'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives': The Scandals, Broken Relationships, and Reactions to the Disney+ Series

From allegations of infidelity to wife-swapping scandals, the TV series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives offers a version of Mormon life that's far removed from the public's traditional perception.

Set in the suburban area of ​​the US state of Utah, the reality show follows a group of Mormon women, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are known.

Most of them rose to fame on TikTok, and became known as MomTok influencers.

They face scandals, marital breakups and conflicts of all kinds, involving everything from business ventures to party invitations.

But behind the sensationalist script lies a more complex story about the dynamics developing in a very tight and cohesive community.

The Mormon moms have been producing content online for five years, but they say the concept of reality TV still feels very new to them.

"I've heard that after a while people learn to play the reality TV game, but that's not the case for us yet," contestant Jessi Ngatikaura told the BBC.

"We're still trying to figure it out. So you're seeing the real version of us."

What started as a hobby has become a job. And the women openly talk on the show about the amount of money they make from the reality show and their contracts with product brands.

"This is definitely our job now, but we chose it and could walk away at any time if we didn't want to be involved," says Ngatikaura.

Another contestant, Whitney Leavitt, explains that "the natural dynamic will change when there's more money and family involved and some people start to get really competitive." But she assures that the group members are still friends off-camera.

Throughout the two seasons of the series, Ngatikaura and Leavitt have faced real challenges. Leavitt is presented as a villain in the first season and, at the end of the second, Ngatikaura supposedly has an affair.

The duo speaks candidly about the impact of having their lives watched and commented on by millions of people around the world.

Leavitt says, "It was hard to accept the fact that we have no control over the narrative and you never really get over it. But you have to accept it and move on."

As the show follows the lives of the nine friends, it's easy to see how some of them can create more drama for themselves and secure more screen time.

But Ngatikaura argues that this is not the case. According to her, no one "exaggerates, but of course the emotions are intense".

"We're actually shooting four or five days a week, so we don't know what the final edit will look like."

Ngatikaura claims that her explosive Halloween party shown on the show was not fabricated by the producers. There is simply "so much drama naturally, that we don't need to create new ones, just for the show."

'A lot of resentment'

Given the intensity of the drama and the demands of filming, assistance for the reality show participants is essential. And both women interviewed praise the producers for their standards of care and attention.

"There are always therapists available. At first I wondered why [contestants] Taylor [Frankie Paul] and Jen [Affleck] were in therapy all the time, and now I'm doing five or six hours a week," Ngatikaura says.

"I've found it's useful even when you're not facing difficulties."

Leavitt also made use of the accompaniment during the first season, after she was introduced as the series' villain.

"Being the villain took a toll on me," she says. "I was angry, I had a lot of resentment, and it was really sad."

"There were a lot of overwhelming emotions for me, but I was proud that instead of running away, I stayed and had those serious conversations that I didn't want to have."

Leavitt was part of the MomToks group that was the subject of a public revelation made by participant Taylor Frankie Paul, about the alleged practice of "swapping couples" in the group.

She denies the accusation, which ended up shaking the friendship between the two women.

The show's open discussions of sex, marital issues and alcohol consumption drew negative reactions from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"When the first trailer came out, there was some backlash from the church," Leavitt says, "because they were scared. But really, we're showing how we live the Mormon life, and each of us lives it differently."

Ngatikaura highlights that the series shows that "we are all normal girls in our everyday lives, not people who wear bonnets and churn butter, as you might think."

The interviewees say that the church ended up accepting the series and that they are encouraging young women to analyze their faith differently.

“We definitely influence people to question their faith, dive deeper into it or be more honest about it,” Ngatikaura says. “And I’ve had people message me saying they joined the church because of me.”

Religion does indeed play an important role in the lives of these women. But they quickly tell me that they are not the face of Mormonism.

"There are Mormons who are still upset about this, but we are just showing our version of the church."

"And I find it empowering. I hope people can identify with our stories and struggles."

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives series is available in Brazil on Disney+.