The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Demi Engemann finally addressed the rumors that she met husband Bret Engemann when she was 9 — and he was 25.
During an Instagram Q&A on Sunday, June 8, Demi, 30, was asked whether it was true that Bret, 46, has known her since she was “a child,” to which she replied, “I’ve made a couple satire TikTok’s about this and people are concerned … for good reason. Oops.”
Demi clarified that the story was misconstrued. “We met for the first time at our mutual friends funeral when I was 22,” she noted. “I had heard of him but he didn’t know I existed before then.”
The couple were introduced to Us on season 1 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. When the show premiered in September 2024, Demi and Bret faced judgment regarding their 16-year age gap.
Secret Life of Mormon Wives’ Demi and Husband Bret’s Relationship Timeline
“So if you don’t know, my husband and I are 16 years apart and I knew him through a family friend growing up,” Demi explained in a February 2023 TikTok video. “He was so much older than me. When I was 9 years old, he was married to his first wife and having babies.”
Bret was previously married to The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City alum Angie Harrington, with whom he shares two sons. Demi, meanwhile, was previously married to Blake Corbin and welcomed daughter Maude.
Demi had a crush on her now-husband when she was younger, and the pair reconnected later in life as friends.
“He was very sweet and supportive and just offered his help in any way that he could with both Blake and I [amid our divorce],” Demi recalled. “We meet up a couple weeks later. At this point, I’m in no position to get in a relationship. I’m just looking for someone to talk me through a divorce, [someone] that had been through it.”
The couple’s connection eventually progressed, with Demi adding, “Out of respect for my ex-husband and the divorce not being finalized, we waited to go on any official date so we were kind of hanging out and keeping it casual while trying to figure out my new situation with my ex-husband and coparenting.”
She concluded: “I definitely needed to date other people and just be alone to figure out my new normal. I went crawling back to Bret, begging him to take me back. We got back together, we dated for about 10 months before getting engaged.”
Season 2 of the hit Hulu series looked a little different for the duo after Demi met Marciano Brunette while filming several episodes of Vanderpump Villa. Marciano even alluded to developing feelings for Demi that were addressed off screen.
How Many Cheating Scandals Were Explored on ‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’?
Demi and Bret both shut down Marciano’s claims that she was unfaithful. On camera, meanwhile, Bret was accused of sleeping with someone else when Demi was out of town.
“The truth always reveals itself. Until there is proof, I don’t give it any credit or any weight. I don’t understand why something that is not true would bother you so deeply,” Demi told Bret in a May episode of Mormon Wives, to which he replied, “I need to worry less about optics.”
Demi and Bret’s mics picked up a more tense conversation when they thought they were done filming.
“Are we on the same page here? You have to know deep in your core that I would never do that to you,” Bret said. “It bothers me. I want to find out who it was. I want to know who said it because I want to go after them. It pisses me off. You know I didn’t do that.”
Demi questioned Bret’s “overexplaining,” adding, “I don’t know what it is with you. Why do we keep talking about it? The way you are reacting is a little bit confusing. If I am guilty, this is how I am acting.”
