Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Cheating Scandals Explained After Affair Drama

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is about Utah content creators — but the smash reality show has given screentime to many, many cheating scandals.
When Hulu debuted The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives in September 2024, viewers were introduced to Jen Affleck and husband Zac Affleck, Demi Engemann and husband Bret Engemann, Whitney Leavitt and husband Connor Leavitt, Mikayla Matthews and husband Jace Terry, Mayci Neeley and husband Jacob Neely, Jessi Ngatikaura and husband Jordan Ngatikaura, Taylor Frankie Paul and then-partner Dakota Mortensen and Layla Taylor.
It didn’t take long for the series to pull back the curtain not only on MomTok — but on the cast’s personal lives. From Connor’s porn addiction to Dakota’s potential offscreen infidelity, any and every cheating scandal was brought to light.
Season 2 blew that up even more when Demi’s interactions with Marciano Brunette turned to allegations that Jessi had an affair with the Vanderpump Villa star. Keep scrolling for a breakdown of every cheating scandal — both on and off screen:
Connor’s Tinder Account
During the season 1 premiere, Connor and Whitney relocated back to Utah from place Hawaii after they previously left once Connor admitted to having a secret Tinder account to solicit NSFW images.
“He had a porn addiction for a really long time and that was something that was, obviously, really hard to overcome,” Whitney said on “The Squeeze” podcast in September 2024. “I didn’t even know that was going on.”
She continued: “When you go through something that tough and you come out the other end, man, your relationship is stronger than ever. During it sucks, but holy hell, I’m grateful for where we are now.”
After working on their marriage, Connor and Whitney, who already had two kids, expanded their family for a third time.
“It takes time and it takes a lot of work. I remember being in therapy and my therapist asked me, ‘Before we even dive into this, you need to decide is this something you want to work out or something you don’t want to work out?’” Whitney added in September 2024. “It was something I really had to sit down [and think] ‘Did I want to rebuild this trust?’ That doesn’t mean that things aren’t still triggering to me. When it is, then I’m going to work it out and just keep moving forward.”
Dakota’s Past With Jenna
Season 1 documented Taylor and Dakota’s ups and downs, which were rooted in his alleged infidelity. Dakota denied having a relationship with anyone while he was with Taylor but Mayci got on the phone with Jenna to discuss her history with Dakota.
While the first season ended on a cliffhanger, Dakota later confirmed he was still in contact with Jenna while dating Taylor. Dakota and Taylor, who share son Ever, remain off-and-on in the aftermath of the revelation about Jenna.
Demi’s Interactions With Marciano
Before filming the second season, several Mormon Wives stars filmed two episodes of Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa. Marciano quickly developed an interest in Demi — despite her marriage. Demi shut down the rumors that she was unfaithful to husband Bret with Marciano.
“Nothing happened with Marciano. At the expense of sounding rude, there wasn’t even a remote attraction to him. It sucks that women can’t be kind and friendly and even playful with men in this world without it being taken as like you’re open. I had a rock on my finger the entire time I was there,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2025. “I brought up my marriage multiple times and they were told that we were married women — so it sucks that we couldn’t just go and have a good time and that he couldn’t respect that.”
Bret appeared to clap back at Marciano’s insinuations before the season dropped by sharing a photo of him and Demi, writing via his Instagram Story, “I’m so proud of this beautiful human. She’s the most incredible woman I will ever know. The amount of nonsense she’s had to endure at the hands of disingenuous and deceitful fools is astounding. She’s conducted herself like a graceful lioness amongst a bunch of yipping hyenas.”
The Blind Submission About Bret Engemann
Mayci revealed to her Mormon Wives costars in season 2 that she received a blind item claiming Demi’s husband, Bret, was unfaithful to her. He allegedly slept with someone when Demi was out of town, which got addressed on the show.
“The truth always reveals itself. Until there is proof, I don’t give it any credit or any weight. I don’t understand why something that is not true would bother you so deeply,” Demi told Bret, to which he replied, “I need to worry less about optics.”
While cameras stopped rolling, Demi and Bret’s mics picked up a more tense conversation when they thought they were done filming.
“Are we on the same page here? You have to know deep in your core that I would never do that to you,” Bret said. “It bothers me. I want to find out who it was. I want to know who said it because I want to go after them. It pisses me off. You know I didn’t do that.”
Demi questioned Bret’s “overexplaining,” saying, “I don’t know what it is with you. Why do we keep talking about it? The way you are reacting is a little bit confusing. If I am guilty, this is how I am acting.”
Marciano’s Affair With Jessi
Vanderpump Villa has Us thinking that Marciano and Demi were the story line that would get explored further on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Imagine our surprise when Marciano appeared in the last scene of season 2 to tell Layla it wasn’t Demi they should be discussing.
“We have tried meeting up [to continue the affair],” he said. “[Her husband] Jordan doesn’t know the truth about how extensive it was. It was not just a one-time hookup thing. It was not some one night stand.”
Season 3 revealed Jessi and Marciano were involved in a two-month emotional affair before Jordan found out.
Dakota’s Confusing Connection With Taylor’s Family Friend
During season 3 of the Hulu show, Taylor caught wind of rumors that Dakota shared sexual messages with her mother Liann May’s unnamed pal. Dakota owned up to speaking with the friend via text messages and even claimed the woman sent sultry photos of herself to him. Taylor called the woman, who refused to film for the show. Dakota also wouldn’t appear on screen in the finale after no longer wanting to address the drama or the fallout of his romance with Taylor.