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Jen Affleck may be twirling her way through season 34 of Dancing With the Stars, but it hasn’t been an easy journey for the newly minted mom-of-three.
“POV: the postpartum blues start to creep in,” The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, 26, shared over the TikTok video on Saturday, October 25, which showed Affleck sitting on a couch, unmotivated to work, as pro partner Jan Ravnik convinced her to dance.
Affleck smiled as Ravnik, 30, boogied to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” before she joined in on the fun.
“Depression can’t hit a moving target 💃😏💪🏼 @Dancing with the Stars #DWTS @Jan Ravnik,” she captioned the TikTok.
One fan commented, “The entire internet thinks you’re a queen for going on dwts postpartum and we also think you are being WAY underscored. You are an incredible dancer, mom, and wife! I’m rooting for you.”
Jen’s husband, Zac Affleck, also left a motivating message. “Team JJ is going to shock the world this week 😱🫶,” he shared of Halloween Week, to which she replied, “That’s right 🥰❤.”
Jen has been challenged on this season of DWTS as she competes alongside the likes of her Mormon Wives costar Whitney Leavitt, as well as Jordan Chiles, Robert Irwin, Alix Earle and Dylan Efron. Danielle Fishel, Elaine Hendrix and Andy Richter round out the top nine.
The reality star welcomed her third baby, daughter Penelope, in July. She also shares Nora, 3, and Luca, 2, with Zac. She was only eight weeks postpartum when her DWTS journey began.
“It meant everything to me,” Affleck told Us Weekly of receiving good critiques from the judges in week 3. “Because, I think, just being freshly postpartum, I still struggle with body image and I think all of us women do, especially after having a baby. So any compliments that we get, we’re just like, ‘Man, [that] means a lot.’”
Jen hasn’t shied away from sharing the difficulties of competing on the show while recovering from childbirth and caring for a newborn.
“It’s a lot,” Affleck said on the show of having three kids under 3 to care for while dancing. “My body hurts. I’m still recovering from giving birth, but I’m having so much fun and I’m doing it for my kids so, in the future, they can do this too.”
She also joked that she didn’t know if her “pelvic floor is ready, but I’m ready.”
“It is the realest thing,” she told Us of mom guilt after her Disney Week dance. “And guess what? Whether I was doing Dancing With the Stars or not, mom guilt would still be there, and it will always be there. That’s definitely a sign you’re a good mom because you’re trying your best, and you want to be better every single day — for them, for yourself, for everyone.”
Ravnik has been so impressed with Jen’s work ethic, as have viewers watching at home.
“[My daughter] said that one of the girls on it … had a baby, like, nine weeks before? Something bananas, where I was like, ‘Wait, I couldn’t walk. What are you talking about?’” Maya Rudolph told Kylie Kelce on her “Not Gonna Lie” podcast earlier this month.
Kylie, 33, who gave birth to her fourth daughter with husband Jason Kelce earlier this year, agreed with the Saturday Night Live alum. “Is she wearing a diaper?” Kylie wondered of her postpartum underwear, before joking, “I don’t think those dance costumes allow for that much space.”
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Still processing Jen’s ability to compete post-baby, Kylie added, “Has anyone done a welfare check on her?”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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