‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ season 2 reunion: What we learned

Lord have mercy — the drama in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ season 2 reunion could make up its own Book of Revelation.

On July 1, a month and a half since the season’s finale, fans finally got a reunion episode of Hulu’s hit reality series about the scandal-ridden Mormon influencers collectively known as “MomTok.”

Podcaster and The Bachelor alum Nick Viall hosted the super-sized episode, tackling some lingering questions put forth by the season 2 finale, which shocked viewers with strange and surprising allegations of infidelity against cast members Demi Engemann and Jessi Ngatikaura. Demi was a no-show, however, saying that she and her family had a trip to Disneyland already on the books.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for MomTok’s infighting, relationship woes, and trauma. Read on for the biggest takeaways from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2 reunion.

First, some context…

Prior to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ sophomore season, several of its cast members guested on season 2 of Vanderpump Villa, a Hulu series in which Lisa Vanderpump oversees the employees of a luxury hotel.

During their visit, Demi found herself pursued by Marciano Brunette, one of the villa’s employees. While she flirted with Marciano, she claims nothing occurred between the pair, and there wasn’t any footage indicating that she cheated on her husband, Bret. Still, rumors persisted that more happened behind the scenes.

At the end of season 2, however, Marciano met up with Layla Taylor, who also appeared on the Vanderpump Villa episode, to reveal that, yes, he did “try” to kiss Demi, but that once he returned to Los Angeles, he actually hooked up with Jessi, who is also married. He went so far as to say Jessi was “extremely forward.”

So, did Jessi and Marciano really sleep together? Well…

Jessi wasn’t wearing a wedding ring

In one of the more frustrating moments of the reunion, Jessi wouldn’t speak directly about the allegations, noting that “a lot of this story is unpacked in season 3, so I can’t talk about it yet.” She did, however, acknowledge that she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring.

Speaking about her relationship with her husband, Jessi said, “Jordan and I are working through a lot of hard things at the moment, but all I have to say is that I’m exposing so much of my life and I’m hoping that someone in my shoes may be able to relate to it. I’m doing it to help other people, but it’s also my real life and it’s happening and I can’t hide it.”

If that sounds dodgy to you, rest assured that answers are coming. “There’s a lot more to the story, and it’s not what you think it is,” she said. “There’s no secrets. We are exposing it all.”

All of what? Well, in a teaser for season 3 shown at the end of the reunion, we see Jessi confront Marciano and ask why he lied to Layla about their relationship. His reply? “I was being influenced.” Later, we see him taking a lie detector test. Oh, dear.

So, what about Demi?

Marciano and Demi exchanged explicit text messages

Jessi, who clearly has an axe to grind with her former friend, came prepared with some blush-worthy text messages between Demi and Marciano. (She says Marciano shared the texts with her.)

While the texts don’t prove that anything happened between Demi and Marciano, they do find the pair joking about oral sex and making comparisons between swallowing oysters and, well… you get it.

Even cast member Whitney Leavitt, Demi’s lone ally in the group at this point, admits that the texts are suspect.

Though Demi wasn’t present for the reunion, she commented on the alleged texts in an interview with Us Weekly. “Nothing happened with Marciano. At the expense of sounding rude, there wasn’t even a remote attraction to him. It sucks that women can’t be kind and friendly and even playful with men in this world without it being taken as like you’re open. I had a rock on my finger the entire time I was there,” she said. “I brought up my marriage multiple times and they were told that we were married women — so it sucks that we couldn’t just go and have a good time and that he couldn’t respect that.”

On May 30, Marciano responded Demi’s characterization of the situation in an Instagram video, in which he shared DMs of the pair speaking after he left Vanderpump Villa. The messages show that she initiated the conversation and asked that he call her. “I made a light-hearted joke about it and from there she tells me to call her,” he says. “She gives me her phone number, which led to multiple hours of conversation after that.”

He continued, “What I am trying to say is that Demi has made some crazy allegations about me. But if that were the case, why are you following me? Why are you DMing me? Why are you giving me your phone number and proceeding to have multiple hours of conversation, and have a continued relationship after that? It doesn’t make sense to me whatsoever. All I am going to say is there’s so much more of this that is going to come out, and honestly guys, I can’t wait for you to see it.”

At the reunion, the women who were present for the Vanderpump Villa taping agreed that Demi was being “extra flirty” with Marciano, even noting that Demi was spending more time with him than her friends. Mikayla Matthews recalled that she spoke with Demi about her behavior and cautioned her about how it may look on camera, and was told by Demi that she was “slut-shaming” her.

All of this took an odd turn when cast member Jen Affleck and her husband, Zac, played a secret recording of a phone call Jen shared with Demi during contract negotiations for season 2.

In the audio played at the reunion, Demi and Bret sound as if they’re coaching Jen on how they want her to address Demi’s behavior on Vanderpump Villa while on camera. Jen claims that when she refused to adhere to those talking points, Demi sent her a cease and desist letter.

Demi, for her part, denied to US Weekly that she sent a cease and desist.

