The Mormon moms of TikTok are ready to bring their story to the small screen.
Just a few weeks before the premiere The Secret Lives of Mormon WomenHulu’s new series, which follows the aftermath of a sex scandal that made international headlines, PEOPLE gives viewers a closer look at the cast.
One of the stars of the reality show is Taylor Frankie Paul, who shocked the #MomTok community in June 2022 when she announced she was divorcing her husband and opened up about their “gentle swing” lifestyle — a reference to intimacy outside of their marriage, with restrictions.
In the process, the TikToker, who now has 4.1 million followers, ended up involving some of her fellow “MomTok” influencers.
Taylor Frankie Paul.
Disney/Pamela Littky
New Hulu Reality Series Will Explore Life After MormonTok’s ‘Soft Swinging’ Sex Scandal
At the time, Taylor, now 30, explained that the couple had agreed they “wouldn’t go all the way”, but admitted she had “backed out of that deal”.
That July, Taylor introduced her new boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, as the guy she was “cheating” with — and she recently gave birth to her third child, who she shares with her boyfriend.
“I want people to better understand who I am,” she says in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “I wanted to be vulnerable and show people that when you hit rock bottom, there is hope.”
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In addition to the sex scandal, Taylor was arrested in February 2023 on suspicion of misdemeanor charges of assault, battery and domestic violence in the presence of a child after an altercation with Dakota.
In August 2023, she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, with the remaining charges dismissed, according to ABC affiliate KTVX.
Mormon mom Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘soft rocking’ returns to TikTok after domestic violence arrest
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Demi Engemann.
Disney/Pamela Littky
Another cast member is Demi Engemann, 30.
The influencer, who has over 304,000 followers on TikTok, is divorced, remarried and now has a blended family with three children. “I want to share my journey through motherhood and empower other women through their journey,” she says.
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Jen Affleck.
Disney/Pamela Littky
Meanwhile, Jen Affleck – who shares two children with husband Zac Affleck, a cousin of famous brothers Ben and Casey Affleck – says she is “excited to talk about the things that have happened in my relationship”.
“It feels like we have ten years of marriage counseling in this one season of filming,” she adds.
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Jessi Ngatikaura.
Disney/Pamela Littky
Fellow actress Jessi Ngatikaura, 32, considers herself the “grandma of the group” and owns a hair school and updo business called JZ Styles.
She has been doing hair for more than 10 years. Divorced and remarried, Jessi also has a blended family with three children.
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Layla Taylor.
Disney/Pamela Littky
Meanwhile, fellow cast member Layla Taylor is the youngest of the group, although at 23 she’s already living the life of a single mother of two after a divorce.
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Maya Neeley.
Disney/Pamela Littky
As for Mayci Neeley, the former D1 tennis player at Brigham Young University is also the founder of a natal nutrition company. In addition, the 29-year-old wife has two children in a mixed family and is currently on the path of in vitro fertilization (IVF) to expand her family.
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Mikayla Matthews.
Disney/Pamela Littky
Former teen mum Mikayla Matthews, 24, says the show “really gets to the raw stuff that we go through.”
“We wanted to show different sides of faith,” adds Matthews, who is now married with three children.
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Whitney Leavitt.
Disney/Pamela Littky
Rounding out the cast is Whitney Leavitt, 31, who is now married with two children and pregnant with her third.
“When you watch a lot of reality TV, they’re not really friends before the show,” she says. “We’ve built a business together and we can show the world how we did it.”
Produced by Jeff Jenkins Productions (Bling Empire, My unorthodox life) in association with 3BMG and Walt Disney Television Alternative, “Faith, friendships and reputations are on the line,” according to the series’ synopsis.
All episodes of the eight-episode series will premiere on Hulu on Friday, September 6.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education