Rumors That Haunt The Relationships Of The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives

The ladies of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" have gone from having a moderate amount of TikTok fame to being household names thanks to the explosive success of their Hulu reality show. Led by the ever-controversial Taylor Frankie Paul, who first made headlines for her involvement in the soft-swinging sex scandal that resulted in her divorce, the show already has four seasons under its belt since its September 2024 debut. 

Within a year, the stars landed gigs on other reality shows like "Dancing With the Stars" and "Vanderpump Villa," but it was Paul's wild appointment as ABC's "The Bachelorette" that really solidified the Utah-based ladies as major reality TV stars. Unfortunately, Season 22 of the iconic dating series was scrapped from the network due to the brunette beauty's most egregious scandal to date.

TMZ released footage of a domestic violence incident between Paul and her on-again, off-again partner, Dakota Mortensen. In the video, Paul can not only be seen getting physical with Mortensen, but also accidentally injuring her young daughter in the melee. Sadly, it's not the first salacious incident, and it likely won't be the last from this group of women. Their marriages seem to make headlines regularly these days, so we're diving into all the rumors surrounding these Mormon wives' relationships that they just haven't been able to shake. 

While Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen are making major news now, this isn't the first time their abusive celebrity relationship sparked drama. At the end of the first season of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives," the final episode ended on a cliffhanger that left viewers wondering if the rumors about Mortensen being unfaithful with a woman named Jenna were, in fact, true.

Their relatively new relationship — Paul's first after her divorce following a swinging scandal — was a fixture of the season, which put its volatile nature on full display. The final episode even ended with cast member Mayci Neeley deciding to take matters into her own hands, calling Jenna and asking about the cheating rumors directly. 

Season 2 kicked off with Paul sitting down with Jenna herself, facing the rumors head-on and getting clarity on the extent of her baby daddy's betrayal. On the show, Jenna ultimately reveals that while they didn't get physical, Mortensen did sleep at the woman's house and spent days and nights with her while still in a relationship with Paul. The rest of that season, and the following two, showed Paul and Mortensen in an unhealthy on- and off-again relationship, all of which followed the 2023 domestic violence arrest that resurfaced to cancel her season of "The Bachelorette" in 2026.

These days, Whitney Leavitt seems to have the healthiest and most successful marriage and family of all of MomTok. But before the show kicked off back in 2024, she was facing quite the scandal. Her husband, Connor Leavitt, apparently had an active Tinder profile during their marriage, which he used to contact other women. 

The couple faced the rumors head-on in a since-deleted YouTube video (recapped on TikTok) from 2022, wherein Connor revealed that he "had a presence on Tinder," and explained that he wasn't looking for something physical, but was instead "seeking something deeper" emotionally. It was also revealed that he suffered from a porn addiction, likely stemming from childhood trauma. All of this was discussed during Season 1 of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives." 

On Season 2's reunion episode, Connor opened up even more about this rough time in their marriage. He discussed the fact that he was sexually abused as a child, and said that the couple was going to therapy so that he could "start working through some really, really hard stuff" (via People). Fortunately, the couple seems to be in a wonderful place today. In fact, in their February 2026 interview with Brides magazine, the Leavitts shared that they would soon be celebrating their 10th anniversary and had plans to renew their vows.

Demi Engemann's marriage to Bret Engemann seemed solid when viewers met the couple on "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" — but that impression didn't last. After the cast's stint on another Hulu reality series, "Vanderpump Villa," it was revealed that Engemann may have gotten a little too close to a star on that show, Marciano Brunette. 

She denied the rumors, telling US Weekly in 2025, "Nothing happened with Marciano. At the expense of sounding rude, there wasn't even a remote attraction to him." But those flirting rumors took a dark turn when Engemann accused Brunette of touching her inappropriately, and later specifically called it sexual assault, while her co-stars pointed out that she remained in contact with him and even exchanged some inappropriate text messages.

