Aspyn Ovard reveals daughter’s heartbreaking diagnosis on ‘SLOMW’ spinoff premiere
‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County’ introduces Aspyn Ovard with a conversation she has kept out of public view. The Hulu spinoff premiered November 12, with the YouTuber tearfully discussing her daughter’s health. Her ex-husband, Parker Ferris, also appears as they work through what their family has been facing. Ovard explains that the uncertainty has been part of their lives for years.
In the premiere, Ovard reveals that one of their three daughters has terminal cancer. Ovard and Ferris share three daughters Cove, 7, Lola, 5, and Elle, 2. She and Ferris do not reveal which child is ill or disclose the type of cancer diagnosed. “Everything happened so, just out of nowhere,” she says in a confessional. “One day she was OK, and then the next day she wasn't.”
At the time of filming, Ovard said the family had known about the diagnosis for more than three years. Ovard recalls struggling to process what doctors were telling them at the hospital. “She could be gone in a month, we don't know. I've been living like that for over three years, just having no idea,” she says. Ovard describes the family as living “scan to scan.” Later in the season, she shares that their daughter had received another stable scan at the time of filming. Ferris also says doctors have called her a “walking miracle.”
The show also follows how the parents are handling that uncertainty after their split. Ovard filed for divorce from Ferris in April 2024, but says their marriage was already struggling before the diagnosis. “We weren't even going to make it through before this happened,” she says. During therapy, she tells Ferris she wants to “make as much money as possible” so neither would have to work if they lose their daughter.
In another scene, Ovard and Ferris join her partners, married couple Bri Davis and Billy Davis. The four get tattoos in honor of the daughter who is ill. Elsewhere, Ovard talks about why she limits conversations about her child with her castmates. In Episode 2, she describes the subject as “triggering and traumatizing.”
“I've set boundaries from the beginning,” Ovard says. She explains that spending time with other people gives her a chance to feel some normalcy. “If I make an effort to put myself out there and do things and be around people, I just want to be distracted and I want to feel as normal as I can because I don't ever get to feel that way anymore.” ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County’ Season 1 is streaming on Hulu.
