Keeping Up With the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
Like an actual mom, MomTok never really gets a break. One month after the premiere of the explosive first season, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives quickly picked up the cameras and got to work filming a second in October 2024, and MomTok is forever changed as it’s entered the mainstream. Now, everyone knows the main players of Mormon Wives and everything that went on in their relationships last year. Jennifer Affleck, Demi Engemann, Taylor Frankie Paul, Whitney Leavitt, Mikayla Matthews, Mayci Neeley, Jessi Ngatikaura, and Layla Taylor have become household names, and the drama couldn’t wait another season. Below, all the gossip from TikTok that made social media look like a spinoff series.
A Swinging Mom Enters the Chat
It all started when Taylor Frankie Paul posted a video in 2022 that she was divorcing her then-husband, Tate Paul, because they were engaging in “soft swinging” with other members of MomTok, later revealed to be Makenna Gibbons and her ex-husband, Brayden Rowley, as well as Miranda McWhorter and her ex-husband, Chase McWhorter. All four denied the claims at the time. Taylor described “soft swinging” as switching partners without going “all the way,” and her initial video was vague as to who was a part of the swinging clique. However, the first season of Mormon Wives quickly cleared up that none of the other cast members were a part of the swinging. Miranda was invited to join season one, but she declined due to her ongoing divorce. Miranda shared on a podcast in 2024 that she had multiple calls with Hulu with Camille Munday, another MomTok OG, but she said they felt “a pit in our stomachs” about being on the show. She also explained it was difficult for her to work with her ex-best friend Taylor, telling Us Weekly: “We weren’t on great terms and I think it was hard to really conceptualize the idea of her and I working closely together and allowing someone in my space and being okay, knowing that it was obviously going to disrupt my piece and probably hers as well.”
However, she says that because her relationship with Chase is done, she feels ready to talk about the scandal, and it was easier for her to join the other Mormon Wives on the show. But some of the wives think she’s just interested in the extreme popularity.
There’s a Divide Among the Moms
There’s so much drama involved that it transcends TV shows, but let’s start with Miranda. In the season-two trailer, Demi Engemann says that anyone who wants to be a part of MomTok, or more Mormon Wives, is “clout chasing,” hinting that Miranda’s (and possibly Whitney’s) reentry into MomTok might not be so easy. However, through social media, it seems like Miranda’s return was settled pretty quickly, as she’s been included in several TikToks with the other women. So, if she’s not this season’s villain, then who is?
It looks like it’s actually a duo. Whitney and Demi have seemingly put aside their differences from last season, so much so that the other wives have hosted full-on Vegas shows without them. The two peas in a pod have been sticking together in videos after other moms began shading Demi over her time at Vanderpump Villa. During her time in Italy, Villa castmate Maricano Brunette was trying to get cozy with Demi, claiming he had an “emotional” connection with her, while she was trying to curb his flirting by giving relationship advice and talking about her husband. However, Demi alleged on Instagram that Marciano was a sexual predator, hinting at “unwanted physical touch” from him and claiming that because of her allegations, he was uninvited from a Hulu event in Los Angeles. Not all the wives are supporting Demi. “S3xual pr3dator?? It’s interesting considering she was FaceTiming him a week later, inviting him to dinner ????,” Jen commented on Demi’s post. In a now-deleted comment, Jessi added, “The truth will always come out.” Demi has now unfollowed Jessi, Jen, and Layla — basically everyone she went to Italy with, except for Mikayla Matthews.
Mystery Jenna Revealed
The last time we saw Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen on our slightly bigger screens, Taylor had just given birth to their child and accused Dakota of cheating on her with his most recent ex, Jenna Jarvis. Jenna was talked about but never shown in the first season, piquing fans’ curiosity. By September 2024, Taylor and Dakota were over, and Jenna revealed herself on TikTok, confirming that she did date Dakota. As a wellness influencer, Jenna seems to prefer Bali to babies. Taylor confirmed that her and Dakota are no longer together as of May 2025, even if they’re posting (and deleting) flirty pics at this year’s Stagecoach. “Of course when things are heightened, you’re breaking up and it’s not something you wanted and you just had a baby,” Taylor told Us Weekly in May. “It was not the prettiest experience, but currently we’ve come a long way.”
Ben Affleck Lost Another Jen
Last season, Jen claimed that her in-laws told her that her husband Zac’s father is a distant cousin of Ben Affleck, specifically that Ben’s grandfather and Zac’s great-grandfather were first cousins. “Zac’s dad has [met them], when [Ben] was very little,” she told People in September. However, through Family Search, a Mormon genealogical-record database, it shows that Ben Affleck and Zac Affleck’s family trees do not cross whatsoever. Despite all of the commotion surrounding Zac’s family’s claim, neither Jen nor Zac has spoken out about the claim since the show first aired. Maybe it could be an opportunity for Zac to stick up for his wife? After all, they’ve been on the rocks since the unaired Chippendales incident from last season — maybe it’s a way for Zac to show viewers he’s on Jen’s side? Or at least better than Dakota.
Related