The women of MomTok, the glossy-haired group of twenty-something influencers who make up the cast of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, have built an empire. The group — all current or former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — have secured book deals, brand sponsorships and spots on Dancing with the Stars. It’s no surprise, really, since Secret Lives became Hulu’s most-watched unscripted premiere of 2024, proving to be just as messy as a Real Housewives installment, with a side order of contentious theology. Think catfights, icy brunches and plastic surgery recovery scenes in between aerial shots of temples and churches.
Reality TV fans have lapped it up — but for some Latter-day Saints (their preferred term over Mormons), the series doesn’t sit well. “This is not the first time that the film and TV industry has misrepresented us, or sensationalized things in some way,” says Dallin Shumway, a 27-year-old social worker in Texas. He can see why the show has been successful: the title alludes to an assumed secrecy associated with the religion. “The angle always seems to be… these are the crazy Americans who live out West. It doesn’t really represent the life of a Latter-day Saint very clearly at all — at least if we’re talking about self-identified, practising members of the faith.”
