Ranking as the No. 1 television show on Hulu last month is “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” a reality TV show following the scandalous lives of eight Mormon mothers who gained their fame from making TikTok dances in their Salt Lake City suburban mansions. Let that sink in.
The group of women go by the name MomTok, a hashtag that has indeed trended on most social media platforms. These women all follow a very similar appearance and lifestyle. All eight are mothers and not one is over the age of 32. Most of them got married at a young age; the youngest of the group, Mikayla Matthews, married her husband Jace Terry when she was 15 and he was 21.
The way in which these women present themselves online and onscreen is extremely well put together: perfect wavy curls in their hair, glammed up and dressed in trendy athleisure. The women have been bashed online for their vanity by some, while others praise the women for finding individuality in motherhood. The women have also received attention from a scene in the show featuring a couple of the mothers going to a botox appointment. The women share that whenever they get botox done, they are also going for the “high” from the optional laughing gas (nitrous oxide) given to them. Partaking in drugs and alcohol is not part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) faith but many of the women found a loophole through their botox appointments.
Funny enough, the MomTok mothers rarely post content with their children and some of them keep their children completely out of the spotlight.
One mother in particular, out of the eight in the group, can take most of the credit for all of the attention, fans and money the show has brought to the group. Taylor Frankie Paul created the MomTok group with her friends Miranda Mcwhorter and Camille Munday in 2020. The trio made videos dancing and lip syncing sometimes featuring their husbands, who also all share similar physical characteristics.
Prior to the release of the show, a “soft swinging” scandal broke out all over social media with Paul in the center of it. There were suspicions online that Mcwhorter and Munday were also involved but neither have made statements online stating they were.
Paul took the situation to another level, and instead of going dark from her socials blowing up, she decided to hop on a TikTok livestream. Becoming the spokesperson of the Mormon swinging scandal, Paul came clean online regarding her actions and involvement. She explained via livestream that her then-husband and herself were involved in “soft swinging,” a type of consensual non-monogamy where you are intimate with partners other than your own. Paul explained to her viewers that “soft swinging” is switching partners without “going all the way.”
As the show reveals, “soft swinging” wasn’t unheard of in the SLC Mormon culture, but Paul’s seven other castmates did not welcome her back in with open arms when the news broke out.
The swinging scandal is what initially brought me to watch the show and I think many can say the same. This situation was the producer’s jackpot to hooking the public into their show and it became a major plot line for the first season.
The series is not necessarily an accurate portrayal of the Mormon religion globally as it is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. One of the most highly populated areas for the Mormon religion, with just shy of 50% of its population being Latter-day Saints. Controversy around the show has arisen from the public and members of the LDS church.
Only two days after Hulu released the official trailer for the show, a statement was released on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints newsroom website titled, “Commentary: When Entertainment Media Distorts Faith.”
The statement stated the Church’s view of how the media misrepresents their religion and the real-life consequences it brings for members of the Church.
“We understand the fascination some in the media have with the Church, but regret that portrayals often rely on sensationalism and inaccuracies that do not fairly and fully reflect the lives of our Church members or the sacred beliefs that they hold dear.”
The Church’s commentary on the show provided some insight into the awareness the church has of the public’s fascination with the Mormon faith. It also helps in understanding the way in which the church shamed the cast members for not representing the beliefs and teachings of the church.
The show shouldn’t be used as a depiction of how Mormons live, but I do feel like it draws attention to the roles of women in the LDS church in an important way. In the show’s official trailer, the women can be heard sharing their opinions on the roles of wives and mothers in the church.
Paul stated in the trailer, “We were raised to be these housewives for the men, serving their every desire.”
“We’re trying to change the stigma of gender roles in the Mormon culture,” Mayci Neely, another star on the show, said.
Most Mormons can’t relate to the show’s plot as it involves a very narrow view of SLC Mormon culture, but there are many takeaways about the roles of husband and wife that are illustrated through these women’s stories.
In one episode, the mothers take a weekend trip to Vegas to escape from the chatter only to find themselves amidst more drama. Jennifer Affleck, one of the cast members disappeared halfway through the trip after her husband, Zac Affleck threatened divorce for attending the trip with her friends. Footage displayed text messages between the two filled with aggressive and demeaning words texted to Jennifer from her husband, Zac. The messages discussed Jennifer’s public image and how Zac feels she is not representing her family or the Church in a correct manner.
The rest of the women on the trip were left confused and concerned about Jennifer’s early departure after reading the messages sent to her from her husband.
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is pure entertainment if influencer drama is your niche. The production and filming of the show brings room for speculation of staging and planned confrontation, but that is a factor that always comes with reality television.
If you missed out on the binge of “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” you’ve got time to catch up. The cast just announced last week via TikTok that a second season will be coming to Hulu in spring of 2025.
