Will MomTok survive Season 4 of ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives?’

MomTok is back for their fourth season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives with more drama than ever. The 10 episode season sees the return of the moms including Taylor Frankie Paul, Whitney Leavitt and Jessi Draper. 

Following the release of Season 4, People announced that Season 5 of the show had halted filming following a domestic assault investigation involving Taylor. Days later it was revealed that ABC had pulled Taylor’s upcoming season of The Bachelorette following the release of a video featuring Taylor throwing a chair at her ex, Dakota Mortensen. As the situation continues to unfold, it could impact Taylor’s relationships with the group and her time on the show. 

A major plot line of Season 4 is Taylor preparing to be the lead on The Bachelorette. Taylor practices by going speed dating and meeting new men, including Too Hot To Handle’s Harry Jowsey. It is evident that Taylor is struggling with moving on from her relationship with her baby daddy, Dakota. The two are in a never ending cycle of toxicity, culminating in Taylor sleeping with Dakota the night before leaving to film The Bachelorette. 

When Taylor is not rampaging on the internet from Dakota sleeping with other women, she is learning more about her biological father. Taylor and her mother, Liann, go to Pueblo, Colorado to meet with her biological father’s best friend. The mother and daughter have a tense relationship, with Taylor feeling like her mother does not support her. However, the trip helped them reconcile and be more open to listening to each other in the future.

Former series regular, Demi Engemann, had a smaller role in the season. Following a heated reunion taping, Demi decided to stop filming and did not participate in any confessionals for the entirety of Season 4. The day after the reunion, Demi was not in attendance for one of Whitney’s events, despite Whitney being one of her only friends in MomTok. The rest of the group did not appreciate Demi coming and going when things got rough for her. This foreshadows that this could be the end of Demi appearing on the show.  

While Demi was taking a step back, DadTok was stepping into the spotlight and this season saw more of them than ever before. The dads were invited to the Vanderpump Villa in London and their decision to go upset a majority of the moms. Following the moms’ own experience when they went to the Villa, it was not surprising that they had some concerns. 

Season 4 gives some behind the scenes footage of Jen and Whitney competing on the latest season of Dancing With the Stars. As both pursue their dream of being on the show, Jen’s jealousy of Whitney grows. When Whitney is offered the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway, Jen never congratulates Whitney about her achievement. She does does not even mention it until Whitney brings it up. 

The rising tensions between the two erupt when Jen tells Whitney that she does not view her as a genuine friend. Soon after, Jen is eliminated from DWTS and goes on live saying she will not vote for Whitney. This look behind the scenes gave some insight to the issues the two had from being pitted against each other. 

Their time competing on DWTS shows the difference in Whitney’s and Jen’s support systems. When Whitney struggles with guilt of being away from her children, Connor immediately alleviates her stress, fully giving his support. However, Zac struggles with his sense of self being a stay at home dad, something he voices to Jen. 

Even during a busy schedule of practice and costume fittings for DWTS, Whitney makes time to rebuild her friendship with Mikayla, even going to support her during her stem cell treatment. The season sees Mikayla continue to struggle with her skin flare-ups, creating intimacy issues for her and her husband, Jace. The season ends with Mikayla deciding to separate from Jace in order to work on herself first.

All the girls seem to be thriving with new opportunities in the spotlight. Mayci goes on tour for her book “Told You So” while Whitney is starring in movie set to release over the holidays. Layla pursues her dream of a modeling career and meets with Ford Models. However, the modeling agency does not sign Layla and we see her struggle with self-confidence. Layla shares her challenges with an eating disorder, reflecting the authenticity that the show is applauded for.

The least problematic this season is certainly Miranda. She is never the center of the drama, and often gives mature advice to the other moms. The season shows her ex-husband, Chase (now a part of DadTok), trying to reconcile with MomTok. Not all the moms are on board with this, especially after Chase talked poorly about the group on a podcast.

In continuation from last season’s affair, Jessi continues to struggle in her marriage. Jessi learns that her prenup never had witnesses sign, making the contract void. This results in Jessi feeling conflicted about leaving the marriage and the ramifications it would have.

As for Season 4, the show tracks relationships as they rebuild and fall apart. In true MomTok fashion, the women try to support one another in their careers, but nothing is ever perfect. The biggest question going forward, especially with Taylor’s legal situation, is will MomTok survive their next season?