‘Mormon Wives’ Stars Shocked By Success: MomTok Will Survive!

When the inaugural season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” was released on Hulu in September, the cast had no idea how fast it would rise to popularity and that they would be returning for a second season so soon!

The show that follows the lives of a group of Utah Mormon moms – Taylor Frankie Paul, Whitney Leavitt, Layla Taylor, Demi Engemann, Mayci Neeley, Jennifer Affleck, Jessi Ngatikaura, and Mikayla Matthews – grabbed so much attention during the first season that a second season is already filming, meaning fans don’t have too much longer to wait for new episodes.

Two of the show’s stars, Taylor Frankie Paul and Whitney Leavitt, recently shared their thoughts on how fast the show took off and gave a little insight into what fans can expect in the second season.

Paul recently chatted with PEOPLE about how her life has changed since the Hulu reality show’s debut in early September.

“I feel at a loss for words sometimes. I just didn’t expect the show to do as well as it did,” she said. “I also didn’t expect another season and for it to be approved so fast. I’m obviously so happy and grateful, but it’s just so surprising. You never know.”

Paul told PEOPLE that she remembers thinking that the show “will do okay.”

“I remember thinking, ‘This will do okay. It should do well, given that we all have a story that people haven’t heard about, and all of us do have a following,'” she said. “I didn’t know the extent of how well it was going to do, so it was shocking as it happened.”

Not being used to filming the way the show did, Paul called the experience “cool” and said “you do see yourself in a different way you normally aren’t used to.”

For Leavitt, who was labeled the villain of season 1 by many fans, she felt that filming the show was “a little bit like therapy” because she was working through some personal issue.

Being recognized by fans while out and about was something the cast had to learn to get used to and quickly.

“I’m still adjusting because it happened so quickly, but I love it when people come up and say hi and ask for a picture,” Leavitt told PEOPLE. “I had one kid, one college kid had me sign his BYU ID and that was probably the coolest thing ever. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, for sure. I’ll sign your BYU ID.'”

Paul added, “And then the people that are in your messages reaching out, just unexpected people that you have fangirled over, we’ve all fangirled over. So that was really cool to see. And sometimes I just forget that people are out there watching it. It’s a nationwide thing. To this day, I still don’t think I even realize it, to be honest.”

And while both Paul and Leavitt said they were surprised at how popular the show quickly became; they are excited and ready for what’s to come in season 2.

“I don’t think any of us thought that it was going to be as big as it is and it’s going to continue to be,” Leavitt said. “It was something that we all wanted to do and we’re so grateful with how big it actually got and how big I know it’s going to just get even bigger from here. That was my biggest surprise, a thousand percent.”

Leavitt shared that the second season will have lots of conversations and confessionals. She even called it all, “therapeutic.”

Don’t have Hulu and want to see what all the MomTok buzz is about? The show will be making its broadcast debut on ABC on January 27, 2025.

The reality show will be part of ABC’s Winter Programming Line-Up and will air each of the first season’s eight episodes on Monday nights at 10 p.m. ET beginning on January 27.

The second season, currently filming, will be released on Hulu in spring 2025.

While many content creators on TikTok share the ongoing drama between the MomTok moms, Stephanie Tleiji tries to keep everyone updated on all the Mormon mom drama with regular updates.

A recent TikTok video shares some new updates about the moms and the drama that seems to follow them. She started off talking about a recent cast trip.

“Looks like some of MomTok is on a little cast trip right now in New Orleans,” she said as she showed a photos of some of the moms. “It seems like Taylor Frankie Paul and Jen Affleck are not on the cast trip.”

She then talked about Affleck and what’s going on with her in regard to season 2.

“I did have someone message me saying Jen signed a contract for five seasons, she can’t be done with the show, coming from a credible source. She did tell me who the source is, but I cannot tell you guys because they asked me not to,” she continued. “But if the source is the source they’re saying, then yes, it’s credible.”

If fans were missing the show after binging season 1, all they need to do is check out the girls’ social media pages.  That seems to be where the drama lives while they are busy filming season 2.

Paul, who was a presenter on the recent CMAs, called out her fellow “Mormon Wives” stars online when it appeared they ignored her social media posts about her big moment. Not long after that drama erupted, one of the women involved in Paul’s soft swinging controversy decided to share her side of the story in a multi-part TikTok series, which led to more drama.

And then there was some back-and-forth online accusations and heated words between Paul and co-star Demi Engemann that went on for days.

So, if you’ve binged the show and can’t wait for new episodes, be sure to watch MomTok on their TikTok and Instagram pages.

The first season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is currently streaming on Hulu. Season 2 will be released in spring 2025.