The Dancing With the Stars alum, 30, shared her thoughts on the viral reality show — which follows the lives of a group of Mormon mom influencers — in a lengthy TikTok upload on Monday, September 9.
“I have been part of the Church since I was born,” she clarified before diving into her thoughts on the series, which debuted on Friday, September 6. “The Church has been a very positive thing in my life, and just like with any religion, culture [or] 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. … My experience is not somebody else’s, vice versa.”
Arnold proceeded to point out two “funny things” she noticed in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wive s, the first being the shot of the women posing in front of a Mormon temple in matching blue coats. “If you’re wondering what the blue coat is in the Mormon Church, there’s literally nothing that that has to do with,” she quipped.
She also reacted to the show’s cast being placed under laughing gas when receiving Botox, something the pro dancer says she’s never experienced herself. “That must have been very special and unique to that location,” Arnold stated. “But I just thought it was so funny how they made that such, like, a Utah thing, like, ‘We all get laughing gas and get high.’”
Diving into the show’s heavier topics, Arnold addressed the belief that Mormon women are raised to become homemakers. “Never once have I felt like I was being raised to be a housewife for my husband and children,” she told fans, adding that she was “never taught” those beliefs during her upbringing in the Church.
In fact, she said her parents “were the biggest propellers in me pursuing my professional career, dancing,” and that she has always received support from her husband , Samuel Lightner Cusick , and her church leaders.
Arnold went on to reveal that she has met several of the show’s female cast members while living in Utah and has had “no negative experiences with any of them.” Rather than speak of their actions on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives , she addressed how reality TV doesn’t “give you the full picture of who a person is.”
She noted: “I’m not gonna say that there wasn’t some serious stuff that went down, for people who believe this. But I want you to understand that that’s exactly what the producers of this show wanted out of this. When it comes to reality TV, you are looking to create entertainment. Every single producer on that show, their main goal is to create entertainment. ... It’s very easy for producers, reality TV, to paint a picture that they want to paint. Now, with that being said, they can’t force someone to say things.”
Arnold competed on season 9 of So You Think You Can Dance before making her DWTS debut in 2013. She most recently competed on season 30 in 2021 with partner Matt James and confirmed last month that she would not be returning for season 33.
Arnold said that her reality TV experience has shown her how “the narrative [of something] can be swayed in so many different directions.” Her biggest takeaway from her time on the small screen is to “never say something that you don’t fully mean” because it could be used against you.
“At the end of the day, they made some really entertaining TV, so can you blame ‘em,” she concluded.
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