Updated May 6, 2026 to address whether Whitney will be in the upcoming Season 5 of “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
Sunday night at the Ambassador Theatre in New York City, Whitney Leavitt took her final bow as Roxie Hart in the Broadway revival of “Chicago” — and she didn’t let the moment pass quietly. Mid-performance, in character, she picked up a newspaper and read from it out loud.
“What is that?” she said, peering at the page. “Whitney… let me see. ‘Whitney Leavitt Announces She’s Leaving ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.’”
The crowd erupted. She opened her arms to the room, soaked in the cheers, and that was that. Her representative confirmed the departure to multiple outlets by end of night.
After four seasons of the Emmy-nominated Hulu series, Whitney Leavitt is done with “Mormon Wives.”
Who Is Whitney Leavitt?
Whitney, 32, was born in American Fork, Utah, and raised Mormon. She grew up as a competitive dancer and graduated from Brigham Young University in 2018 with a fine arts degree emphasizing dance — then spent two months backpacking Europe and four months living in Uganda before eventually finding her way to TikTok in March 2020.
MomTok followed. “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” followed that.
Since the show debuted in September 2024, she has been one of its most recognizable faces — not the loudest in the room, but the one viewers kept returning to. Her storylines centered on the pressures of balancing Mormon faith, family, a growing public profile, and a friend group that was never not on fire.
She has been polarizing in the way that anyone honest on camera tends to be. Whether you liked her or not, the show needed her.
The Road That Led Here
Whitney’s departure didn’t come out of nowhere. The signs were there for anyone paying attention.
She came back for Season 3 of “Mormon Wives” by her own admission largely because she heard “Dancing with the Stars” was going to cast someone from the show and she wanted it to be her. “I’ll come back for that,” she said in a confessional.
She got the spot, competed on Season 34 with professional partner Mark Ballas, made it to the semi-finals, and was eliminated just short of the finale — but the run opened every door that followed.
In December 2025, she announced she would be making her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in “Chicago,” beginning February 2 at the Ambassador Theatre for a six-week run.
Around the same time, she announced she had signed on to star in and executive produce “All for Love,” a holiday rom-com for Ninth House Productions set to release later this year. She plays Winona, a podcaster who unknowingly falls for the rugged contractor renovating her grandmother’s Christmas venue. Her co-star is Jesse Kove.
By March, when The Hollywood Reporter sat down with her during her Broadway run, she was already saying the quiet part out loud. “I wouldn’t be where I am without ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,’” she told the outlet, “but it feels like it’s time to challenge myself in other ways and fulfill these dreams and passions that I’ve been trying to get even before the show.” She described her future with “Mormon Wives” as something she was “figuring out in real time.”
Sunday night, she figured it out.
The Broadway Run Itself Was Historic
It’s worth pausing on what Whitney actually accomplished before she walked out the door.
Her “Chicago” run was extended two weeks due to overwhelming demand — the kind of extension a production only grants when the box office numbers make the conversation short.
During the week of March 8 through March 15, her performance brought in $1,457,930.77. That is the highest weekly gross in the show’s 29-year Broadway history.
Mark Ballas, her DWTS partner, joined her for a limited engagement running through all of April, the two reuniting for what became a genuine crowd draw. Her final performance Sunday was the last night of that extended run, and she chose to end it with the announcement that made the whole room scream.
The ‘Mormon Wives’ Backdrop Is Complicated
Whitney’s exit lands at one of the messiest moments in the show’s history. “Mormon Wives” paused production on Season 5 in mid-March following an alleged domestic violence incident involving Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex, Dakota Mortensen — an incident that triggered both a production investigation and a Utah police investigation running simultaneously.
The fallout was severe. ABC shelved an already-filmed season of “The Bachelorette” starring Taylor Frankie Paul as lead after a leaked 2023 video showed Paul appearing to punch, kick, and throw chairs at Mortensen while her daughter watched.
Paul was charged with aggravated assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child. She pleaded guilty to an assault charge that will be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor if she stays out of legal trouble through a three-year probationary period ending in August.
Last week, Paul and Mortensen were granted mutual three-year protective orders against each other in Utah court.
Production on Season 5 resumed April 21. Whitney’s announcement came twelve days later.
Whether she filmed anything for the upcoming season before walking away is currently unclear. Whether she will appear at all — as a full cast member, a guest, or not at all — has not been confirmed.
What She Is Doing Next
Whitney has been direct about the direction she is heading. “I’ve always been a performer,” she said in a recent interview. “I love entertaining, I love acting, so that’s what I can tease. Hopefully more films you’ll see me in.”
Beyond “All for Love,” she has been named Chief Creative and Brand Officer of Cool Sips, the New York-based dirty soda brand.
She’s also set to attend the first-ever “Dancing with the Stars Con” fan convention in Palm Springs at the end of July.
Her husband Conner and their three kids — Sedona, 6, Liam, 3, and Billy Gene, 13 months — have been along for the ride through all of it, and Conner recently got his own moment when the two made a joking TikTok leaning into the spinoff rumors that have been swirling about Whitney getting her own show.
Whether a spinoff happens or not, what Sunday’s announcement made clear is that Whitney Leavitt is not treating the exit from “Mormon Wives” as an ending. She is treating it as a relaunch.
Update: Whitney Leavitt Will Be In Season 5, Her Last Season
Whitney took to Instagram on May 5 to address the rumors of her announcement and decision to leave “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” She did address that she has been filming Season 5, so she will be seen in the upcoming season. However, this will be the last season we will see her on the show.
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” Seasons 1 through 4 are streaming now on Hulu.
For more “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” click here.
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