‘Daytime Divas’: Fiona Gubelmann Talks Heather’s Relationship With Domestic Christian Discipline

Fiona Gubelmann plays Heather Flynn-Kellogg on VH1’s new satirical comedy-drama “Daytime Divas.” Heather is a former beauty queen and self-proclaimed spiritual guide of the talk show “The Lunch Hour.” Although she’s poised and pristine at work, she also has some secrets of her own behind closed doors.

At the end of Season 1, episode 2, it was revealed that Heather and her husband, Brad (Rich McDonald), were adhering to Christian Domestic Discipline, a practice among some Christian couples that allows corporal punishment of wives by husbands.

“I had never heard of Christian Domestic Discipline before this project,” Gubelmann said in a “Daytime Divas” featurette released by VH1. “When I read the pilot, it was unclear as to what was happening, and when I auditioned, I weren’t sure if [Heather] was being abused or not. But we spoke a bit before we shot it because I wanted to understand if she was being abused. … I really wanted to understand the psychology of the character and so I talked with our creators a bit, and then they revealed to me that it was Christian Domestic Discipline. I did some research and understanding of that and then it unfolded.”

READ: What will happen in Season 1, episode 4 of “Daytime Divas”?

While there might be some people who consider Christian Domestic Discipline a form of abuse, Gubelmann admitted that she finds it quite interesting. “This is a real thing that people believe and it has to be consensual and it’s amiss fascinating to me,” the actress said. “I think that people probably partake in it without realizing that they’re doing that.”

In this week’s Season 1, episode 3, Heather’s “The Lunch Hour” co-host, Mo Evans (Tichina Arnold), accidentally caught Heather and Brad in the middle of their Christian Domestic Discipline session. Next day at work, Heather asked Mo to keep what she saw to herself. Mo said that she won’t tell anybody about it only if Heather is sure that it’s working for her.

“The Christian domestic discipline is something that Heather initially believes is right for her and her husband,” Gubelmann said. “She also enjoys it a little bit. It gives her a way to be submissive to her husband … which … at the end of the day she likes. But it’s something that over time you see her starting to question and not necessarily be on board with.”

At the end of episode 3, Heather confronted Brad and told him that Christian Domestic Discipline isn’t working for her anymore. When Brad suggested that they could give it a rest, the talk show host said: “It’s not just that. We don’t see eye-to-eye in so many things.” Although they did not break up, Heather ordered her Brad to stay in their house’s basement until they figure things out.

“Daytime Divas’” next episode (Season 1, episode 4) airs on Monday, June 26 at 10 p.m. EDT on VH1.