Everything You Need to Know Before Watching “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” : the Unofficial Timeline

“Wait, who’s pregnant? Why does that one keep changing hair colors? They were famous when? Am I supposed to believe they are really Mormon? I’m so confused!” You are not alone if you say any of these things while watching The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Hulu. If you feel like you’re missing some things and may have been distracted in 2020 and are not an avid #MomTok follower, let me give you all the information you need to know about the downfall of #MomTok and what prompted this new and obsessive reality TV series. So grab your 42 oz. Diet soda with heavy cream, and let’s review the key facts and information.

NO SPOILERS! 

These beautifully balayage-d women appeared on our TV screens on September 6, 2024, all thanks to Taylor Frankie Paul and her soft-swinging scandal. Taylor is the creator of #MomTok, and her controversy prompted this reality show. Let’s return to episode 1 and find out why all the other moms were so mad at her. 

Taylor started on TikTok as the wife of Tate Paul, often filming with her two former best friends (who did not want to be on the show), Camille and Miranda. Taylor’s life started gaining more popularity when, in May of 2022, she posted a TikTok saying she and Tate were getting divorced. In her original video, she does not address why, and rumors begin to fly. Some people started unfollowing her, and the rumor that she stole someone’s husband has gained the most traction. This prompts the now infamous TikTok live… 

Taylor goes on TikTok live and says she and Tate were in an open relationship and had been “soft-swinging” with two other couples in the #MomTok group. 

One phrase that needs to be defined is “soft-swinging.” while this has many definitions, Taylor explains it as doing everything except penetrative sex. To Taylor and Tate, this isn’t your classic swinging because they never swapped partners; they would both be in the same room and be in front of each other; therefore, they never actually switched partners.  

Taylor goes on to say she and Tate stumbled into the soft-swinging group. One night, they were hanging out after a party with her BFF Miranda and then-husband Chase, and the husbands dared the two girls to make out. They did, and as you have heard, they became committed to soft-swinging. Suddenly, a third couple enters the group, Tate’s friend Brayden and his wife, Mckenna. But as usual, three becomes a crowd, and the casual soft-swinging swings out of control. 

One day, Chase (Miranda’s husband) goes to Taylor at the gym and tells her he has feelings for her. She then goes home to tell her husband, Tate and calls the third couple’s wife, Mckenna, who then tells Miranda. Miranda tries to call Taylor and ask if she needs to know anything, but Taylor denies it all, as she is her best friend and doesn’t feel that way about Chase. 

To clear the air, all three couples have their own party and try to work it out. However, at this party, Taylor holds up in the corner with Brayden, Mckenna’s husband. Chase sees this and gets jealous, so he and Tate go over to ask what is happening. Unbeknownst to them, Taylor has been feeling incredibly awkward all night while lying to her best friend. Her husband is mad at her, and she realizes she is having an emotional affair with Brayden, and nobody knows. She later admits that she has been doing shots all night and leaves for a friend’s house without explaining anything. 

Brayden, Chase, and Tate call her repeatedly, trying to figure out where she has disappeared. Mckenna then asks her husband Brayden to pick up Taylor because she wants to get with her and Tate that night. While Brayden does go pick up Taylor they do not go back to their spouses, instead they break the no penetration rule and have sex that very night. This has also become a topic of controversy as Taylor was so drunk that she has no recollection of what went on that night but does not say she was sexually assaulted and just “knew” she had sex that night with someone who wasn’t her husband. 

The next morning, Tate comes and picks Taylor up, who once again denies the entire story but eventually comes clean the same day. This is the same day when Tate and Taylor decide to get divorced. While Taylor is heartbroken about the end of her marriage, her best friend Miranda says she will stay by her side until Tate calls Miranda and explains that Taylor has lied to her and never admitted to Chase telling her he had feelings for her. This is the day Taylor repeatedly claims was “the day I lost everyone,” and rightfully so. But the story isn’t over yet. 

Now, we circle back to the TikTok live. According to Taylor, the live was not meant to slander any of the involved parties but rather to clear her name as she was constantly being called the friend who would steal your husband. To this day, she says she does not regret the live; however, she regrets how she went about it and how unexpectedly it blew up. 

Since then, all the couples involved in the soft-swinging have broken up, even an unnamed fourth couple who would come only to watch. Taylor and Brayden did have a relationship, but it was only for a short period, as they were the only people they had left in their respective lives. 

Taylor’s two original best friends, Camille and Miranda, were asked to be on the Hulu show, but they refused to be there if Taylor was there, so instead, we got the dramatic cast, who we’ve all grown to love—or hate, in the case of Whitney, Zac, and Dakota. Now, will they show up in season 2 if Whitney decides to leave? We don’t know, but one can only hope.