For his part, Brunette denied these allegations — so much so that he filed a defamation lawsuit after the Season 3 reunion aired and the drama was rehashed. He claimed that Engemann and Jeff Jenkin Production Company, which produces the Hulu series, were "publishing false accusations of sexual assault and branding Marciano a 'sexual predator.'" Engemann filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in February 2026, calling it "a lesson in hypocrisy." Following all the drama, she has chosen not to participate in interviews for Season 4 of the series, and her role in the show going forward is unclear.

Demi Engemann's controversy with Marciano Brunette wasn't the only time the beauty's picture-perfect marriage was called into question. Demi's husband, Bret Engemann — who is 17 years her senior, and who once almost competed for the chance to potentially be in the cringiest moments on "The Bachelorette" — came under fire during Season 2 as she battled the Brunette rumors. This time, Mayci Neeley questioned Bret's fidelity, alleging that she received a message from someone claiming he was unfaithful to Demi while she was out of town. 

The couple put on a united front for the cameras, insisting that the rumors had no merit, but they were caught in a hot-mic moment on the series that revealed the talk bothered them more than they let on. On one episode, Bret is seen admitting (via US Weekly), "It bothers me. I want to find out who it was. I want to know who said it because I want to go after them. It pisses me off. You know I didn't do that." That hot-mic scene also shows that Demi seemed a little concerned by the scandal, as she noted, "The way you are reacting is a little bit confusing. If I am guilty, this is how I am acting." Yikes! Despite the accidental on-camera moment, the couple continued to put on a brave face for the following seasons, and they are still together.

Though he wasn't an official cast member, Marciano Brunette may as well have been on Season 3 of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives." Not only did the star of Lisa Vanderpump's show find himself in the midst of an on-air drama with Demi Engemann, but he also made news for his entanglement with Jessi Draper, who was married to Jordan Ngatikaura at the time.

Draper revealed that she kissed Brunette twice, and also engaged in what she explained was an "emotional affair," though she denied being intimate with him. When the MomTok star, who also owns a salon and beauty brand, opened up to People about the relationship, she revealed that she was afraid the news would come out, but knew they hadn't kissed in public so she hoped it would stay secret. "I should have known that you can't have secrets in reality TV. It just isn't plausible," she told the outlet. During Season 3, she came clean, even going so far as to take a lie detector test to prove that while they did kiss and talk often, the two reality TV stars did not sleep together. 

Viewers watched Draper and Ngatikaura's marriage hit the rocks following the allegations. They tried to work through things, but ultimately chose to call it quits. Ngatikaura filed for divorce from Draper in March 2026.

When Season 3 of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" kicked off, Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen seemed to be in a decent spot. They were coparenting their son Ever and seemingly doing well, but it was only a matter of time before they got romantically involved again while spending time together at the country music festival Stagecoach. 

With the couple back on, Jordan Ngatikaura raised concerns that Mortensen had recently been flirting with one of Paul's mother's friends. Mortensen came clean about the flirtation later that season, and while the identity of the woman in question has been kept private, Paul spoke about her in a confessional, revealing (via People), "This is basically a family member. My entire family knows her. She's at our Christmases. She's at everything." Paul also told her sister on camera that the woman in question seemed to have an interest in Mortensen, sharing, "I remember her saying, 'Dakota's so cute! I would totally date him if I could.'" 

In the wake of the betrayal, the MomTok star appeared to be ending things with Mortensen for good, adding, "This is not mendable... I'll never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever consider you ever again." But Paul didn't follow through on this promise — Season 4 saw her sleep with Mortensen the night before she left to film "The Bachelorette." 

One of the "Mormon Wives" has relationship rumors to thank for her even joining the show. Miranda McWhorter wasn't featured on the first season of the Hulu reality series, though she was involved in the 2022 soft-swinging scandal that was instrumental in getting the show greenlit. 

McWhorter spoke to People about her fraught relationship with Taylor Frankie Paul, who was the one to confirm the rumors about their lifestyle. McWhorter originally wasn't as forthcoming about the situation, explaining, "I think there was a lot of fear, guilt and shame that played a role in that for me, things that I needed to address in my personal life between my marriage, my religion, all of that ... I think over time as I unpacked that individually, it allowed me to unpack that more publicly, and obviously, with Taylor, as well."

