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Jessi Draper Ngatikaura Reveals Why Her ‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Season 3 Reunion Dress Changed Last-Minute
Jessi Draper Ngatikaura is letting fans in on some behind-the-scenes drama from Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 3 reunion — and it all starts with the photos.
Hulu recently posted snaps of the cast on December 1, and, as expected, the comment section went wild. Fans criticized the cast’s outfits and the photo quality, and Jessi didn’t hold back. “I will never understand why you guys have us take these photos after a 12-hour day of screaming and crying😂😢 we look horrible and disassociated every single time,” she wrote. Fellow castmate Miranda McWhorter joked in the comments, “You’ll hearing from my lawyer after these.”
But the real story, according to Jessi, goes far beyond some unflattering lighting. She hopped on TikTok to break down what really happened behind the scenes — including the dress she planned to wear, the one she actually wore, and why reunion host Stassi Schroeder played an unexpected role in the switch.
“First of all, I commented this, but they make us take the photos at the end of the day when we’re all so done,” Jessi began, adding that this particular reunion taping was “so explosive” that the cast was truly exhausted by the time photos were taken. “And then you made us take these photos where we’re all like, just get us outta here.”
@_justjessiiii A little tea on reunion looks 🤫
Jessi also explained that she’s “super type A” and takes styling seriously. For a month, she attempted to coordinate a unified look among the women. “I was trying to put together mood boards and I was texting the girls and harassing them and probably annoying them being like, ‘Hey, we need to have a color scheme.’”
She also had her own reunion dress nailed down early — a glamorous red strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline, paired with curated jewelry, shoes picked by her stylist, and even a custom suit for her husband, Jordan. But 12 hours before filming, everything changed.
“Twelve hours before the reunion I get a call and they were like ‘you need to change your dress,’” Jessi shared. The reason? Host Stassi Schroeder was wearing something strikingly similar. “And this is no shade de Stassi, she’s the queen and she deserves it,” Jessi said. But with matching necklines and matching colors, only one red dress could stay. “So I had to change my dress.”
The backup gown — a white, glittery option pulled straight from her closet — wasn’t her first choice. Still, she tried to stay positive. “It ended up being fine. It fit the color scheme … But again, like the show must go on and I’m a team player.”
Jessi ended her video with a promise: next year will be different. “I am working with an incredible stylist now who knows my personal style and I will get things the way I want ’em and I will not change it last minute…Next year, if we get another reunion next season, I’m not playing around.”
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