Mormon Wives Star Jessi Draper Hits Reset After Messy Divorce

Sometimes the hardest part of moving on isn’t the breakup itself—it’s the mess that comes after. For The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jessi Draper, that’s exactly where she finds herself in May 2026, just weeks after her divorce from Jordan Ngatikaura made headlines.

On Sunday, May 10, the 33-year-old took to Instagram to vent what many of us are thinking when life falls apart:“So year of the horse has been s*** so far.”In the selfie she posted alongside the caption, sunglasses on and clearly done with the chaos, Jessi captured the exhaustion that comes with watching your marriage unravel in front of cameras and millions of strangers online. But here’s where her post got interesting—a follow-up message from someone offering perspective on Chinese zodiac symbolism gave her a sliver of hope. The fire horse, they explained, sheds what no longer serves you and comes in blazing a new trail. Jessi’s response?“There’s hope for 2027.”

That hope doesn’t come easy. In March, Jordan filed for divorce after five years of marriage, citing the need to prioritize their two children, son Jagger (5) and daughter Jovi (3). But the real story—the one that explains Jessi’s frustration—came weeks later when she opened up on the Call Her Daddy podcast. She described feeling emotionally beaten down, trapped, and deeply unhappy. Jessi said she’d asked for a divorce multiple times before it finally stuck, only to have Jordan talk her down each time, leaving her living in what she called an excruciating limbo.

Things got messier when Jordan filed a restraining order against Jessi—which was ultimately denied. Meanwhile, her on-camera emotional affair with Vanderpump Villa’s Marciano Brunette (33) became impossible to ignore, and she’s since been spotted with him publicly. When asked about it in a recent Vulture interview, Jessi didn’t shy away: she called the affair“a huge mistake”and said it’s the one thing she’d change about her reality TV run.“I definitely wouldn’t want to do that again, especially publicly,”she said.

What’s striking about Jessi’s current moment is less about the drama and more about her willingness to own her part in it. She’s acknowledged her mistakes while also being honest about how trapped she felt—a complicated middle ground that doesn’t fit neatly into tabloid narratives. Yes, she had an affair. Yes, it was on camera. But she’s also a woman who finally decided her own unhappiness mattered more than staying for the sake of appearances. As she navigates co-parenting with Jordan and rebuilding her life, Jessi’s year-of-the-horse comment feels less like defeat and more like a battle cry. She’s ready for the next chapter, even if this one left scars.