The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: The 7 biggest scandals, from ketamine to cheating

Cosmopolitan

20-05-2025

MomTok survived! Yes, season two of Disney+'s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has finally aired on the streamer, bringing 10 new juicy episodes full of Mormon secrets including more cheating rumours, more swinging deep dives and a dabble in ketamine.
Following the lives of a group of Mormon Mom TikTokers, the series returned late last week and it's safe to say we spent our entire weekend bingewatching the women fight over charcuterie boards. What?! Can't a girl have a hobby?
And this season had even more drama (we weren't sure it was even possible) than season one, racking up the number of scandals this group have gone through. And there's quite a lot to keep track of, so if you've forgotten or want to relive all the tea, then here are the seven biggest scandals this group of women (and their equally dramatic partners) have gone through.
The whole reason we have the show in the first place is due to a soft-swinging scandal that involved some of the women.
MomTok started in the pandemic, but it really kicked off when one member Taylor Frankie Paul alleged she and other MomTok members had engaged in soft-swinging, and told the entire internet about it. The other members denied it at the time.
It went viral and later Taylor split from her then husband Tate Paul. It also fractured her relationship with many of the women, including her bestie Miranda McWhorter, who denied what was going on.
During season one Taylor started the season on the outs with the other women, but made her way back in and stayed friends.
Then in season two Miranda joined the cast and spilled the tea on what happened at the soft-swinging parties. She maintains she only ever engaged is kissing and sex never took place at these parties.
"Well the thing is, like, the height of what I was ever involved in was like playing spin the bottle and like kissing other people,' she told the other women during her entrance to the show. 'So it was very jarring for me for Taylor to come out and say like everyone was hooking up with everyone because that was simply not the case at all. No one had sex ever. Period. I will go to my grave.'
However, she later appeared on The Viall Files, and did admit that she and her husband at the time, Chase McWhorter, did have sex in one room while another couple were in it. The couple later announced their divorce in 2024.
Following her split from husband Tate Paul, Taylor got into a relationship with Dakota Mortensen. Early on in their relationship, the police were called to Taylor's house after neighbours called up after hearing an altercation.
Taylor, who was intoxicated at the time, was arrested and Dakota was overheard talking to police saying: "She just attacked the crap out of me." Taylor could then be heard saying: "You threw me in the garage."
She was later charged with domestic violence and in August 2023 she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, while "the other four charges were dismissed with prejudice," as per the New York Post.
The first season also kicked off with another scandal - the revelation of Whitney Leavitt's husband being found on Tinder.
Whitney was another big name in the MomTok world and as the series kicks off it's revealed Whitney was coming back from Hawaii where she and her family had been living while dealing with the fallout of MomTok.
However, she later revealed that was not the case. She rather candidly opened up about her husband and father of her children Conner Leavitt being discovered on Tinder. She had initially denied the rumours but later revealed it was true and that Conner had a "porn addiction."
Ok, so this is not in the same vein as the other scandals, but it's equally as shocking to me.
Back in season one we were introduced to one MomToker Jen Affleck. She has a rather noticeable surname and she told viewers that she was in fact related to the Ben Affleck.
Well her husband Zac's family were, with Jen telling People at the time: "Zac's dad has [met him], when [Ben] was very little. I'm hoping to meet him one day, too!"
Jen even went as far as to say she was the original 'Jennifer Affleck' referencing Ben Affleck's ex-wife Jennifer Lopez, "My name happens to be not only Jen, but Jennifer Lynn Affleck, which is the exact same as JLo. She went from Jennifer Lynn Lopez to Jennifer Lynn Affleck, which is so crazy."
However, one season later it turns out it was actually all a big joke from Zac's family. The surname is brought up in a season two episode, with Jen confronting her husband about the name. She says to Zac that Ben is his second cousin, which Zac denies.
Jen then claimed Zac's family had told her this previously, adding: "You're not going to make me feel stupid when that's all I've been told from your family." However, Zac went onto insist it's just a family joke and they are not actually related in anyway to the Affleck family.
The first season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives ended on a bombshell confession from Mayci that she had heard Taylor's boyfriend Dakota was cheating on her.
Taylor and Dakota's relationship was up and down throughout the series, however they were expecting their first baby together. During the final scenes of the season Mayci is seen calling the woman in question who is said to have cheated with Dakota.
In season two we thankfully got an update. Enter: Jenna. Jenna is the woman Dakota is alleged to be having an affair with.
Taylor meets up with her at Mayci's house in the opening episode of the new season. She showed messages Jenna and Dakota had sent to each other, and it was later revealed Jenna had asked Dakota if he was dating Taylor and he allegedly said: "No, that's just for clout. She's just helping me build my social media."
And Taylor of course struggled to hear this, and tried to match up timelines of dates certain things had happened.
Later on in the episode Dakota said: "When I saw Mayci call Jenna, I just didn't want more problems. So I decided to tell Taylor we just made out."
He also added: "I deleted some messages that if she were to read those, that would essentially make me lose her and my son. I did lie. I was always doing it selfishly to protect myself."
The couple have since split.
Sure alcohol, coffee and tea are all banned in the Mormon way of life, but one thing that is on the menu? Ketamine.
The pair had a difficult time in season one, namely when Zac struggled with seeing Jen go to a Chippendales gig. It led to a massive argument between the pair, with Zac threatening to end their relationship.
They didn't breakup but instead headed to New York to check out medical schools as Zac was considering moving the family there. At one point it seemed like Jen wouldn't come back for season two.
But she did and kicked off the couples' journey with a bang. They were seen in one episode doing ketamine therapy as a way to improve their relationship.
During one confessional Jen explains the purpose of having ketamine therapy: "Zac and I will definitely have a lot to work on, and ketamine therapy is supposed to reset a lot of past traumas or habits you've created.
The couple are then seen doing the therapy and addressing the grey area the Mormon Church has with the drug.
"Ketamine is in the grey area when it comes to the church," she said. "Yeah, the church doesn't promote ketamine, but it's definitely not like a commandment exactly. Ketamine is a pure example of how much he's willing to do to show up for the relationship."
Just like season one ended with cheating allegations so too did season two, however this time it was MomToker Jessi Ngatikaura who was accused.
During the final episode fellow cast member Layla met up with Vanderpump Villa cast member Marciano.
Before season two began, several of the Mormon Wives cast appeared on Vanderpump Villa. There was then speculation that Jesse and Maricano had kissed while hanging out in West Hollywood. Jessi denied the allegation, saying: "If I was dumb enough to do that, I wouldn't do it in public."
Marciano then claimed to Layla during the final scenes of season two that he and Jessi had slept together and had an ongoing affair.
Jessi, who is married to Jordan Ngatikaura, hasn't directly commented on this allegation, however on her Instagram a few days she did share the video below and captioned it: "I'll speak when I can."
SO. MUCH. DRAMA.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives seasons 1 and 2 are available on Disney+ now