Hulu’s new series, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, has certainly made waves. The series focuses on a group of influencers who happen to be Mormon moms. They create content together for #MomTok. And these women are the breadwinners of their families. Kudos to all these ladies!
But what would a TV show be without some type of juicy scandal? Taylor Frankie Paul, who created #MomTok, revealed that she was divorcing her husband, Tate Paul. She also shared that they were involved with “soft swinging.” The scandal blew #MomTok apart. While Taylor hinted that other members were involved, all the other moms either stayed silent or denied their involvement.
This season focused on how Whitney Leavitt tried to bounce Taylor out of the group. Instead, Whitney left #MomTok. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast dealt with relationship strife, religious boundaries, and friendship drama. Some members of the cast were front and center and carried much of the show. Let’s take a look at The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 1 MVPs.
Taylor Frankie Paul
During the premiere of the series, Taylor’s friends were furious that she implicated them in the swinging scandal. But gradually, she ended up back in their favor. Part of the reason could be the way that Whitney decided that Taylor wasn’t a good friend and skipped her baby shower. Ouch!
Finally, the group began to heal and reconnect. Another factor adding tension to Taylor’s life was her relationship with her boyfriend, Dakota Mortenson. In February 2023, Taylor was arrested on domestic violence charges after an altercation with Dakota. The couple stayed together, although they both had major trust issues. Taylor knew that Dakota had been with another woman when they first got together.
Then, Taylor became pregnant. She already had a daughter and son with her ex-husband. Of course, her family wanted her to marry Dakota. And Dakota was all in. But Taylor wasn’t there yet. She wasn’t going to get a second divorce just to save face within The Mormon Church.
During the girls’ trip to Las Vegas, Dakota went because Taylor was pregnant, and Jen Affleck’s husband, Zac Affleck, also tagged along. When Jessi Ngatikaura surprised all the ladies with a Chippendales show, Taylor texted Dakota. He was angry. Even though Taylor and Jen left before the show started, their partners were still furious. And Taylor and Dakota were already fighting non-stop.
But the cherry on top was when Mayci Neeley shared with Taylor that she received an anonymous message from a woman who said that she slept with Dakota when he was first dating Taylor. You could see the hurt written all over Taylor’s face as she stated that it was probably Jenna. Apparently, Jenna had hooked up with Dakota when he and Taylor were together, but they were not officially dating yet.
After all, Taylor still wasn’t sold on staying with Dakota. Naturally, he denied what Mayci told her. Shortly after, the couple welcomed their son, Ever. The duo was enjoying baby bliss as the series ended, but the question of whether Taylor would stay with Dakota was looming in the background.
Demi Engemann
Demi Engemann falls into the “sinner” category within the group, while the more devout women are nicknamed “saints.” She is divorced and remarried to Bret Engemann. They have a blended family with three children.
Surprisingly, Demi has a link to Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. And his name is Bret. He was previously married to RHOSLC alum Angie Harrington. Small world in Utah!
Meanwhile, Demi and Bret’s relationship was even more controversial because of the gap between their ages. “So, if you don’t know, my husband and I are 16 years apart, and I knew him through a family friend growing up. He was so much older than me,” she previously stated. Plus, her NSFW sex confession about fruity cereal was discussed a lot among the ladies.
So, what is Demi passionate about? Empowering and inspiring other women, and moms. She also spoke out on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives against the misogyny in The Mormon Church. Demi told Jen that she didn’t deserve to be treated so poorly by her husband and that she had options. Out of all the cast, Demi was one of the most vocal about how women deserve to be treated equally.
Jen Affleck
Yes – Jen has a Hollywood connection. Her husband, Zac is cousins with actor and director Ben Affleck, but they’ve never even met. Jen and Zac, who share two children, are one of the most devout Mormon couples on the show. But Zac was displaying some troubling behavior.
In Las Vegas, Zac was ticked that Jen went to Chippendales and he rage-texted her all night. Let’s be clear. She didn’t watch the male review. Still, he sent terrible text messages.
When the camera filmed Jen’s phone screen, a fan snapped a photo. Zac’s text allegedly read, “Start taking accountability for your actions and for the situations you put yourself in. Your [sic] a grown woman, it doesn’t matter your intentions,” Zac supposedly wrote. “You were there, and that’s the image you portray of yourself, family, church, etc. Everyone you represent on this platform.”
Unfortunately, he also threatened to divorce Jen and refused to speak with her on the phone. At the time, I guess he was too busy gambling. Of course, gambling is frowned upon in The Mormon Church.
In the end, Zac graciously agreed to talk with Jen if she came to his hotel immediately, at 2 a.m., by Uber. WOW. Finally, the next day, Jen told the group that they had worked through their issues. However, the group pointed out that Zac allegedly had narcissistic traits and was controlling.
During the finale, Zac pressured Jen to leave #MomTok and move with him to New York City while he attended medical school. I applaud Jen’s bravery in showing all of these painful and difficult moments to viewers. That is one of the reasons that she is an MVP. And Jen also showed moments of fun and sparkling energy – when her husband wasn’t present.
Mayci Neeley
Mayci was a tennis player at Brigham Young University. Plus, she founded a natal nutrition line, and the show detailed the product’s launch. Mayci and her husband, Jacob, have a blended family with two children.
A member of the “saints” part of the group, she is a stricter Mormon than some of her co-stars. She is also a loyal and devoted friend, which she demonstrated by refusing to give up on Whitney. But when Whitney didn’t show up for Mayci’s Babymama launch, it was the end of their friendship.
It was clear that Mayci didn’t care for Dakota. After Mayci told Taylor about the message, Dakota spoke with Mayci one-on-one and accused her of trying to ruin his relationship with Taylor. After that, Mayci was determined to discover exactly what happened between Dakota and Jenna. During the finale, Mayci called Jenna, and Jenna agreed to tell Mayci everything that happened. These cliffhangers are why we need a second season!
I hope there is a Season 2 because I would love to learn more about Layla Taylor, Mikayla Matthews, Jessi, and Whitney. But as for Season 1, these ladies were the MVPs of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is streaming on Hulu.
TELL US – WHO DO YOU THINK WERE THE SECRET LIVES OF MORMON WIVES SEASON 1 MVPS?
