'My entire life fell apart.' The scandalous new Mormon Wives series is here.

I'm a journalist in the traditional sense... like it's my actual job. But I'm also a little gossip fiend, an investigative journalist of nonsense. I love nothing more than to spend three hours diving down a TikTok wormhole to get to the bottom of the latest hot topic or scandal.

And in recent years, there was one viral moment that captivated me completely: the Mormon sex scandal that catapulted #MomTok to the top of the algorithm. Now, the story is being revisited through a reality TV series.

If you also live for the low-stakes drama of other people's lives, then The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is going to be your next must-watch show. 

It promises to take viewers on a journey to Utah, home of Zion National Park, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, and, perhaps most famously, Mormons. 

The series is dropping at an opportune moment, too. With Mormon "trad wives" Nara Smith and Hannah 'Ballerina Farm' Neeleman recently making headlines around the world.

What is the show about? And what was the scandal that started it all? Let's get into it.

But first, watch the trailer for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives here. Post continues below.

What is The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives about?

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives follows eight Mormon influencers in the aftermath of the 2022 TikTok sex scandal that made international headlines. Big yikes! More on that in a moment.

"Now, their sisterhood is shook to its core. Faith, friendship and reputations are all on the line. Will #MomTok be able to survive and continue to give the rulebook a run for its money, or will this group fall from grace?" the show's synopsis reads.

In the first official trailer, one of the women says in a voiceover "Online it looks like we're all the best friends, but we're not." Juicy! It also hints at how the TikTok drama will unfold on screen...

This still from the trailer certainly painted a bleak picture. Image: Hulu.

What was the Mormon TikTok scandal? 

In 2022, Mormon mothers were huge on social media and "MomTok" was blowing up. These women were gaining millions of followers, and landing even more views, with dance videos, beauty routines, and traditional mum/wife content.

Then, Taylor Frankie Paul, who claims to have created MomTok, announced her divorce from her husband Tate.

She went on a now infamous livestream and announced that she'd been engaging in "soft swinging" within their group of married friends and highlighted that there were two other divorces taking place within the group as a result. 

Taylor said she had an agreement with her husband, but that she'd gone "outside of the agreement" by going "all the way" with someone within their group.

"I messed up, and I, obviously, am losing everything that I have," she said.

The Mormon Church officially discourages divorce, and it doesn't condone swinging despite polygamy being intertwined with its history. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) still has complicated messaging around polygamy, but the current official position is that "God rescinded the commandment to practice plural marriage."

So when Taylor made her public declaration of divorce and extramarital activity, TikTok damn near broke.

The scandal also blew up Taylor's follower count, with the influencer now sitting at 4.1 million TikTok followers and 366k Instagram followers. And she's not the only one who went viral through the chaos.

Her admission also implicated others within the group.

"The whole group was intimate with each other," she alleged. "It wasn't like I was going around hooking up with my friend's husband. It was, like, we were at a party, I got belligerent, and we went and messed around by ourselves rather than the whole group."

"My entire life is falling apart," Taylor shared on TikTok amid the scandal. Image: TikTok/@taylorfrankiepaul.

She claimed she was being shunned by her friends.

"No one was innocent. Everyone has hooked up with everyone in this situation. So, yes, I'm getting shunned for doing that, but it wasn't like I was going around hooking up with my friend's husband," she said. 

"I was friends with these people, and we spent a lot of time together. We were intimate on several occasions. Tate has made out with several girls and [done] other things, and I've made out with all of the husbands and [done] other things."

In the trailer, it's clear this breach of trust will be a key plot point of the series.

"It blew up for us. And then it turned into 'this whole group is swinging with each other'," said one of the influencers, Mikayla Matthews, in the trailer.

That's not the only scandal that will be addressed, with the trailer suggesting there will be some in-fighting over how "devout" the women are. 

"We're the most devout, and then there are others," someone says in the trailer.

There are snippets of the women partying and drinking alcohol, which fans of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City know is very divisive in the Morman church. Practicing Mormons should refrain from drinking alcohol, but it's also common, and causes plenty of debate about who is the "most Mormon." 

Real Housewives star Heather Gay has been vocal about her experiences as a devout Mormon, and why she chose to leave the Church. "I was raised a Mormon but now, I'm raising a glass of champagne," she famously said on RHOSLC.

And it looks like that same theme will pull through in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

The trailer promises plenty of drama. Image: Hulu.

Where to watch The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives in Australia.

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is coming to Disney Plus in Australia on September 6. 

Who are the key players? Meet the cast of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

The main cast includes eight Morman mums, including a cousin of Ben Affleck — yes! That Ben Affleck! Get to know them all.

As we've already mentioned, Taylor Frankie Paul, 30, was the Mormon mum at the centre of the scandal. 

Taylor's split from her husband Tate in 2022 led to the explosive TikTok scandal and eventually, this TV show. Together, Taylor and Tate have two children, Indy and Ocean. 

But what you might not know is that just one month after the scandal blew up, Taylor introduced her new boyfriend — now fiancé — Dakota Mortensen as the guy she "cheated with." They welcomed their first child together, named Ever, in May 2024. 

Read more about her story here.

Image: Instagram/@taylorfrankiepaul.

Then there's Jenn Affleck, 25. 

Well, you may have seen this coming, but Jenn Affleck is Ben Affleck's cousin through marriage. Who'd have thought? Jenn's husband Zac is Ben's first cousin, once removed. 

Outside of what we assume are very thrilling family reunions, Jenn and Zac also share two kids.

Image: Instagram/@jenniferlaffleck

Mikayla Matthews, 24, was also very popular on TikTok at the time of the scandal. 

She told People Magazine that the show "really gets to the raw things that we are going through." 

In the trailer, she addressed how the "swinging" scandal impacted her, with TikTok followers assuming they were all involved.

Image: Instagram/@mikaylamatthews.

Whitney Leavitt's TikTok is dedicated to "baking and twerking" and features videos of her alongside her family and friends from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast.

The 31-year-old is currently expecting her third child with her husband, Connor Leavitt.

Image: Instagram/@whittneyleavitt.

Because Jessi Ngatikaura is 32, she considers herself the "grandma of the group." Yikes!

She's a hairstylist and a happily married mother of three. She tied the knot with her partner Jordan Ngatikaura following her first divorce. 

If our other Mormon reality TV shows are anything to go by, I'm sure the divorce element is going to get some run time in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

Image: Instagram/@_justjessiiii

Layla Taylor is the youngest of the group, at just 23. She's also a single mother of two.

Like the others, she became a prominent social media figure and spends her days creating content for TikTok. But unlike the rest of the cast, she doesn't boast quite as many followers with just 26k followers. I'm sure that will promptly skyrocket when the show starts.

Image: TikTok/@laylaleannetaylor.

Mayci Neeley, 29, is a former tennis star, who packed up her racket and became CEO of Babymama, a natal nutrition company. 

She's also a mother of two, who documented her experiences with IVF and about her blended family with her husband, Jacob Neeley.

Image: Instagram/@maycineeley.

Last but not least, Demi Engemann rounds out the group! 

Demi was previously married and divorced at 24, now 30 she is remarried and shares a blended family with her husband Bret Engemann, 46.

"The road to finding each other has been anything but easy. Yet the peace I feel when I’m with this man makes it all so worth it. He feels like home," she's said of their relationship.

Image: Instagram/@demilucymay.

Well, those are our Mormon Wives! Stay tuned for more updates on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives as we prepare for what is about to be bombshell television. I can't wait. 

Feature Image: Instagram/TikTok.

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