DWTS Alum Lindsay Arnold Speaks Out on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives as a Mormon Herself

Lindsay Arnold is taking some quicksteps to debunk possible generalizations about members of her religion that may be made as a result of a new reality TV show.

The Dancing With the Stars alum, who was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shared her thoughts on the series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives days after it premiered on Hulu Sept. 6.

"I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, otherwise known as being a Mormon," the pro dancer said in a TikTok video shared Sept. 10. "The church has been a very positive thing in my life."

Arnold, 30, continued, "And just like with any religion, culture, family, all of us have our own individual experiences of how those things affect our lives, affect our viewpoints, just affect everything about who we are as people. And just as much as I can see that the church has brought light and positivity to my life, I do understand that it's not the case for everyone."

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives focuses on eight #MomTok influencers from Utah: Taylor Frankie Paul, Demi Engemann, Jenn Affleck, Jessi Ngatikaura, Whitney Leavitt, Mikayla Matthews, Layla Taylor and Mayci Neeley.

And although the opening shot in the trailer for the series shows the women wearing matching long, pale blue wool coats and walking hand-in-hand in front of a Mormon temple, Arnold can't relate.

"I have been in the church my entire life and I have never matched blue coats with anyone at church, really, ever," Arnold said in her TikTok video. "I was a little confused by that. I was just like, 'Wait, what does this have to do with the church?'"

It wasn’t the only moment she wanted to debunk. On episode three of the series, several cast members get Botox and were given laughing gas beforehand. Arnold found this idea amusing.

"The other funny thing that I was dying at, and I've gotten so many DMs about it, was the whole 'laughing gas while getting Botox' situation," she said. "I've gotten Botox so many times. My dad and my sister both are cosmetic injectors and they've never offered laughing gas."

Arnold also challenged the misconception of LDS women not having a career, noting that both her parents worked.

"Never once have I felt like I was being raised to be a housewife for my husband and my children," she said. "My parents were the biggest propellers in me pursuing my professional career of dancing. There was never a moment of like, 'Well, no, Lindsay, you need to stay home and be a mom, because that's your calling in life.'"

After all, Arnold has devoted a lot to her career. She performed on Dancing With the Stars for 15 seasons before leaving the series in 2022, noting a year later on TikTok that she didn't want to separate her family or temporarily move her and husband Samuel Cusick's kids, daughters Sage, 3, and June, 16 months, from their Utah home to Los Angeles, where the show is filmed.

"I have always been supported by my husband, who is also LDS, to pursue my career, my goals," she said. "I was fully supported in all of the things that I wanted to do, by my husband, my family, my church leaders, the people around me."

Arnold ultimately summed up her thoughts about The Secret Lives of Mormon Lives by saying she isn’t upset about the depiction.

"I think there's a lot of people out there mad about the show, upset about it. I honestly really don't feel any of those things," she said. "I watched. I was entertained."