Jessi Draper and Jordan Ngatikaura’s marriage has been rocky for a minute now—but in season four of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, things get even rockier for the two. As a reminder: The couple said “I do” back in 2020 shortly after welcoming their first child together, but their marriage was put through the wringer after Jessi’s emotional affair with Vanderpump Villa’s Marciano Brunette. And even though Jordan and Jessi got back together following their 90-day separation, season four made it clear they still have some work to do.
Soon after filming for the latest season wrapped, Jessi even abandoned her married last name and returned to her maiden name, “Draper,” on social media—which she’d told Jordan she was considering during a tense season four convo. So…is this her way of soft-launching their impending divorce?
During an exclusive interview with Cosmo ahead of the season four premiere, I asked Jessi where she and Jordan stand now, and she said they’re “in a lot of therapy,” adding, “We’re taking it day by day.”
According to her, the name change was “mainly for my career, just because [Ngatikaura] is such a hard name to pronounce, and it just didn’t make sense if I’m having a public career. But there was a part of me, too, that was like, ‘Things [with Jordan] are rocky, and if it goes this way, at least people already know me as Draper.’”
In addition to serving as a Mormon Wives cast member, Jessi is co-owner of JZ Styles, a global hair empire she helped grow with her parents and two sisters. She cited her family business as another reason for reverting back to her maiden name…and during season four, it was also a big reason why Jessi was so distressed to discover that her fortune wasn’t protected with a prenup.
When asked whether the lack of prenup was the only thing keeping her from divorcing Jordan, Jessi said she decided to “let go of the prenup conversation, because I want to make the decision for me and my happiness, rather than for money.”
She continued, “I still will look into that in the future if I need to. But I felt like I was basing the decision [about whether or not to get divorced] off of that. And I didn’t want to do that.”
In conclusion, it seems like there’s hope for Jessi and Jordan yet!
