.'

She’s not pretending divorce is easy — she calls it scary, hard, and heartbreaking — but she’s clear that being alone, therapy, and journaling are part of her process, and so is dating. She admits she’s jaded and scared about relationships right now, plans to be single 'for a long time,' and is comfortable just hanging out, finding connections, and focusing on herself. Also noteworthy: she hasn’t been single since she was 19 or 20, so this is genuinely new territory.

How we got here

Draper and her estranged husband, Jordan Ngatikaura, split after their Hulu debut in September 2024. They share two kids — Jager, 5, and Jovi, 3 — and the show did not shy away from the cracks in their marriage, including Jessi’s emotional affair with Marciano Brunette.

After the breakup hit the headlines, Jessi spoke on the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast in March, alleging she experienced emotional abuse during the marriage. On Friday, April 24, Jordan publicly pushed back in a comment to a fan, saying his 'wife’s acting like a complete psycho [and] manic person.' That back-and-forth is obviously ugly, and Jessi says she’s trying not to keep relitigating the marriage — she feels she already said her piece and spent years in 'fight or flight.' Now, she’s trying to unwind all of that.

Where the show stands

There’s been some behind-the-scenes turbulence this season that’s worth flagging, and a tiny bit of confusing reporting in the mix:

• Season 5 filming briefly paused after an alleged domestic dispute involving cast member Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex, Dakota Mortensen. Authorities ultimately declined to pursue charges against Taylor.
• Production then resumed, and producers welcomed Taylor back to filming.
• Taylor has publicly backed Jessi, saying she’s 'here' for her through the bad times.
• Separately, a report claims 'the former Bachelorette' is focused on mental health after a split and legal issues with Dakota and will not be involved with the show going forward. That label doesn’t match anyone on this cast, so consider that a likely misidentification until someone clarifies it.
• Jessi says she’s excited to film again and show this next phase on camera — the healing, the single era, all of it.

Bottom line: Jessi’s moving forward, on and off camera, and she’s fine doing it her way — even if the comments section disagrees.