Vanderpump Villa cast member Marciano Brunette has addressed The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ star Demi Engemann’s claims that he touched her inappropriately.
During the second season of Vanderpump Villa, five SLOMW cast members, including Engemann, traveled to Italy to stay at the villa for a crossover episode of the two reality shows. It was there that Brunette confessed he was attracted to Engemann, but she instead offered relationship advice, given her marriage to Bret Engemann. She later alleged that she was groped at the Villa.
A representative for Brunette, who previously denied the allegations, told People in a new statement that he would continue to maintain his innocence.
“I want to be absolutely clear: I am taking this matter extremely seriously. This is the most difficult situation I have ever faced, and the allegations against me are not only entirely false but profoundly damaging. I remain committed to addressing this issue fully and transparently,” the statement read.
The allegations were first brought up in May when Engemann appeared on Nick Viall’s podcast, where she did not name the man who groped her at the Villa but recalled telling her SLOMW co-stars about the incident and insisting that she didn’t want to file an official police report.
Brunette then seemingly responded by posting an Instagram reel, captioned: “uninvited to the function cus a 30yo mormon wife’s scared I’ll tell her husband the truth.”
His post, which has since been deleted, was reportedly in reference to a Get Real House event hosted by Hulu on April 22, 2025, which welcomed stars from across the streamer’s reality shows, including Engemann and her co-star Whitney Leavitt, alongside The Kardashians, ex-Bachelors, and Dancing with the Stars contestants.
Brunette was notably absent.
Engemann later commented on a now-removed post from a fan account about the drama, writing: “Grown men acting like a child cause they couldn’t bag a woman that was beyond out of their league and MARRIED <<< the clout chasing is on another level.”
The interaction was later discussed during the recently released season three of SLOMW as the members of MomTok questioned whether or not Engemann and Brunette had a physical connection. Brunette told the women that he did kiss her, but Engemann claimed that any touching between the two of them was “unwanted.”
“Everyone is going to handle these kinds of situations different. You never deserve unwanted touch,” she said in a confessional in season three. “No matter what it looks like, no matter what your relationship was like before or after, unwanted touch is unwanted touch.”
The Independent has reached out to representatives for Engemann for comment.
Brunette then went on to have an emotional affair with another member of the SLOMW cast, Jessi Draper Ngatikaura, who is married to Jordan Ngatikaura.
At the time, the affair sparked a 90-day separation between the couple who have since reconciled.
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