The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives didn’t just tackle Marciano Brunette and Demi Engemann’s alleged romantic connection — it also sparked a brand new revelation about an alleged affair with Jessi Ngatikaura.
The drama actually began on one other Hulu show — Vanderpump Villa — when Demi, Jessi, Jen Affleck, Layla Taylor and Mikayla Matthews were guests on season 2 of Lisa Vanderpump’s series
During their stint in Italy, Marciano insinuated that his reference to Demi prolonged beyond the footage that made it into the show. (What did make it into the show was an emotional conversation between the pair that ended with Marciano kissing Demi on the cheek.) Demi, nevertheless, shut down the rumors that she was unfaithful to husband Bret Engemann with Marciano.
“Nothing happened with Marciano. On the expense of sounding rude, there wasn’t even a distant attraction to him. It sucks that ladies can’t be kind and friendly and even playful with men on this world without it being taken as such as you’re open. I had a rock on my finger your complete time I used to be there,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in May. “I brought up my marriage multiple times and so they were told that we were married women — so it sucks that we couldn’t just go and have a great time and that he couldn’t respect that.”
Marciano remained tight-lipped about his relationship with Demi throughout the season 2 reunion of Vanderpump Villa, which aired in May 2025. He then hinted that the reality would come out on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives so imagine Us‘ surprise when the season 2 finale featured an appearance from Marciano — who revealed it was actually Jessi that he had an intimate relationship with when cameras weren’t rolling. (Jessi is married to Jordan Ngatikaura.)
“One thing led to a different. Oh, greater than [us making out],” he claimed to Layla. “As soon as I saw her, she jumps into my arms and wraps her legs around my waist. I assumed we were cool within the Villa but then she was extremely forward.”
Jessi previously denied anonymous fan rumors that she was “publicly” making out with Marciano at TomTom, which serves as a crossover into Vanderpump Rules for Bravo viewers.
Keep scrolling for a timeline breakdown of the alleged affair and more details about what was said off screen:
The Key Players
Vanderpump Villa, which premiered on Hulu in April 2024, introduced Us to Marciano, who was initially known as the brand new Jax Taylor resulting from his messy relationship with now-ex-girlfriend Hannah Fouch. He remained within the Bravo sphere with a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo on Vanderpump Rules, which was an extension of his friendship with Scheana Shay.
Demi and Jessi, meanwhile, were the foremost forged members on season 1 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which premiered in September 2024. The Hulu series offered a glimpse at Demi’s marriage to Brett following her divorce from ex Blake Corbin. As for Jessi, she tied the knot with Jordan after previously being married to another person.
The Gist
In April 2025, Vanderpump Villa showed the Mormon Wives forged visiting Lisa’s Castello Rosato. As soon as they met, Marciano found himself drawn to Demi “not only physically” but emotionally.
“Demi taught me to live with that intent and the correct partner is on the market,” Marciano told the cameras after knowing Demi for 2 days. “I knew if I didn’t say goodbye to her, I’d regret it.”
Demi didn’t appear to be on the identical page. “The deepest and most successful marriages are faced with, ‘Where can we go from here?’ It’s all about how you’re employed through on that together,” Demi, who’s 16 years younger than Bret, said about her marriage. “We’ve got passed through a lot growth and nothing scares him away. Nobody has made me think this manner about it. This is sweet for me.”
Demi did admit she “almost divorced” her husband “27 times” resulting from their age difference. But she was pleased with the progress they made. In one other confessional, Marciano told producers he definitely planned to stay involved with Demi.
While speaking exclusively to Us Weekly about where they stand now, he teased in April 2025, “You possibly can see that all the pieces was very authentic and really real. If it transitioned into anything after [filming], you’ll just should wait and see.”
Marciano elaborated on that throughout the Vanderpump Villa reunion special.
“There was a rumor that got here out that we connected at TomTom. Demi and I had a really strong attraction within the castle that led to something outside of the castle,” he claimed within the May 2025 episode of the show. “It wasn’t just Demi. It wasn’t just Demi I used to be concerned about.”
Hannah fired back that Marciano was also concerned about Demi’s “best friend” and that’s when he really helpful viewers discover the entire story when season 2 of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered on Hulu later that month.
The Vanderpump Villa forged reunited to handle the season’s biggest drama but as a substitute there was a surprising forged absence and shocking revelations about offscreen hookups — including with some Mormon Wives. After the second season premiered in April, Hulu released a special episode that reunited the forged with Lisa Vanderpump and Stassi Schroeder hosting the […]
Why It’s a Big Deal
Well, there’s several marriages being questioned. Bret appeared to clap back at Marciano’s insinuations before the season dropped by sharing a photograph of him and Demi, writing via his Instagram Story, “I’m so pleased with this beautiful human. She’s essentially the most incredible woman I’ll ever know. The quantity of nonsense she’s needed to endure by the hands of disingenuous and deceitful fools is astounding. She’s conducted herself like a graceful lioness amongst a bunch of yipping hyenas.”
