The new Hulu reality show, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” follows the lives of eight women: Taylor Frankie Paul, Jessi Ngatikaura, Mikayla Matthews, Jen Affleck, Whitney Leavitt, Demi Engemann, Mayci Neeley, and Layla Taylor, along with their families. This group of friends attained considerable popularity on TikTok towards the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, popularizing the #MomTok hashtag as they posted relatable content catered to parents a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which then quickly spread to a wider audience of people interested in their day-to-day lives.

Although the show was picked up because of its stars’ numerous arguments and scandals, the show at its core is about empowering women—especially Mormon women. Neeley described her group as “a bunch of women fighting the patriarchy” as they dealt with breaking away from religious norms and traditional values where the women are expected to obey their husbands.

The eight girls give a lot of nuances to how Mormonism is constantly changing, and how no two people have the same constraints. While Affleck and Leavitt take on a more conventional Mormon life, others like Ngatikuara and Engemann pride themselves on taking a more modern approach to what being a Mormon woman means.

Although it is educational, the eight total episodes are nothing short of entertaining. The audience gets a closer look at Paul’s infamous swinging scandal, along with wives hating other husbands, and a full oust of Leavitt as she moves away to a homestead life after finding out she is pregnant again. Suha Ibrahim ‘26 explained, “My jaw dropped every five minutes, [it was] just one plot twist after another.”

The effects of the show shone through on social media after fans started trying their iconic soda shop, Swig. Mormonism prohibits the consumption of coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages, so they use flavored sodas as their “vice”. Many are eager to try these specialty sodas, especially after a Chicago-based cookie shop, Crave Cookies, modeled their soda shop section after Swig.

Less than one month after the release of the show, the girls announced on Instagram that a second season has already begun filming and will be on Hulu in the spring of 2025. Fans are eager to see what will happen next, as the season ended with a friendship breakup between the girls and Paul giving birth to her third child out of wedlock. Although fans don’t yet know what the next season will hold, we do know that we are in for a wild ride.