The McWhorters' marriage ultimately couldn't survive all the swinging rumors — Miranda split from her husband, Chase, in 2024. At the time, Chase told US Weekly, "I think we both realized that we'd gotten married a little prematurely." The following year, Miranda joined the cast of MomTok ladies for Season 2. She was open about her swinging past on camera, sharing to People, "There's a lot more to me than that, but it is part of my story and part of where I am and who I am today ... I just hope that people see that shift in me."

Jen and Zac Affleck's marriage has really been put to the test on "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives." Not only has the couple had to navigate Jen being the breadwinner while Zac struggled with whether or not he should pursue being a doctor, but they were also involved in a now-infamous conflict over Jen attending a Chippendales show in Las Vegas that nearly ended their marriage. They separated but reunited shortly before announcing that Jen was pregnant with their third child. And most recently, the parents faced split rumors while Jen competed on "Dancing With the Stars." 

The MomTok star herself didn't do much to quell the speculation during the fall of 2025. She released a TikTok video that shows her dancing sans her wedding ring, and then another where she insinuates that she's no longer in a relationship while still not wearing anything on her ring finger. But then she followed that up with a post where she is wearing her ring again. 

The trailer for Season 4, which documents this time in their lives, teased the Afflecks talking about divorce, but they've since managed to keep it together. In fact, news broke in March 2026 that the couple has landed their own Hulu spinoff based in Los Angeles. Zac hinted at the upcoming show in an Instagram post featuring a beach photo of the family captioned, "Excited for new beginnings." 

When Layla Taylor joined the cast of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives," she was technically no longer a wife. She'd split from husband, Clayton Wessel, in 2023 — a year before the Hulu show premiered. She remained single on the series up until Season 4, when she debuted her relationship with Mason McWhorter (the brother of Miranda McWhorter's ex, Chase). The new couple's issues were immediately put on full display, with Taylor voicing concern over McWhorter acting annoyed by her two sons, Oliver and Maxwell. Sadly, before the season even debuted, the couple had called it quits. 

Taylor took to TikTok to announce the news in February 2026, after eagle-eyed fans noted that the duo had unfollowed each other on social media. In a tearful video, she explained, "Me and Mason are no longer together, and it's still super fresh." The young beauty opened up about the reason for their split, insisting that there was "no bad blood" and sharing, "I think we were just on two different paths right now, and he felt in order for him to grow, he had to be on his own. I respect his decision, and I truly hope that he gets what he wants in life." She later followed that video with another TikTok that featured text reading, "I take back there being no bad blood," insinuating that she discovered new information in the wake of their breakup.

If you thought the marriages of MomTok had drama, that's nothing compared to the friendships. Occasionally, the infighting between the ladies gets so nasty that they end up slinging some incredibly inappropriate mud. That's precisely what happened when the battle between Jessi Draper and Demi Engemann got heated. A feud kicked off when the women were both accused of having relationships with "Vanderpump Villa" star Marciano Brunette, and Draper eventually decided to air some of Engemann's dirty laundry. 

During Season 1, Engemann told the ladies about a sexual experience with her husband that they coined "Fruity Pebbles," a code name for something that was not revealed on television. The inside joke became a running theme, and co-star Whitney Leavitt even gifted Engemann the cereal on an episode of the show, but viewers were never let in on the meaning until November 2025, when Draper spilled the, well, pebbles.

She took to her Instagram stories while engaged in an online back-and-forth with Engemann to reveal what "Fruity Pebbles" really meant, sharing (via People), "I think I'm just going to go ahead and say that Grandpa Bret likes to drink her piss like it's dirty soda, and he gulps it down like water." Engemann took to her own Instagram stories to reply with a text post that read in part, "What my husband and I did one-time behind closed doors, was a consensual and private experience in our marriage."