8 Biggest “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” Scandals, from Taylor Frankie Paul's Arrest to Jessi's Cheating Rumors
8 Biggest “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” Scandals, from Taylor Frankie Paul's Arrest to Jessi's Cheating Rumors
Emily BlackwoodSat, March 28, 2026 at 10:30 AM UTC
0
The cast of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.Credit: Fred Hayes/Disney via Getty -
Since The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered on Hulu in 2024, multiple cast members have found themselves involved in controversies
Some notable scandals, including Jessi Draper's affair and Conner's porn addiction, played out on the reality series
Others, like Taylor Frankie Paul's canceled season of The Bachelorette, unfolded off-camera
The women of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives are no strangers to scandal, especially considering it’s how they landed their Hulu reality series in the first place.
In 2020, Taylor Frankie Paul, Jennifer Affleck, Demi Engemann, Mayci Neeley, Jessi Draper, Mikayla Matthews, Whitney Leavitt, Layla Taylor and Miranda Hope rose to TikTok fame as part of a group of young Mormon influencers known as MomTok. Things took a turn when Taylor infamously claimed on the app that she and her now ex-husband, Tate Paul, had been “soft swinging” with their friends.
Her confessional went viral and led to the launch of Mormon Wives, which premiered in 2024. But it's far from the only controversy to follow the group, both on and off-screen.
Here are some of the biggest scandals and legal troubles to rock The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
MomTok’s alleged soft-swinging
Miranda McWhorter and Taylor Frankie Paul on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.Credit: Natalie Cass/Disney via Getty
In June 2022, Taylor announced her divorce on TikTok Live. But the reason behind her split was even more shocking.
According to the influencer, she and her then-husband had engaged in what she called "soft swinging" with their group of married friends. "Everyone has hooked up with like everyone," Taylor claimed, and noted that her marriage ended because she crossed a line she had set with Tate to not "go all the way."
Taylor claimed she fell in love with one of the husbands she was swinging with, which was later revealed to be former MomToker Kenna Gibbons' then-husband, Brayden Rowley. In a series of since-deleted TikTok videos, she claimed that Brayden's affair with Taylor led to the end of their marriage.
So far, Miranda has been the only other Mormon Wives cast member to confirm that they were a part of the soft-swinging group. However, her account of what went down still differs from Taylor's version of events.
Taylor’s 2023 arrest
Dakota Mortensen ; Taylor Frankie PaulCredit: Dakota Mortenson/Instagram ; Disney+
The first-ever episode of Mormon Wives chronicled the fallout from Taylor’s domestic violence arrest, which unfolded during a February 2023 argument with her then-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. He allegedly called police to report that she had hit him and thrown "heavy metal chairs" toward him while the two minor children she shares with Tate were in the room.
Taylor was initially charged with one felony count of aggravated assault, two felony counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, and one misdemeanor count each of child abuse and criminal mischief. She later pled guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault, meaning that if she complies with the conditions of the plea, her charge will be lessened or potentially dismissed.
Conner’s porn addiction
Whitney and Conner Leavitt on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.Credit: Hulu
Whitney's marriage to Conner Leavitt also came under fire after she confirmed the rumors that he had been on Tinder. Though she initially lied to her fellow MomTok members about it, she confessed in season 1 that, while there was truth to the speculation, there was more to the story.
"He had been struggling with a porn addiction," the Dancing With the Stars contestant said in the series. "I didn’t want to come out because I just feel like there’s a whole story. There’s a reason why people do certain things and I think he was just confused."
The reality star clarified that he never physically cheated, but sent and received nude photos and had "full on conversations with women." Because of the scandal, the couple briefly moved their family to Hawaii.
Later on in season 1, Conner apologized to Whitney for his actions, saying that he "had a real problem" which he turned into something that "really hurt" his wife.
Jen’s alleged relation to Ben Affleck
Jen Affleck ; Ben Affleck attends "The Rip" Premiere on January 13, 2026 in New York City.Credit: Fred Hayes/Disney via Getty ; Arturo Holmes/WireImage
Mormon Wives star Jen's alleged relation to actor Ben Affleck was an ongoing debate when the show began. She claimed on the series that her husband, Zac Affleck, was the actor's first cousin once removed. However, in season 2, he admitted he had "no idea" whether they were related and that it was just a "running joke" in the family.
"It's never been something serious," he said. "And so, when Jen started telling people that, I did tell her, 'I don't think you should say that anymore. I think that's probably gonna backfire.' "
Though there is no confirmed relation between Ben and Jen, they did appear in a Dunkin' Donuts commercial together in September 2025.