Nobody in MomTok — except Whitney — is apparently talking to Demi

Demi, who essentially tried to turn everyone against castmate Taylor Frankie Paul in season 2, seems to be on the outs with all of MomTok — except Whitney.

Jordan, Jessi’s husband, admits that he and Bret also don’t talk anymore despite having once been close friends.

In an interview on Viall’s The Viall Files podcast, which was spliced into the reunion, Demi said she “did kind of step away from the group [to] protect my peace.” (The phrase “protect my peace” made cast member Jen chuckle.)

She also continued to attack Taylor, claiming that the other women are afraid to speak out against her, as they’re “scared” of Taylor’s “cult following” on social media.

She added that she feels Taylor doesn’t give the others in MomTok credit for their success, though that was disputed by the rest of the group — except Whitney.

Whitney’s defense of Demi seems rooted in her also feeling bullied by the other girls, having previously been on the outs with them. She also admitted in the reunion that it’s a struggle for her to be there because she doesn’t feel like part of the group.

Whitney and Mikayla hugged it out… sorta

Though Whitney has certainly caused her fair share of drama in the group, it can still be tough to watch how much she gets piled on by other members of MomTok, specifically Mikayla.

Viall addressed their feud, asking why, exactly, Mikayla hates Whitney so much. A lot of tape is spent on Mikayla’s convoluted answer, but it seems to amount to Whitney refusing to “take accountability” for various behaviors that disrupted MomTok. That includes abruptly unfollowing other MomTok members on social media, self-isolating, and then accusing others of not checking in on her.

“I think you have a hard time seeing that you are a problem a lot of the time,” said Mikayla.

Whitney claimed that she has taken accountability, eliciting mixed reactions from everyone onstage, including Viall.

After Mikayla opens up about her chronic health issues and past traumas, Viall asks if she would accept a hug from Whitney.

The pair hug, but don’t expect this feud to end anytime soon. In the season 3 trailer, Whitney announces that she wants to start her own version of MomTok.

Jen was suffering from prenatal depression during season 2

Jen, who was pregnant throughout season 2, admitted that she was suffering from prenatal depression during filming. She described the season as “a bit of a blur,” adding that she was “barely surviving” and struggling with suicidal ideation.

“I felt like I couldn’t turn to anyone,” she revealed. “And I didn’t want anyone to feel like they were the reason for this. But your body is going through so many changes. And, to be honest, I’m just grateful for all the love and support I did receive during that time, because without it, I don’t know where I’d be today.”

Conner is a victim of child sexual abuse

In season 1 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Whitney and her husband, Conner, were working to repair their marriage after he admitted to having a pornography addiction and using dating apps.

The season 2 reunion featured previously unaired footage from season 1, in which Conner revealed that his addiction was due in part to a sexual assault he experienced as a child.

“That was a very difficult part of my past and something I’ve worked hard to heal from,” he said. “And it still hurts. I know so many people carry experiences like that, even if they may not talk about them. For me, those experiences shaped me and developed really destructive habits. But they don’t define who I am today. What matters is how we grow, how we find resilience, and how we support each other moving forward.”

Whitney was supportive of him, saying, “He’s just so amazing and perfect in every way for me. I’m just so grateful that both of us have worked so hard to have what we have today.”

Layla had self-harm scars removed

Layla opened up about her struggles with depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia, revealing that she used to have a problem with self-harming.

After noting that she hasn’t self-harmed in a long time, she revealed that one of the reasons she had her scars surgically removed was because her children noticed them.

“I don’t want to give my kids traumas because I’m dealing with it,” she said. “I need to be strong for them.”

Taylor is not ready to get back with Dakota

After breaking up at the end of season 2, Taylor and her ex, Dakota Mortensen, hashed it out during the reunion, with Taylor saying she still nurses anger at him for sleeping with other women early in their relationship. Dakota still thinks there’s hope for the two of them, but Taylor is skeptical.

When Viall asked Dakota if he could be a faithful and honest partner to Taylor, he said yes. When he posed the same question to Taylor, she said, “Maybe one day.”

Viall pressed them, noting recent social media posts showing the pair in intimate poses. The implication is that, despite Taylor’s distrust of Dakota, they continue to sleep together. Dakota admitted it’s “confusing” for him.

Viall, taking on the role of relationship counselor, said that “someone in this pairing is gonna have to stand up and do the right thing and say no to each other.”

Later, he left them by saying, “I just hope you guys stop torturing each other.”

Miranda is back in MomTok

Not much to report here, but the reunion confirmed that MomTok OG Miranda McWhorter, who was part of the swinging scandal that led to the series, is back in MomTok after mending fences with Taylor.

When Viall asked if she was officially back in, the women responded with variations of, “Well, she’s here.”

Whitney and Jen are joining Dancing With the Stars

Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars is expected to arrive this fall, and the reunion revealed that Jen and Whitney will both be competing.

“This is like all she’s wanted,” Jessi said of Jen after Viall announced the news. “She’s talked about this since day one.”

Where can I watch The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives?

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives seasons 1 and 2, as well as the season 2 reunion, are available to stream on Hulu.

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