Fruity Pebbles would like to be excluded from this narrative. The day before Thanksgiving, anyone whose algorithm aligns with The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives learned just how the multicolored, rice cereal fits into Demi’s private life. Since a season one prank by Whitney, the insinuation has baffled viewers, but the chronically online learned the alleged truth Wednesday.
As wild as these allegations are, they’re par for the course for the Utah moms, who entered the reality TV arena in the fall of 2024. It’s hard to believe these women have only been mainstream names for a little over a year. Yes, they came equipped with a built-in fan base from their now infamous TikTok collective “MomTok,” but even so, their rise has been meteoric by any metric.
Taylor Frankie Paul, the leader of the ladies, is the latest Bachelorette on ABC’s long-running competitive dating show. Airing this spring, her season should be interesting following the relationship arc with her son’s father in the latest episodes of The Secret Lives.
These women have brought a level of dramatics since day one that is unparalleled by anything we’ve seen in reality TV to date. The early seasons of Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules are the closest, but still lagging in terms of consistent “WTF!?” moments. In the first episode of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, we’re introduced to the women. By the end of that very same episode, there’s been infidelity, an arrest, and an unplanned pregnancy. Day one! And it only gets more chaotic.
Recently renewed for a fourth season, the women have already parlayed their leveled-up fame into competing on Dancing with the Stars, best-selling memoirs, and crossovers with at least two other reality shows, including Vanderpump Villa, another Hulu series. I don’t want to spoil anything, but let’s just say that In less than two years, the Wives have given us three seasons of unrelentingly raw reality madness.
There should be anthropology and media classes devoted to studying the magic of Maci, Mikayla, Jen, Jessi, Layla, Miranda, and the aforementioned Whitney, Taylor, and Demi. The vulnerability, honesty, and insane messiness are refreshing, but also eye-opening. Whatever expectations reality TV fans may have going in, this show will exceed. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives may even be the series that converts naysaying haters of the genre. It’s the cliche of being unable to look away from a car crash in television form.
Ranging in ages from 24 to 33, the women became famous for the swinging scandal revealed by Frankie Paul after MomTok garnered success as TikTok’s youthful, cool, Mormon housewife channel. Miranda may have been the only other woman to participate in the “soft” swinging, but all were initially implicated. We see the fallout of the reveal in season one.
After the immediate success of the first season, season two quickly followed with a reunion show hosted by Nick Viall of The Bachelor fame. A trailer recently dropped for the upcoming season three reunion hosted by Vanderpump Rules’ very own Stassi Schroeder, a veteran juggernaut of reality TV. The degree of separation among the Secret Lives and various ABC, Hulu, and even Bravo shows is unlike any reality TV show bleed-through into neighboring networks that we’ve ever seen before.
Tinder scandal, soft swinging, and the dissolution of more than one relationship are only scratching the surface of the beautifully unhinged storylines these nine women have given us in less than 24 months. And, to think season four is already greenlit – meaning the crazy continues for at least another 20 episodes!
It’s hard to say more without giving away direct plot points, but if ever there was a reality show competition amongst reality shows, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives would sweep. Needless to say, I think MomTok is going to survive this.
