The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Stars Reveal How Fame Reshaped Their Faith

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives fans were captured by the Mormon traditions and drama that played out on the first season of the Hulu series. However, when Season 2 premieres in May, some of their journeys within the religion may look very different.

In exclusive interviews with Bustle, stars Taylor Frankie Paul, Jen Affleck, and Layla Taylor open up about their journey with the Mormon Church, getting candid about how fame and the show’s success have reshaped their faith.

Layla & Jen’s Surprising Journeys

Speaking at MCoBeauty’s National Dupe Day event in Salt Lake City, Layla revealed that she “stepped away from the church” and didn’t pursue her faith as much as she did a few years ago. “I'd still consider myself a member, but I don't really actively go to church,” she says. “I go here and there, but I don't practice a lot of things.”

Jen says her relationship to Mormonism “has changed in a lot of ways.” In fact, she had a revelation through a very surprising method: ketamine therapy.

“Especially after doing ketamine and going on a whole spiritual journey, I think God is so much bigger than we even realize,” she explains. “I do think that people look to religion as a safe place and something that's tangible, but it's so much bigger than us. What's most important is who you're becoming and how you treat others. I think that's what God cares about the most.”

Why Taylor Goes To Church

For her part, Taylor says that she’s “never been a super by-the-book Mormon,” which shouldn’t come as a surprise since she exposed the Mormon swinging scandal that inspired the reality show. However, she says that she still goes to church regularly to center herself.

“I go because I feel good,” she says. “Are there a lot of things I don’t agree with or don't think are true? Absolutely. In any religion, you would think that. So I honestly go for the foundation of love and family. People are like, ‘You should just go to Christianity,’ but why switch if it makes me happy?”

Despite being on a show with “Mormon” in the title, every cast member has their own standing within the church, which Layla thinks provides important perspective. “With religion, people expect you to be all in or all out, so I love that our [series] shows all of us going through our different faith journeys, and handling it the best way that we can,” she says.

The Girls’ Beauty Routines

One thing that hasn’t changed since the show premiered is the girls’ beauty routines. They haven’t taken advantage of the perks that reality TV can bring, like using glam squads. Instead, they’re turning to MCoBeauty’s affordable versions of high-end beauty products and applying it themselves.

“Having [makeup] done is scary for me, because I know my face best,” Taylor says. “I want to stay far away from anyone touching my face.”

Jen turns to the brand’s blush, arguing that “you can never have too much blush.” Meanwhile, Layla uses MCoBeauty for underpainting, a hack she learned about on TikTok. “It’s like you put the contour and the blush on super heavy and then you put foundation on top of it,” she says. “It gives it just a luminous, almost natural effect, which I think is really pretty.”