TMZ published photos on April 19 of “SLOMW” star Jessi Draper, 33, and “Vanderpump Villa” star Marciano Brunette, 33, getting cozy during a night out in Nashville at Red Door Saloon. eyewitnesses described the two hugging, laughing, enjoying root beer float shots, and Marciano kissing Jessi on the cheek.
TMZ’s Instagram caption read: “Looks like sparks might be flying between Marciano Brunette and Jessi Ngatikaura… ’cause the two were getting real comfortable during a night out in Nashville.”
Jessi’s response was two words. “Jessi Draper*” — a correction noting her recent return to her maiden name following her divorce from Jordan Ngatikaura. The comment pulled more than 17,000 likes. Fan responses flooded in immediately. “Tell em queen,” wrote one. “Omgggg ur so iconic im so happy ur free girl!!!! Be single and keep having fun,” wrote another.
She did not deny a single thing about Nashville.
The Slow-Burn Build Up
This is not coming out of nowhere. The two have been quietly circling each other since Jordan filed for divorce in March. On March 26, Marciano posted a cryptic Instagram video that included a clip of Jessi’s “Call Her Daddy” interview. “Listen, I know what everyone is thinking. I’ve seen all of the comments,” he said. “But I want everyone to know that now that Jessi is single, I have no plan to…” — and cut off.
Then on April 9, the two appeared together in a photo shoot shared by photographer Rachel Cook. In one image, Jessi lounged on a picnic blanket as Marciano hovered above and fed her berries. In another, Jessi rested her foot on Marciano’s leg while pouring lemonade over him. Jessi’s comment on the post: “Uh oh 🔥😜.”
Earlier in April, Jessi also posted a TikTok lip-syncing to Taylor Swift’s “Fresh Out the Slammer” — a song about moving on after a relationship — captioned “Been hearing some rumors.”
The History
Jessi and Marciano’s connection began in 2024 when the “SLOMW” cast traveled to Italy to film at Vanderpump Villa. What happened became a defining storyline across two reality shows. Jessi eventually admitted to an emotional affair with Marciano while she was still married to Jordan, claiming they kissed twice but never had sex — a claim she took a lie detector test to support.
In a November 2025 episode of “The Viall Files”, Jessi alleged that Jordan used the affair against her. “He was blackmailing me. He was threatening to send my texts out to Marciano to the world. Anytime I did anything he didn’t agree with, he had it on his TikTok drafts and was like, ‘I’m going to post it.’”
Jordan filed for divorce in March 2026 after five years of marriage. The former couple share two children: son Jagger, 5, and daughter Jovi, 3.
Neither Has Confirmed Anything
Jessi corrected a name. Marciano cut off a sentence. They took photos together that looked extremely romantic and said nothing. The Nashville sighting adds another chapter — but no official confirmation from either of them.
For now, Jessi Draper is single, free, and correcting TMZ’s spelling of her name. That is apparently enough.
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is streaming now on Hulu.
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