Whitney Leavitt Is Doing It All, Authentically & Unapologetically Herself

You can’t put Whitney Leavitt in a box. Since she arrived on our screens (and our phones) a few years ago, she’s been a polarizing force in the reality TV realm, especially as a central character of Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

Despite her tumultuous time on the show, Leavitt has built a loyal following, turning lemons into lemonade along the way, including a record-breaking Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago, a holiday rom-com where she stepped behind the camera as executive producer, and an impressive stint on Dancing with the Stars that proved she could hold her own in any room.

And now, her latest move: stepping into the role of Chief Creative and Brand Officer at Cool Sips, NYC's premier dirty soda destination, where she'll lead creative direction, menu innovation, and bring her signature flavor obsession to an entirely new audience.

Scary Mommy chatted with Leavitt over Zoom to talk about all of it: the career she's building, the noise she's navigating, and what it looks like to finally be running toward the things she always wanted as a busy working mom.

Scary Mommy: You've built your whole identity around being authentic; what people see is what they get. So when it comes to this new role with Cool Sips, what made it feel like the right fit?

Whitney Leavitt: Well, one, I love that you think that. I love that people see that. That they see that authenticity. And I want to grow brands that I'm passionate about, and dirty soda has always been a part of my life. And I feel like it wasn't just this viral moment that people who watch Secret Lives saw. It was something that's more sustainable. And once I was introduced to Cool Sips in this big city, here you have this small town girl who saw this company, and I was like, I want to help this grow. Branch it out more.

SM: What does it mean to you to have a signature drink, The Whitney, that all started as something you just genuinely loved and shared online?

WL: It's a bit crazy. But I've shared that drink with many, many people. And I only get the best of reactions and compliments from the drink. So I'm excited for even more people to try it.

SM: So shifting gears a little bit! With so much going on with your career, including Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Dancing with the Stars, Chicago, how do you handle the mom guilt? Do you struggle with how much your “version of motherhood” has changed?

WL: I did and a lot of people saw that from the last season of Secret Lives and I'm not saying it doesn't still happen every once in a while.

Maybe something will be happening in one of my children's lives that I can't attend, but something that I’ve really enjoyed, especially with being married to Connor, is he’s someone that's helped me navigate this and [has helped me] find creative ways for me to be a part of that. And I love my kids seeing me create, and they've come to the Ambassador Theater, and they've seen the stage. My daughter’s even come to a show.

Being a mom looks different now than it did even a year ago, but we've made it work. I think, regardless, I'll always have those moments of mom guilt. If I could do it all, I would, but I can’t!

SM: That’s too real. Speaking of, what is your one must-have in your Chicago dressing room?

WL: I love having “The Whitney.” But when I need a little extra energy, I'll add some caffeine in there, some energy drink in it to keep me going through that show because it's very grueling.

SM: I've watched your finale dance with Mark Ballas about seven million times. How did it feel to be able to showcase that dance after being off Dancing with the Stars, and do you plan to continue your dancing journey once your Chicago run comes to an end?

WL: I would love to continue my dancing journey! I say all the time that I feel most like myself when I'm dancing. It's always been a form for me to express myself, and I feel like being on Dancing with the Stars reignited that in me.

Fun fact: the night of the finale on Dancing with the Stars, the show ended at like 10 PM because there was an after-party. We drove to go film our freestyle that evening, and we were up till like 3 AM, I want to say, filming that.

So it was a very, very long day, but being at the finale made that even more enjoyable for me on Dancing with the Stars, knowing that I got to continue that and film Mark and I's freestyle that we worked so hard on.

So I was very grateful to Call Your Daddy for helping us produce that. It was meant to be because it so much needed to happen for that to line up, and it did. And I couldn't be more grateful because it felt like closure for me.

I want to keep dancing! I got to figure out more ways to just keep dancing!

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.