As the drama from The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives season two continues to unfold on our FYP’s, Unglossed gets an Ex Mormon to give her two cents on the spiritual struggles faced by the girls.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2 has arguably been even more of a hit than the first, gaining a whopping five million views in the first five days. And just like the first season, the drama was intense. It gives you those “I cannot believe she just said that” moments which I fear are few and far between now people on reality TV are painfully aware of the repercussions of being disliked. Luckily for us, these Mormons don’t seem overly bothered with that. In fact Demi and Whitney have fully embraced their villain arc, making it a low key part of their personal brand.
But it’s not all arguments, swinging, and sex parties, in between the (rather unholy) activities, the girls cover some pretty deep topics. Demi opens up about her struggles with infertility, we follow Mikayla’s journey finding her voice following sexual abuse, and Jen’s relationship break down and build back up (then break again, then rebuild- you get the gist). The difference is that rather than this being represented as just part of life, they all seem to be accredited back (and sometimes at a stretch) to being Mormon. Being a mum is so important to Demi because the church says it is, Mikayla felt powerless because of traditional gender roles, and Jen is apparently only fighting for her marriage because divorce is so looked down upon. None of these give The Church of Latter Day Saints a great rep, and honestly leave viewers wondering why on earth these people still identify as Mormon with all this in mind. Maybe because a TV show following influencers without the Mormon hook is boring? It’s clear the women are desperate to make a good show- it was even revealed that Demi was prepared to have cast mate (and bestie) Jessi axed if it meant she got a bigger cut, stuff we just don’t see openly admitted, well, like ever.
Undoubtedly there is something quite comforting about the show being far from serious, but still delving head first into these deep and dark topics, without the whole thing being a sob show. You get that rollercoaster ride from crying with laughter, to being lost for words shook, to then getting choked up by the raw honesty. The girls openly admit that the show hasn’t necessarily been well received, with Jen’s husband Zac Affleck claiming to have gotten death threats following its premiere. And the sheer number of Mormons who have taken to social media to express their frustration with the show highlights the issues it has caused, with many claiming that it purposely paints Mormonism in a bad light, but the girls seem to genuinely believe that they are empowering women, so have seemingly taken the criticism in their stride. Even claiming in an interview with the BBC yesterday that the show has brought more people to the church. Unglossed has turned to ex- Mormon Ellie Shenton, for her thoughts on the newest season, to try to understand just how universal the Mom-Tok girls’ experience of Mormonism is. Check out her thoughts in the video below.
If you enjoyed this story, read: The trendification of Mormonism here.
