“Ketamine is in the gray area when it comes to the church,” Jen noted, before breaking down in tears following the therapy session with her husband, saying, “I just want to be happy again.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jen Affleck and her husband, Zac, are trying out an unconventional type of therapy to address issues in their relationship.
During the first episode of Season 2, which dropped on Hulu on Thursday, the MomTok star, 25, and her husband visited a clinic and underwent ketamine therapy together in the hopes that the treatment could help them tackle challenges in their marriage.
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“Zac and I definitely have a lot to work on, and ketamine therapy is supposed to reset a lot of past traumas or habits you’ve created,” Jen said.
“Ketamine is in the gray area when it comes to the church,” she continued. “Yeah, the church doesn’t promote ketamine, but it’s definitely not like a commandment.”
“Zac trying ketamine is a pure example of how much he’s willing to do to show up for our relationship,” added Jen, who briefly separated from Zac before the two later reconciled and announced they’re expecting their third child.
The couple — who also share Nora, 3, and Lucas, 22 months — were hooked up to IVs filled with ketamine as they sat in recliner chairs. They both put on headphones and eye masks as the therapy began.
“Never thought we’d get to this point where we’d be doing drugs together,” Jen joked, before saying the dissociative anesthetic was “hitting” her a few moments later.
“The room is spinning,” she said. “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
One hour later, Jen and Zac embraced and shared a heart-to-heart, with the pair getting emotional after the ketamine therapy.
“I just had some memories of when we first started dating, it truly felt like you were like my missing piece,” Jen said, to which Zac then got choked up while recalling a memory of them together.
“When we were in Hawaii, when we were like running through like the coffee fields, I was thinking … I was like, I would literally give anything in the world to relive that day,” he said.
Jen hugged Zac before bursting into tears. “I just want to be happy again,” she said tearfully.
In a confessional, Zac added, “Jen and I do love each other, and we are a team. And it’s easy when you get back to the root of why you love each other, being able to relive some of those memories and think about some of those times I’ve had with Jen. … I just kind of realized just how special she is to me.”
At the clinic, Jen continued to sob as she reflected on asking God to bring her a partner.
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“A month before I met you, I remember kneeling down and praying out to God to help me find my person,” she said through tears, “and he led me to you.”
“I want to fight for you, and I will always fight for you,” Zac replied, adding that he’s “glad” they were able to do ketamine therapy together.
While the ketamine therapy has been around for quite some time, using the “dissociative anesthetic hallucinogen” as a way of treating mental health conditions has only become mainstream in the past several years. Under a doctor’s supervision, patients are given low doses of the drug through IV infusion or intranasal spray. According to Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center, this targets neurotransmitters in the brain which can have “rapid-acting antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects.”
In an interview with Women’s Health, published on Thursday, Jen and Zac opened up about their decision to start ketamine therapy, revealing that the latter brought up the idea after filming wrapped for Season 1 in 2024.
“We were already doing so much therapy, and we were looking for anything to really help us during that time with our mental health and with our marriage,” Jen said. “If what they’re saying is true, and this can really reset my neural pathways [and] help with trauma, then let’s do it.”
The couple discussed how ketamine therapy has ultimately been beneficial to their marriage.
“I feel like progression can’t happen in a relationship until you’re able to be honest, and I’ve realized communication is everything in a relationship,” Jen said. “That was definitely the game changer [for us], and I didn’t realize how much we were lacking that until ketamine and therapy.”
While Jen said she hasn’t been attending ketamine therapy since she learned she was pregnant with her third child, she noted that she will continue after giving birth.
“I will forever incorporate ketamine in my life, especially during hard stages,” she told Women’s Health. “I went in with no expectations, and it ended up being one of the most impactful methods of therapy for me.”
Season 2 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is available to stream on Hulu.
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