Dakota’s infidelity
Dakota Mortenson at "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" season 2 premiere on May 09, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.Credit: JC Olivera/Variety via Getty
Following her 2022 divorce from Tate, Taylor began dating Dakota. While she was pregnant with their son, Ever True, she learned that he had been seeing another woman, Jenna, at the same time they had started dating. She told Taylor during season 2 that Dakota claimed he was dating the TikToker just "for clout" and that it wasn't serious.
Advertisement
Though he admitted to lying about his involvement with Jenna, the couple have reconciled and broken up multiple times throughout the series.
In season 3, Taylor learned that he had been inappropriately texting a family friend after they had briefly gotten back together. When the former couple hooked up during season 4 — after the reality star had been announced as The Bachelorette — Dakota had been dating Miranda's best friend, Shinia Powell, whom Taylor was also close to.
Demi’s allegation of “unwanted touching"
Marciano Brunette ; Demi Engemann.Credit: Amanda Edwards/Getty ; Savion Washington/WireImage
Demi came under fire from her Mormon Wives castmates after Vanderpump Villa star Marciano Brunette kissed her forehead during an April 2025 episode of the spinoff series. In an interview with The Viall Files the following month, she claimed she experienced "unwanted touching" at the villa. The reality star didn't name Marciano as the man who allegedly assaulted her, but she later called him "a s3xual pr3dator" in a since-deleted Instagram comment, per The Independent.
On season 3 of Mormon Wives, she continued to claim that he had touched her without consent, which he had denied. "I want to be absolutely clear: I am taking this matter extremely seriously," Marciano said in a November 2025 statement to PEOPLE. "This is the most difficult situation I have ever faced, and the allegations against me are not only entirely false but profoundly damaging."
He filed a defamation lawsuit against Demi the following month, which her legal team asked be dismissed. The reality star cited her First Amendment rights to speak about the alleged "unwanted touch," and called the lawsuit "a lesson in hypocrisy."
In Marciano’s complaint, which also named Jeff Jenkins Productions, the production company behind Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, he said that the 'sexual predator’ statements were "designed to maximize impact while cutting Marciano out and denying him any meaningful opportunity to respond," the complaint alleges. "Production did so despite obvious reasons to doubt Engemann’s account, including inconsistencies, delay, and facts known to Production that undermined the claims."
Jessi’s affair and divorce
Jessi Draper Ngatikaura ; Jordan Ngatikaura.Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty; Fred Hayes/Disney via Getty
Demi wasn't the only Mormon Wives star involved in the Maricano. The Vanderpump Villa star also claimed that he had an affair with Jessi after filming their episode in Italy in 2025. She came clean about their involvement during season 3, but said they only kissed and that her cheating was more emotional in nature.
Though Jessi and her husband, Jordan Ngatikaura, continued to work on their marriage after the affair, he filed for divorce in March 2026. The estranged couple share three children.
Shortly after the divorce news, Jessi appeared on an episode of Call Her Daddy, where she made several shocking claims about Jordan, including calling him out for allegedly using an "escort service" and accusing him of being "emotionally abusive."
Jordan has not yet publicly responded to Jessi's claims. PEOPLE has reached out to Jordan for comment but has not heard back.
Taylor’s Bachelorette cancellation
Taylor Frankie Paul at "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" season 2 premiere on May 09, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.Credit: JC Olivera/Variety via Getty
In September 2025, Paul was announced as the lead for ABC's upcoming season of The Bachelorette. However, her season was pulled days before its March 22 premiere after footage from the 2023 domestic violence incident with Dakota was leaked.
The video, published by TMZ, showed the reality star throwing chairs at her ex-boyfriend while her daughter, Indy, now 8, was on a couch nearby. A rep for Paul told PEOPLE that "releasing an old video, which conveniently omits context, on their son's birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from [Dakota's] own behavior," and that it was just "the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor."
Dakota told PEOPLE in a statement, "As anyone who has seen the video will understand, this is a deeply upsetting situation. I am, unfortunately, used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny. I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same."
Days before Paul's Bachelorette season was canceled, a Draper City Police Department spokesperson confirmed that there was a separate open "domestic assault investigation" involving the former couple that reportedly halted filming for season 5 of Mormon Wives.
On March 24, a police spokesperson in Utah confirmed to NBC News that officials were investigating another incident connected to Taylor and Dakota, which reportedly occurred in 2024.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
