In the third episode of the new season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” Jessi Ngatikaura asks the Utah police officers who come to her blowout Halloween party if they’ve seen the show they are in the middle of filming.
It’s a fair question, if not a bit ironic in the moment. The show has become a lightning rod for discussion around cultural representation of Utah and its predominant faith. It even prompted The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to issue a rare commentary ahead of the release of the first season of the show, decrying Hollywood stereotypes of the faith.
Yet, when those unfamiliar with Utah think of the state, the MomTok wives — and other pop-culture depictions often stemming from social media platforms like TikTok — color their understanding of Utah’s culture.
(Natalie Cass | Disney) The cast for season two of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" which follows Utah #MomTok influencers pose at Provisions, a restaurant in Millcreek. From left to right: Jennifer Affleck, Miranda McWhorter, Layla Taylor, Demi Engemann, Mayci Neeley, Jessi Ngatikaura, Mikayla Matthews, Whitney Leavitt and Taylor Frankie Paul.
As viewers take in the explosive second season, two of the MomTok moms, Layla Taylor and Miranda McWhorter, chatted with The Salt Lake Tribune.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
A lot of how MomTok started was this idea of challenging the norms in culture in Utah, especially norms that LDS women might face. How did you guys each do that in season two?
McWhorter: “For starters, Layla and I are both single moms. We are the breadwinner for our family ... as mothers and working moms, especially, it’s a lot to navigate to kind of now be the head of our own household. With not having a priesthood holder in the home.”
Taylor: “Just showing women kind of doing the damn thing. I feel like that’s what we’re kind of showing on the show ... it’s really refreshing and good, especially in the state of Utah, kind of normalizing that.”
How does it feel to be providing for your families and changing this norm of what is expected in Utah?
Taylor: “This is a really lucrative business that we’re in and it’s changed a lot of our lives. For me and Miranda, especially, being able to provide for our babies and give them a really, really good life is amazing.”
McWhorter: “Two things can be true at once, right? You can be a present mother and have that be your priority, but you can also be a working mom as well, and you can be there for your children in both ways and show up in both ways.”
Do you have any response to those who might still be just passing this off as a reality TV show that doesn’t represent the LDS faith?
Taylor: “We’re not trying to say that this is what Mormons are. We’re trying to say that this is individual people’s journey within the faith, and we’re not trying to generalize it. We’re not trying to say, ‘go out and party and go to bars’ and we’re just showing that we all go through individual things.”
“We have Mormon upbringings, and maybe some girls are still active in this group, but yeah, we’re just trying to share where we’re at individually ... There’s so much more depth to each one of us besides just being members of the church. So hopefully more seasons come out, and more context comes out, and people are able to learn [there’s] more to us besides just Mormon wives.”
