Whitney Leavitt previously insisted that the smile cameras caught when Jen Affleck was eliminated from Dancing With the Stars came from relief that her own name had not been called. Nearly a year later, she has added something she did not acknowledge at the time.
During Season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Leavitt says she would have been relieved no matter who was eliminated that night, but then admits she was “a little happy it was Jen,” according to Entertainment Weekly.
That is noticeably different from the explanation she gave after the competition. Immediately following Affleck’s October 28 elimination, Leavitt praised her work and final dance, and a month later she told Call Her Daddy there had been “no excitement whatsoever” about seeing her costar go home.
Season 5 now fills in more of what was happening between the two women while they were competing. Affleck says Leavitt’s friendliness during DWTS felt transactional, while Leavitt says both women were hurt and never reached a shared understanding of what went wrong.
Leavitt Now Admits There Was More Than Relief
@theussun DWTS’ Whitney Leavitt caught smirking on live TV as rival Jen Affleck is eliminated #dwts #dancingwiththestars #whitneyleavitt #secretlivesofmormonwiveshulu #secretlivesofmormonwives ♬ original sound – The US Sun
The moment happened during Week 7 of Season 34, when Leavitt and Affleck were both waiting to learn whether they would survive Halloween Night. Affleck and partner Jan Ravnik were eliminated after performing a contemporary routine to Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do,” which earned them 32 out of 40.
As Affleck’s name was called, cameras cut to Leavitt, who appeared to smile before quickly covering her mouth. The reaction spread online and became part of the speculation surrounding the state of their friendship.
Leavitt still rejects the idea that she was openly celebrating Affleck’s elimination. In the new Mormon Wives confessional, she says she does not remember thinking that Affleck was going home and finding it funny, but she acknowledges that her relief was not completely neutral.
“Of course, I’m happy that my name isn’t called,” she said, before conceding that she was “a little happy it was Jen.”
Her Original Explanation Was Different
Leavitt’s public comments immediately after the elimination were supportive. Speaking with PEOPLE, she emphasized how hard everyone worked and said she had loved Affleck’s final dance.
A month later, Leavitt gave a fuller explanation on Call Her Daddy. She said she entered every Tuesday expecting that she might be eliminated, so hearing another couple’s name initially produced relief before the reality of losing someone else set in.
Leavitt described feeling two emotions at once, but she was explicit about one point: there had been “no excitement whatsoever” over Affleck being the contestant sent home.
She also admitted during that interview that their relationship was “not great.” Leavitt said they had been filming Mormon Wives while competing on DWTS, feelings had been hurt on both sides and they had never reached a mutual understanding about what happened.
Their Problems Were Already Following Them Into the Ballroom
The disagreement between Leavitt and Affleck did not begin with the viral elimination reaction. Their relationship had already been strained by conflicts on Mormon Wives, including Leavitt’s friendship with Demi Engemann and comments each woman had made about whether the other had been supportive.
During Season 5, Affleck tries to make amends by congratulating Leavitt on her Broadway success and apologizing for some of what happened during their shared DWTS run. The conversation does not produce a reconciliation.
According to PEOPLE, Affleck says she had been hesitant to get closer because Leavitt’s friendliness during the dance competition felt “transactional.” She also says she believes Leavitt ultimately puts herself first.
Leavitt has her own complaint about what happened after Affleck’s elimination. She was hurt when Affleck later told viewers during a livestream that she would support a former MomTok contestant still in the competition without naming Leavitt, which Leavitt interpreted as a public refusal to root for her.
Season 5 Leaves Them With No Real Resolution
The confrontation ends without either woman convincing the other. After arguing that they were each failing to understand the other’s perspective, Leavitt ends the conversation by saying, “We’re moving on,” and gets up from the couch.
Affleck later declines to appear in a group TikTok that includes Leavitt, saying she no longer wants to act as though everyone is close simply because a camera or social media post expects it. Earlier this year, Leavitt described their relationship as cordial but said there was no substantial friendship between them.
Season 5 is also Leavitt’s final season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Hulu released all five episodes on September 10, while Leavitt has shifted more of her attention toward stage and film work.
She is scheduled to return to Broadway as Sandra Dee in Just in Time beginning December 1. Before that, she will have another connection to the ballroom when her husband Conner Leavitt competes on Dancing With the Stars Season 35 with pro Adele Zaikman.
Conner and Zaikman will make their first appearance during the September 15 premiere, dancing a salsa to “Whoomp! There It Is.”