Zac Affleck is paying tribute to wife Jen Affleck after her “intense” experience giving birth without the use of pain medication.
Zac, 28, took to Instagram on Wednesday, July 2, and reflected on the birth of their third child, Penelope.
“Before I flood your feed with endless photos of our perfect baby girl, I have to do a dedicated post to Jen,” Zac captioned his post. “Our doula told her, ‘You have to go to the stars to bring this baby back.’ I don’t think either of us anticipated how intense natural birth would actually be.”
He continued, “It was a spiritual experience mixed with every emotion possible — one of the most bonding experiences we have ever had. It gave me a completely new level of appreciation and love for my wife I didn’t know was possible.”
Zac said he’s “genuinely speechless at how amazing women are, what their bodies go through, and what they are capable of. I love you, Jen, and am so grateful for you bringing our beautiful children into this world.”
Besides writing that heartfelt caption, he also revealed some behind-the-scenes photos of the labor process in which he comforted Jen, 26, while she experienced painful contractions.
“Over here crying. 😭,” a fan wrote in the comment section of Zac’s post. “these are the SWEETEST photos. A supportive and loving birthing partner means more than men truly know. Congrats! These are beautiful ❤️.”
Zac and Jen both appear on the Hulu reality series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. They tied the knot in June 2019 and previously welcomed daughter Nora in November 2021 and son Lucas in July 2023.
In February, the pair announced that they were expecting baby No. 3.
Jen announced Penelope’s arrival via Instagram on Wednesday, writing, “Going unmedicated was truly the most painful but empowering experience of my life. I could not have done it without Zac and my supportive doula! I’m so grateful and so happy that Penny is earth side now.”
Zac and Jen’s marital woes were a major story line on the first season of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which premiered last fall. Zac received backlash for the way he treated his wife.
“I definitely think it was the best thing to happen to our relationship.” she exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2024. “While watching the show, a lot of people are going to think maybe this would break our relationship apart. But if anything, it did the opposite. Being on camera and having those moments happen made us take a step back and actually look at a relationship and make us just see what we have to change.”
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