Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars would love to film new season in Ireland

Sunday World

a day ago

'BUCKET LIST' |
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Whitney and Jessi tell Deirdre Reynolds they want to come to Ireland as they film season three
'Absolutely! We would love to watch anything like that,' she says of the hypothetical show dreamed up by Magazine+ .
'Let's see it,' agrees her castmate Whitney Leavitt. ''Cos we're just as interested in other religions.'
As TV pitches go, it's not as far-fetched as you might imagine.
After all, just two years ago, who'd have thought that viewers would be glued to a show all about The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives?
'I feel religion in general is going to strike a chord with anyone, whether it's the Catholic church, the Mormon church, whatever it may be,' continues Jessi.
'Even if you're not Mormon watching it, you probably had an experience with religion; whether you're super active in your's, or you've fallen away.
Layla Taylor, Miranda McWhorter, Jessi Ngatikaura, Mikayla Matthews, Mayci Neeley, Taylor Frankie Paul, Jennifer Affleck, Whitney Leavitt and Demi Engemann attend the premiere "The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives" Season 2
'So the fact that we have so many people in our cast that vary in their faith levels, I think that so many people can relate to that and that's why it's interesting.'
Season two of the guilty pleasure dropped on streaming giant Disney Plus last month, after becoming the most watched unscripted premiere of 2024, and the two glamorous stars, who are among nine TikTok influencers featured on the show, revealed they're still wrapping their heads around the level of worldwide fame it has brought them and their families.
'It's insane,' laughs Whitney, who welcomed her third child with husband Conner last October. 'I went to [musical] The Book of Mormon last night and a fan of the show came up to me and was like, 'Wow, you had to come all the way to London to watch a Mormon show!'
Scandals, fallouts and dirty sodas in the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
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'So it's kind of crazy for the both of us just even getting recognised in the UK, but it's really cool.
'It's still surreal for me, I think,' adds Jessi, who has a daughter, son and stepdaughter with her husband, Jordan. 'Like, when I hear how many people have viewed the show, I still feel like I haven't really processed that, because it's a lot!
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is available to stream now on Disney+
'It's different too, because when you're putting your own content out there on social media, you have control of it, you know what's going out— it's like your highlight reel.
'With reality TV, you're showing the good, the bad, the ugly, so [viewers] are seeing all sides of you, which is so scary, but it's so nice to see the support. Like, we get mean comments online, but I've never met anyone mean in person, so that's great.'
Although the ladies didn't make it across the pond to Ireland while promoting the show this time, having previously gone on location to Italy, they promised to lobby for a 'Mormon Wives do Ireland' special as they're already filming season three of the addictive watch.
'It hasn't come up, but that would be so fun,' beams Whitney, who admits she had a lot of 'hard conversations' about whether to return to the hit programme after being painted as the villain of season one when she dramatically quit 'MomTok', as the Utah moms are collectively known. 'That's on my bucket list.'
'We're always down,' adds Jessi, who at 32 is the self-confessed 'grandma of the group'. 'Every year, we're always like, 'Can we go somewhere international?' Like, we are so excited to do that … and I don't think any of us have been to Ireland, so we might have to check that out.
'Actually, my husband's family I think is, like, half-Irish, so he has a lot of Irish [in him]. He looks like a leprechaun, he has a red beard, I always tease him!'
Jessi Ngatikaura and Whitney Leavitt attend The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives x Club Soda takeover
Founded in 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints is famed for its ultra-conservative teachings, from no sex outside marriage to no booze or cigarettes.
Since launching the reality smash on the back of a 'soft swinging' scandal that rocked the US, however, it's the everyday idiosyncrasies — like the colourful 'dirty sodas' beloved by the ladies in lieu of alcohol — that have kept fans glued to their screens, according to Jessi and Whitney.
'I don't think we've moved past it quite yet,' the latter says of the controversy, which has been stirred back up in the most recent episodes by newcomer Miranda McWhorter. 'It's always going to be there.
'I'm definitely surprised that so many people are fascinated by [Mormonism], because I grew up it in,' continues the 31-year-old. 'So people hearing about the sodas or not drinking coffee, like, that's just what I know.
'Yeah, it's weird because we grew up thinking this is the one true church,' Jessi picks up. 'That's just kind of drilled into you, so growing up in a bubble, you just assume everyone either is Mormon or knows what Mormons are— but it's been cool to showcase how we live and how we do things.
'Y'know, like 30 years ago, things were a little stricter than they are now, and when our generation's running the church, I think it's going to be even a little [more] different. So I think it's just showing the evolution of it, and that we're just normal people even if we have a church that has some crazy rules at times!'
One question that remains unanswered by the series, though, is who would win in a 'mom off' between the typically strict Mormon mother and wooden spoon-wielding Irish Mammy?
'Oh gosh, I mean, based off the Mormon moms I know, probably those!' jokes Whitney. 'But we're going to come to Ireland, and then we'll let you know!'