The Story Behind 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives'

When TikTok mom influencer Taylor Frankie Paul went viral in 2022 after revealing that she and her now ex-husband Tate were “soft-swinging” with other Mormon couples in Utah, their lives and their friends' lives made national headlines and prompted widespread speculation about who was involved.

A new reality TV series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, out on Hulu Sep. 6, is all about how Paul and a group of her Mormon TikTok star friends—all moms in Utah—are trying to move past the scandal.

What to know about the Mormon swinging scandal

Since 2021, the women—known collectively as #MomTok on TikTok—have become known for dancing in a V formation, while decked out in athleisure attire and toting the giant Stanley Cups.

That wholesome image is partly why revelations about “soft swinging” were so shocking. (Paul called it “soft swinging” to note that couples were not having penetrative sex with each other.) That led to extensive Reddit threads speculating about who the Mormon swingers were. Tate removed photos of her from his Instagram and several of Paul’s Mormon #MomTok friends denied that they were swingers and unfollowed her. Paul then announced via livestream that she was getting divorced and answered viewer questions in real time. She has posted openly about being in therapy and starting her life over.

What’s clear over eight episodes in this Hulu series is that while most of the group members were not swingers, many were put into a position of having to debunk rumors that they were. As the series reveals, there are still a lot of trust issues in the group, and viewers will see some friendships fall apart.

When TIME asked Paul, who boasts 4.1 million followers on TikTok, if she had any more comment about the swinging rumors, she was hesitant to talk about it for fear of identifying people who were involved. But she wanted to make it clear that she wasn’t the only one participating.

“There were a lot of fingers pointed at me, as if I was the only one to instigate and participate, and I don't know how that would even be possible,” Paul says. “I wasn’t the only one. It was a group thing. Everyone made their own decisions. We're all adults here.”

Keeping the faith

Just as Mormons go on missionary trips to spread the faith when they turn 18, some of these moms have used TikTok to educate people about their faith and culture without even having to leave home. In the Hulu series, viewers will see men gather around a baby for a traditional blessing and a prayer before eating here and there. In between TikTok dances, the women are guzzling 44-ounce sodas with a variety of added syrups—the Mormon equivalent of coffee. Other mom use the platform more to poke fun at the faith.

And while they may not be swinging in the Hulu series, the women of “Mom Tok” want to make sure that sex talk is not taboo, urging Mormon women to make their pleasure a priority during sex with their partners. In one scene, Whitney Leavitt lands a $20,000 deal with a vibrator company and is showing off the device to fellow moms. Layla Taylor, 22, reveals to Leavitt that she’s never had an orgasm, even though she was married for three years and has kids. In another episode, the moms participate in a paint ‘n’ sip hosted by a mom having a labiaplasty—painting their versions of the ideal vaginas while sipping mocktails called “the pink pussy” and “labia-licious.”

“There’s this stigma that all Mormons are supposed to live the same way or do live the same way,” Paul says. “The point of our show is that there are so many different ways of living Mormonism. It’s a spectrum.”

While many Mormons are traditional housewives, several of the moms of #MomTok stand out for being the bread-winner of the family or responsible for a critical part of their family’s income, due to the brand deals that they land through their social media accounts and millions of followers. In the series, #MomTok influencer Mayci Neeley, who has 1.3 million followers on TikTok, hosts a launch party for her brand of supplements, “Babymama” prenatal vitamin supplements for expecting moms.

These Mormon moms on TikTok are divided into the “Sinners” and the “Saints.” The “Saints” follow the Mormon religious practices more closely than the “Sinners.” The biggest drama on Secrect Lives happens during a girls trip to Las Vegas for Layla’s birthday, when the ladies pose for a group picture with scantily clad male Chippendales dancers. After, Jen Affleck, a 24-year-old cousin of Ben Affleck, gets in a huge fight with her husband, who is furious about the photo and questions her religious beliefs. They patch things up by the end of the show, but the other moms tell Jen that she shouldn’t have to put up with a husband who is so controlling.

The women hope that Mormon viewers will find someone in the how that they can relate to and feel empowered. As Neeley tells TIME, “Whether they're Mormon and they think, ‘maybe I'm not enough to be in the church because I drink,’ hopefully people can relate to us and feel like they're enough, they're worthy, or maybe be inspired. That's the goal of the show.”

Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com.