Jessie Ngatikaura opens up about the status of her marriage in the series' third season finale. “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
Since the season two finale aired, fans of the Hulu series have been wondering if the reality star is married to her husband Jordan Ngatikaura amid ongoing cheating rumors.
Season three finds the couple going through a 90-day separation and shedding light on Jesse Ngatikaura's emotional romance with Vanderpump Villa star Marciano Brunette.
Have the Ngatikauras decided to stay together at the end of the season or are they planning to divorce? Here's a look back at their marital woes and an update on where their relationship stands.
Season 2 ended with rumors of cheating in Jessie's marriage
During filming Season 2The #MomTok girls visited Lisa Vanderpump's villa in Italy as guest stars on Vanderpump's Villa.
Rumors quickly spread that Demi Engemann had started an affair with Marciano Brunette, one of the villa staff and Vanderpump Villa star. Engemann, who is married, denied these rumors.
The brunette spoke to Taylor Frankie Paul at the end of season two and said that he was actually romantically involved with Jesse Ngatikaura, not Engemann. Jessie Ngatikaura referenced the rumor in a season three preview, saying, “He knows it's ruining my family, my life.”
She also blamed Engemann, saying: “This is Demi's doing.”
Jessie admitted to having an 'emotional affair' in Season 3
Viewers got some of the answers they were waiting for when season three premiered on November 13th. Jessie Ngatikaura admitted she had an emotional affair with Brunette after meeting him at Vanderpump Villa, but denied his claims that they slept together.
Speaking to her co-star Layla Taylor, Jessie Ngatikaura opened up about the affair and revealed that she and her husband split briefly before she met Brunette. According to her, at the villa she and Brunette kissed several times.
The Ngatikauras agreed to speak openly about their family problems. In a confessional interview in the first episode, Jessie Ngatikaura expressed remorse for her actions, saying: “I just feel so regretful and so disappointed in myself.”
Jordan Ngatikaura later said that after the affair he felt “emotionally abandoned” by his wife.
Jesse and Jordan endured a 90-day separation
During the third season, the Ngatikauras experienced a 90-day separation. Speaking to fellow #MomTok ladies, Jessie Ngatikaura shared text messages she exchanged with the Brunette.
Later in the season, Brunette admitted that he lied about sleeping with Jesse Ngatikaura and claimed that Engemann forced him to do so. She later denied his claims. Brunette also said he kissed Engemann.
The brunette and Jessie Ngatikaura met in person to clear the air and took a lie detector test to prove they weren't lying about not sleeping together.
Looking through the results, Jessie Ngatikaura was pleased to see that her answer was “true” when she said she didn't sleep with Brunette. However, some of the other answers she gave were inconclusive.
For example, when asked if she had any sexual intercourse with Brunette other than their two kisses, she answered “no” and the results were “inconclusive.” When asked if she had lied about anything related to Brunette, Jessie Ngatikaura said no, but the results showed there was “no significant reaction.”
During a conversation with his wife, Jordan Ngatikaura said he was disappointed that she went out to eat with Brunette and her friends after taking a lie detector test.
Speaking to her co-stars later in the season, Jessie Ngatikaura said she and her husband had been having problems in their marriage for three years. She cited several examples of Jordan Ngatikaura's behavior, including “name calling, talking down to me, yelling” that contributed to their breakup.
“I wasn’t doing anything right: parenting, housework,” she said.
What Jessie told TODAY.com about her Season 3 journey
During a recent video call with TODAY.com, Jessie Ngatikaura said it's “always scary to put yourself out there” when addressing sensitive topics on camera. However, she and her husband were on the same page in that they wanted to be honest with viewers.
“When we started talking about it on camera, we both agreed that if we were going to do it, we would do it 100%. We will own our shit. We're going to talk about the mistakes we've made and take the audience on that journey with us,” she said.
The reality star said everyone has “experienced the ups and downs of relationships” and can relate to her story in one way or another.
“So just showing that and showing that we're in therapy, we're working on something, and we'll see where it goes,” she said.
Ultimately, Jessie Ngatikaura said she wanted to showcase the ups and downs of her marriage to offer an authentic look at their relationship.
“I hope this can help someone, just like Jen and Zack (Affleck) did in seasons one and two. They kind of put it all out there and I think it strengthened their marriage over time. And I hope it does the same for us,” she said.
Are Jesse and Jordan still together?
Towards the end of season three, Jessie Ngatikaura said she felt “hopeful” about the future of her marriage. In the season finale, the couple agreed to end their separation and give their relationship another try.
“I want this to work with you, not out of necessity, but because I want it, because I can’t imagine my life without you. And I think we both deserve to put what happened behind us and try to move on from it,” Jordan Ngatikaura told his wife.
Jessie Ngatikaura was pleased to hear this reassurance from her husband, but expressed concern.
“Throughout this whole separation, I was in limbo, not knowing what I wanted, and I’m still scared. My biggest fear is that we're going to get back together and get back together and give this a chance and things are just going to go back to the way they were and that it's easy to just get comfortable and fall back into old patterns, you know? So I'm really scared of it, to be honest,” she said.
Jordan Ngatikaura said he felt he had the opportunity to deal with the “trauma” of his past and avoid falling back into old habits.
“Before all of this, I didn’t know why you acted a certain way or treated me a certain way. You didn’t know why I was withdrawing and avoiding things,” Jessie Ngatikaura said.
She went on to explain that therapy taught her that her husband's “aggression” stemmed from childhood wounds and becoming a father as a teenager.
“Now I understand so much about you. And not that it makes your behavior normal, but I understand it now and it is changing and that is the most important part,” said Jessie Ngatikaura, adding that she has also made her own progress in becoming more emotionally available to her husband.
In a confessional interview, Jessie Ngatikaura spoke about what therapy taught her about herself.
“I saw how avoidance harmed my relationships. And in our culture there is a lot of pressure to have the perfect relationship, the perfect family, and everything to be perfect. And I think it kind of taught me these patterns of numbing and avoiding and pretending that everything is fine,” she said.
“And if I want the marriage to work, I need to give it up, and I'm willing to do that because Jordan has made so many changes. And I want to make sure that I do the same.”
