Spoilers for seasons one and two ahead, so tread carefully.
If you had asked me a few weeks ago to define the words MomTok, soft-swinging and Swig, I would be at a loss.
Now however, after devouring every single episode of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, I feel deeply in sync with these Utah moms. I mean hey, I’m a lapsed Roman Catholic childless lesbian, but MomTalk is making me curious about the prophet Joseph Smith.
The hugely popular series follows a group of mothers from Utah, connected through their love of TikTok.
Sounds frivolous, right? Wrong. This show is nothing short of a Shakespearean drama, and MomTok is their kingdom.
In season one, we see a power vacuum develop as the group’s creator – Taylor Frankie Paul – falters in her leadership. What ensues is a battle of wills, plenty of drama and the most shocking pregnancy reveal in television history.
Here are seven moments that haven’t left my brain yet (and probably never will):
The Jen Affleck of it all
One of the mothers is called Jen Affleck, on account of her marrying Zac Affleck, a second-cousin of the famed actor. Or so we are led to believe.
One of the season’s most shocking revelations is that he might not actually be related to Ben after all, and Jen is, understandably crushed.
We’d be devo too, to be honest.
The beverage choices
The ladies of MomTok refrain from alcohol and coffee due to their religious commitment to clean eating. They are, however, filling the gap with a drink called Dirty Soda. These bevvies consist of a soda base that you can customise with syrups and creamers, and some of the moms start their day with a whopping 44oz cup.
Chippendale-gate
During a season one trip to Vegas, the ladies go behind the scenes at Chippendales, the revue show complete with topless male dancers and risqué routines. What should have been a night of light entertainment descends into chaos when Taylor and Jen’s partners catch wind of this activity. This however, isn’t the last we see of Chippendales on the show, In season two Jessi and Demi attempt to heal Jen and Zac’s relationship with some Chippendales based exposure therapy. Predictably, this doesn’t pan out the way they were hoping it might.
The MomTok power struggle
These mothers take MomTok – which describes their collective posting on TikTok – very seriously. It’s the glue that unites the group, and should you fall foul on MomTok, you will be banished. As a result, the ladies drop lines like “MomTok is very fractured at the moment”, or “MomTok will never be the same again”. Serious stuff.
The Ketamine therapy
OK, so these ladies won’t drink alcohol or coffee, but they’re somehow okay with ketamine? Well, kind of. In season two, Jen and Zac undergo ketamine therapy, which in the US appears to be a growing (and legal) industry.
Whitney’s pregnancy reveal
It may be all the rage to announce your pregnancy in wacky and creative ways, but Whitney’s reveal takes the biscuit. In season two, she invites her mother to cut into a cake that has the PREGNANCY TEST SHE PEED ON baked into it.
Absolutely wild.
When Jessi asks the cops if they’ve watched the show
Same, girl.
