The cast of 'Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' swears they're not all swingers

The cast of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives wants the audience to know that not all of them are swingers.

Exclusively in conversation with We weeklySeveral wives wanted to make it clear to the public that the biggest misconception about Mormons – and more broadly, MomTok – is that they are all swingers.

“We are not all swingers,” Whitney Leavitt exclusively told Usaddressing the June 2022 swinger scandal involving a co-star Taylor Frankie Paul and her subsequent divorce from her husband Tate PaulHowever, Whitney, 31, noted that the scandal “actually didn't affect her at all” after the news broke.

“I think it would be different if I had actually been involved in it, but I wasn't, so I just took the influence from it,” Whitney said Usand added that the scandal “didn't affect me as negatively as it did others.” In the same interview, Mayci Neely agreed, “We're not all swingers,” adding, “You can be Mormon and still wear a crop top and leggings.”

“You don’t have to be perfect,” said Mayci, 29, Us“You don't have to be the stereotypical Mormon that people think we should all be.”

Taylor, 30, announced via TikTok in June 2022 that she and Tate had filed for divorce after engaging in “soft swinging” with other couples in their MomTok group. In her confession, Taylor admitted that she had taken it too far with one of the other husbands. She later called the situation the “tip of the iceberg” regarding her split from Tate, citing “many other issues” in their relationship.

“I guess I'm pretty well known for my headlines as a swinger mom,” Taylor said exclusively Us“I mean, the arrest was unfortunately another big [thing] all over the internet. I would say those things are pretty negative.” (Taylor was arrested for domestic violence in February 2023 and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault six months later.)

While The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives introduced Taylor to a new audience, she said Us that the swinger scandal is not something she wants to “make known to the rest of the world.” [her] Life.”

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“For the show, I really wanted them to see more of me and my personality, on a deeper level,” she said. “I feel like I come across very differently online than I actually am in a conversation. So I felt like this was my chance to tell my story and get a deeper insight into my personality.”

Actors Demi Engemann also said Us that the biggest misconception about MomTok is that “we are all swingers,” but despite the condemnation from others, she doesn’t blame Taylor for bringing this “soft swinger” lifestyle to light.

“[Taylor] “I owned everything,” said Demi, 30. “That's what I always come back to. It says a lot about someone who is able to own their things.”

For her part, Layla Taylor shared similar compassion for Taylor's struggle and explained how she was able to put the scandal behind her. “I just had to remind myself that we are all human and we make mistakes,” said 23-year-old Layla. Us Taylor is “going through a very difficult time in her life and I can't imagine the whole world finding out about her scandal at the same time as we do.”

“It was a very difficult situation and it's so public what she had to go through and I think she handled it as best as she could,” Layla noted. “I just forgive her because she handled it the best way she could in that moment.”

In another interview with Us, Mormon women Stars Jennifer Affleck And Mikayla Matthews agreed with her colleagues about the “swinging” misconceptions, but Mikayla, 24, also wanted to note a “general” misconception about MomTok as a whole.

“We are not all just this perfect united front,” she said Us“I feel like on social media, everyone thinks, 'Oh, there are these eight faces on the screen and they're all wearing the same outfit. They look uniform, they look one-size-fits-all,' and our show kind of reduces all that, that whole perception. We're normal, I guess.”

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is now streaming on Hulu.

With report by Christina Garibaldi