The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives caused a divide between Jessi Ngatikaura and Demi Engemann — but they have since sparked rumors that they are fixing their friendship.
Eagle-eyed followers noticed that Jessi, 32, and Demi, 30, are following each other on Instagram again. In fact, Demi has made an effort to refollow several of her costars — including Jen Affleck and Taylor Frankie Paul — after she being on the outs with nearly everyone in the cast except Whitney Leavitt and Miranda McWhorter.
When The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered in September 2024, Demi was close with almost everyone on the show. Outside of a falling out with Whitney (Whitney’s exit from MomTok left all her friendships fractured), Demi started off season 2 on good terms with her friend group.
Season 2 took a turn for Demi after Jessi brought up their offscreen argument over their compensation for the show. It got worse when Taylor, 30, revealed to Jessi on the show that Demi allegedly insulted her salon JZ Styles. By the time season 2 came to an end, Demi’s future with MomTok remained unclear amid speculation that she was romantically involved with Vanderpump Villa‘s Marciano Brunette.
‘Vanderpump Villa’ Star Marciano’s Alleged ‘Mormon Wives’ Affairs Explained
Lisa Vanderpump‘s Hulu series premiered weeks before The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives returned to the same streaming network in May. Season 2 of Vanderpump Villa showed Marciano becoming smitten with Demi. They ended the season on good terms, but Demi has since called out Marciano for perpetuating rumors that she was unfaithful.
“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. “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.”
Marciano made a cameo on season 2 of Mormon Wives — but instead of discussing Demi he claimed Jessi was the one he had an alleged affair with off screen.
“We have tried meeting up [to continue the affair],” he claimed. “[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.”
How Many Cheating Scandals Were Explored on ‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’?
Jessi, however, denied Marciano’s version of events. “That was definitely a hard watch. We are continuing filming, so you guys will see this story unfold,” she told Bustle in an interview published on Thursday, May 22. “I would say that viewers can look forward to me being very vulnerable and going behind the curtain of my real life and marriage.”
Jessi clarified that there was more to the story, adding, “I will say that it’s not what he made it sound [like]. What he said was not accurate. I wish I could speak now. Honestly, yeah, he’s a piece of s***.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is currently streaming on Hulu.
