Jessi Ngatikaura and Whitney Leavitt have responded to criticism surrounding one of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ most uncomfortable moments: a game of “pregnancy roulette” that left co-star Demi Engemann visibly distressed.
The moment, which aired in episode 9 of the Disney+ reality series, took place during a girls’ trip to Arizona.
The game — a TikTok trend introduced by Layla Taylor, who suspected she might be pregnant — involved each cast member taking a pregnancy test and anonymously placing the results into a bowl to be read out loud at random.
What followed was an emotionally raw scene. Two of the tests turned out to be positive — and one of them was read aloud by Demi, who has been open on the show about her fertility struggles and endometriosis diagnosis.
The scene prompted strong reactions online, with some viewers questioning whether producers had prompted the group to play the game — and even suggesting that Layla had been “planted” to steer the moment.
However Jessi pushed back on those claims.
She told The Standard: “No, that's really not what it is. In my experience, we've never been like, told or asked to do something like that. I think that sometimes ideas will happen.
“And I think that Layla had kind of like, heard it be talked about, and was like, ‘oh, that sounds fun’. And she genuinely was late for her period, and was like, ‘I want to take one like, this would be a fun game’. And we always do stuff like that.”
Whitney added: “It was trending on TikTok.”
“It was a trend, yeah,” Jessi agreed. “So, she was like, ‘oh’, but no. I don't think any of us would ever be like, ‘Oh, they told me to do this, so I'll do it’, you know. But it was a sad moment, like, I don't think anyone expected, and it was just luck of the draw that Demi got the positive.
“Like, if she hadn't have pulled that herself, it may be wouldn't have been as traumatic, but it was just like how shook out and it was awful.”
The “pregnancy roulette” fallout wasn’t the only emotionally charged moment this season — tensions between castmates have continued both on and off screen.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Whitney said when asked if arguments spill over once filming ends.
Jessi added, “Honestly, we've had most of our drama off camera, and then we rehash it on camera. But I do feel like when cameras go down, we all kind of take like, a few weeks to like, dissipate and, like, breathe because it's so busy…. Yeah, exactly like, just do our normal lives. But we do.
“I feel like we do end up getting back together and, like, doing things and hanging out. But the problem is, if there's ever any drama, we can't let it happen, then cameras would come right back.”
And given the months-long delay between filming and release, cast members admitted it’s difficult to stay quiet online when episodes start airing.
“That's what's crazy actually,” Jessi shared. “It's so hard our lives being public.”
Whitney added: “Like even on social media, yeah, it's hard not to share”.
“Unfortunately, there are people who post things and but you know what? It's funny because a lot of people will think it's scripted for, like, drama for the show,” Jessi admitted. “And I'm like, ‘No, it's really not.’ Like,’ this is, ‘how it is.’”
“Like the CMAs thing, like, ‘no, that was real’,” Whitney explained.
Jessi continued: “That was 100% real when cameras were down, yeah. But I feel like it keeps people interested.”
While Disney+ hasn’t yet confirmed when the third season will air, the show’s first-ever reunion special is due to air next month, July 1 — and fans can expect plenty more unresolved tension to surface although Demi will be absent.
As Jessi put it, “If we’re being talked about, it’s good… but it can be exhausting.”
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season one and two are available to stream now on Disney +
