'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' season 2 isn't out until next year — but the drama is already heating up
Fred Hayes/Disney
- The cast of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" is stirring drama on social media ahead of season two.
- Taylor Frankie Paul is feuding with her castmates after they didn't comment on her Instagram post.
- After two years, fans are also learning more about the soft-swinging scandal involving Paul.
"The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" season one ended with two cast members potentially quitting the show and rumors of a secret affair involving its most volatile couple.
But there will likely be even more drama in season two if the cast's social media feeds are anything to go by.
After season one aired in September, The Wrap reported, citing Disney's internal data, that "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" was the most-watched unscripted season premiere on Hulu, Disney+, and Star+ — overtaking "The Kardashians" season five.
The series, which follows a group of TikTok content creators known as the Mormon MomTokers, was renewed last month for a second season with 20 episodes, instead of eight like the first.
Mormon MomTok first entered the spotlight in May 2022 over a so-called soft-swinging scandal. Taylor Frankie Paul, a member of the group, said on TikTok that she, her former husband, and other couples in Salt Lake City had swapped sexual partners without having penetrative sex.
Paul said she and her husband were getting divorced because she had an affair with one of the members of the group. Fans speculated that other members of Mormon MomTok were involved, but Paul was the only person who said she was a part of it on social media.
The scandal helped Paul and her fellow Mormon MomTok creators land their own show, but season one did not reveal more details about the situation.
The soft-swinging scandal is ramping up again
On Sunday, Makenna Gibbons, who did not appear on "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" but was rumored to be a soft-swinger, shared a five-part video on TikTok and Instagram in which she said she was part of the group.
Gibbons said she felt "ashamed" after the second night of soft-swinging and told her now ex-husband and one of the other couples that she didn't want to continue.
Gibbons didn't initially identify Paul and her ex-husband as the couple until after Paul released a rebuttal TikTok video on Sunday.
Gibbons said that one night after a big confrontation with the group, Gibbons' ex went to check on Paul. The next day, she said another couple told her that Paul had sex with Gibbons' ex that night.
She also said Paul's husband told her that his wife and Gibbons' ex had been sneaking to Home Depot "for some time now" to kiss and planned to leave their spouses. Gibbons said she divorced her husband after finding out about this.
In Paul's rebuttal video, she shared clips of her kissing Gibbons and a screenshot of a text message from Gibbons saying she wanted to kiss Paul.
@taylorfrankiepaul Well she deserves an acting award. The amount of times SHE wanted to play.
♬ Bulletproof - La Roux
"She never asked to stop, she was one of the instigators, and sent her husband to get me, but tell your side sis," Paul wrote on the video.
Gibbons said in a TikTok video on Tuesday that her ex-husband sent the text to Paul, and she had previously told Paul about the incident. She also said the kissing video was a "flirty naughty little thing" that they did for their husbands while they were drunk and was separate from the swinging.
@kenna.gibbons Just so we’re clear, she knew who the text came from, per our conversation. Also, interesting that she knew I was having moral anxiety about the swinging. Why would I come on here to try and hide from anything? I never denied my actions in ANY of it, in fact I said I DID participate. I will continue to take responsibility for MY actions and decisions, how they were wrong, and how they opened up a mess I wasn’t prepared for. However, I refuse to be the scapegoat for their affair. At the end of the day, wrong is wrong, no matter how easy the opportunity is.
♬ original sound - Kenna
On the same day, Paul posted another TikTok video in which she doubled down on her claim that Gibbons never wanted to stop swinging.
"My ex brought us together and said he wants to stop," Paul said.
Gibbons did not respond to a comment request from Business Insider. Gibbons didn't name her ex-husband in her videos, but fans speculate that she was married to a man named Brayden Rowley. Rowley did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
Paul is arguing with other cast members too
Whitney Leavitt clashed the most with the other cast members in season one, but Paul seems to be stirring the most trouble ahead of season two.
Last month, it was rumored that Paul had broken up with her boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. They haven't denied the rumors but have appeared on each other's social media pages in recent weeks.
On Sunday, Mortensen posted a cryptic TikTok video saying he would start "telling my truth and showing my receipts." The video used the same song, "Bulletproof" by La Roux, in the background as Paul's response to Gibbons, which could indicate he's about to weigh in on that drama too.
@dakotamortensen My turn?
♬ Bulletproof - La Roux
Last week, Paul shared an Instagram story in which she called out her castmates for not commenting on her social media posts about attending this year's Country Music Awards, which were held on 21 November.
Jessi Ngatikaura hit back in the comment section of Paul's post, saying she had congratulated Paul in other ways, including texting her on the day.
"Shiiit I forgot to comment even though I'm on vacation with my family and trying not to scroll too much ???? I'm the worst friend!! Forgive me queen Taylor, I'll bow down now," Ngatikaura said.
Other cast members responded with what appeared to be sarcastic flattery in Paul's comment section and mocking her in TikTok videos. Paul has posted follow-up TikTok videos, implying she is not standing down from this fight.