Many reality stars use TV as a launchpad for other opportunities, but not everyone is as refreshingly open about it as Whitney Leavitt.
Even before she gained a massive following on TikTok as part of the Utah-based "MomTok" group, Leavitt wanted to break into acting.
"I didn't even have an agent at the time, and good old Google was like, well, you know, start on social media, like, get your name out there," the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star tells editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnaike on the "Nice Talk" podcast.
Social media led to reality TV, though that wasn't part of the plan. But Leavitt saw where the path might lead. "It just happened so organically, and in my mind, my business mind, I said, okay, I'm gonna meet people in this industry, I'm gonna get on a network, and then hopefully lead to other things."
And that it did. After deciding to leave Mormon Wives following season 2, Leavitt ultimately returned for a third season after finding out it meant she could audition for Dancing With the Stars—a fact she pointed out on Mormon Wives in a meta twist. Leavitt ended up on the dance competition show and made it to the semifinals. Three days after she was eliminated, she found out she'd been cast as Roxie Hart in Broadway's Chicago.
Now, Leavitt has actually left Mormon Wives, and the upcoming fifth season will be her last. She announced her departure in May, during her final Chicago performance.
"This time, it's different," Leavitt tells Ogunnaike. After leaving the show with "frustration and anger" in the past, she now says: "I'm leaving with gratitude. Like, my cup is full. I don't feel like there's anything more for me there."
Leavitt on the finale of Dancing With the Stars.
So, what's next? Well, Leavitt started a production company, Leavitt Media House.
"I love being cast in things, but I also love creating, and this felt like an avenue to do both of those things," the mother of three says. She adds that she's "very inspired by Reese Witherspoon ... There's many books that I'd love to adapt into film," but she's most intrigued by "characters that are just emotionally honest."
She also starring in a Christmas movie—on which she is an executive producer—that comes out this holiday season.
"That was my first number one on the call sheet, my first feature film," she explains. "I connected with the writer, and we started with literally nothing. It was just me and the writer, and then we connected with the producer, and then investors, and it is where it is today ... I'm so excited for the world to see it."
Leavitt says that she'd also love to act in a Broadway show again. "There's been some talks of some shows and plays, and I think it's just figuring out what that right one is," she says. "I felt so incredibly welcomed by that community."
On top of all of this, you might even see Leavitt on reality TV again. On "Nice Talk," Leavitt shared that she's open to doing Traitors, and after her podcast interview, she teased a potential reality show from her own production company on Instagram.
For more from Leavitt—including her advice to anyone trying to grow their social media following—check out this week's installment of "Nice Talk." The episode is available everywhere you listen to podcasts.