During an interview with Us, Demi elaborated on the misinformation about her personal life.
“That [experience] was a whirlwind and a lot went into that. My husband and I had actually been in Italy for 10 days prior to jumping over and filming for Vanderpump Villa. So we had one of the best time ever [before that],” she shared in May 2025. “I used to be actually apprehensive about going into filming Vanderpump Villa. My husband was actually the one which was pushing for me to go and we truthfully didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into.”
Demi clarified that her and Bret are “solid” despite the speculation.
“We’re good. I communicate with him and I’m honest to a fault. So every step of the best way, I’ve communicated from jumping out of Vanderpump Villa, going back to the hotel and Bret was the primary person I called and just laid all the pieces out — the entire experience,” she recalled. “More will come from that. There’s a variety of things behind the scenes, so far as how I used to be mistreated and the way that situation was handled.”
On the time, Demi admitted she didn’t feel supported by her costars. “Quite a lot of the ladies [on my show] and now Marciano jump on the train of taking things out of context. To me, it’s completely a clout tactic in my mind of attempting to ride the clout and ride the wave of the success of the show and confuse people. To me, it’s manipulative and I don’t roll that way,” she added. “You’ll see that I’ve said little or no about anything that happens behind closed doors or behind the scenes or that will give anything away or conflict with the ladies.”
What People Are Saying
The situation between Demi and Marciano was briefly mentioned on season 2 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, including her denial that anything happened. There have been also claims Bret slept with someone while Demi was out of town. While they laughed off the rumor on screen, a hot mic moment caught Demi questioning whether Bret’s strong response was a touch that there was some truth to the rumor.
Later within the season, Jessi was asked whether a blind item about her and Marciano making out at TomTom. “If I used to be like dumb enough to try this, I wouldn’t do it in public,” she told her costars.
Marciano had a unique version of events when he sat down with Layla at the tip of the season, first speaking about Demi.
“After I put myself on the market, I didn’t really know what was happening because they said, ‘Oh, we have now these Mormon swingers [as guests],’” he told Layla about his initial reference to Demi. “I didn’t really know what to think. This girl Demi is de facto pretty and beautiful so I need to attempt to entertain this. Every little thing began to transpire and it happened really fast. So I didn’t understand the boundaries.”
He continued: “It was a friendly, flirtatious thing that I mistook for not the friendly part. I could be lying if I said I didn’t a minimum of try to kiss her. I caught feelings for her pretty quickly because I used to be already consumed with the fantasy that she was open. If Bret wasn’t around, would things be different? I don’t think so.”
While Layla kept asking where he stood with Demi, Marciano cryptically teased that it wasn’t Demi they ought to be discussing.
“It just isn’t even nearly Demi. It’s a rumor — that wasn’t a rumor,” he hinted before elaborating on how the blind about him and Jessi at TomTom was true. “One thing led to a different. Oh, greater than [us making out].”
Marciano claimed he had sex with Jessi — and it wasn’t a one-time arrangement.
“We’ve got tried meeting up [to continue the affair],” he said. “Jordan doesn’t know the reality about how extensive it was. It was not only a one-time hookup thing. It was not some one night stand.”
What’s Next
Season 2 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives ended with a “To Be Continued” message and extra footage from the fallout of Marciano’s claims. While he said in a voiceover that the situation is “a lot greater” than others think, Jessi’s husband, Jordan, called the rumors into query.
“That is going to be headlines. The reality all the time reveals itself,” he said while in one other scene accusing the drama of being “Demi’s doing” behind the scenes.
Jessi, meanwhile, appeared guilty Demi as well for spreading misinformation. “He knows that that is ruining my family and my life,” she shared before saying Demi was “making it up” when it got here to the affair claims.
During season 3, which premiered in November 2025, Jessi confirmed that she was involved in a two week emotional affair with Marciano amid a separation from Jordan. She claimed they only kissed before she broke it off. After opening up in regards to the emotional abuse she suffered in her marriage, Jessi and Jordan attempted to work on their issues. They ended season 3 in a hopeful place as they discussed a reconciliation.
Demi, for her part, stood by her claim that she was “sexually assaulted” by Marciano, which he has repeatedly denied. She selected to not elaborate on their interactions off screen.