The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reunion is the gift that keeps on giving with not one — but two — Dancing With the Stars casting announcements.
In the course of the special, which began streaming on Hulu Tuesday, July 1, host Nick Viall surprised the forged — and Us — when he told attendees Jen Affleck, Whitney Leavitt, Mikayla Matthews, Mayci Neeley, Jessi Ngatikaura, Taylor Frankie Paul, Layla Taylor and Miranda McWhorter that after several of the wives auditioned for the show, two of them were chosen.
First, Jen, 26, who’s pregnant with baby No. 3 while filming the reunion, got the news that she could be competing for the mirrorball trophy in the autumn. A plot twist revealed Whitney, 32, was also picked for season 34.
MomTok and DadTok— a.k.a Conner Leavitt, Zac Affleck, Jordan Ngatikaura, Dakota Mortensen, Jace Terry and Jacob Neely — were there to congratulate the costars, who will likely be competing against one another. ABC has previously confirmed that TikToker Alix Earle and Steve Irwin‘s son Robert Irwin were collaborating in the subsequent season, but the remaining of the celeb competitors have yet to be confirmed.
Before the news, DWTS pro Val Chmerkovskiy exclusively told Us Weekly how he has very high expectations with regards to potential celebrity contestants after the show “went viral” on social media.
“When I feel of a partner, I just want someone that — after being on the show for 20 seasons now — I just want someone that’s excited to be there,” Chmerkovskiy, 39, shared in April. “I’ve seen a whole lot of really incredible people and I’ve worked with a whole lot of really talented dynamic people. However it is from that excitement that I’m really inspired and now you’ve me really going the gap for you.”
DWTS’ resurgence in popularity has been largely due to social media. While judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli and their scores play a job — so do votes from fans. During season 33, DWTS broke a long-standing tradition by releasing viewer vote totals.
ABC told Deadline in October 2024 that there have been greater than 14 million fan votes received for the episode where Anna Delvey and partner Ezra Sosa in addition to Tori Spelling and her partner, Pasha Pashkov, got eliminated on live TV.
“The record variety of votes that week suggests to me that a whole lot of our audience are very obsessed with a whole lot of our stars this 12 months, and the increased rankings 12 months or 12 months would suggest that it’s the case,” DWTS executive producer Conrad Green told Deadline. “At core, as at all times, the forged is what defines the season.”
Green continued: “This group of stars are really likable, talented and love being on the show — and that keenness for what they’re doing really comes through on live TV. There’s real dance talent across the forged and lot of unique stories in addition to a lot potential within the couples to grow as performers.”
On the time, Green reflected on the show’s long-lasting success.
“Also, Dancing with the Stars is a extremely positive show at a time when the world is feeling pretty bleak, so there’s a certain escapism and sense of community that comes with watching which helps remind us of what we’ve got in common as Americans,” Green continued. “We’ve also been on air long enough now that a brand new generation of viewers are watching with their kids and the recognition of the show on social apps like TikTok has exploded and introduced latest viewers.”
Executive producer Ryan O’Dowd recently slammed claims that manipulated votes played a job within the show’s achievements.
“We take that very seriously. Now we have never, nor would we ever do anything to control the votes,” O’Dowd told Deadline in May about how the show “really must be” credible. “It needs to permit the viewers to have a voice and to essentially be the voice of who deserves to win. So we’ve got never nor would we ever want to control that in any way.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reunion special is currently streaming on Hulu.