Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 2: Stars Expect More Backlash as New Drama Unfolds

Get ready, because The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives is back for a second season. If you followed the first season, you know it brought plenty of talk and a good amount of criticism. Now, one of the show's main stars, Layla Taylor, is already preparing for even more people to come after them. She knows it is going to be a bumpy ride with this new season.

In a chat with Fox News Digital, Layla Taylor, who famously threw a divorce party in the first season, spoke about the backlash the show got from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She also mentioned the "intense pressure" she often feels about sharing too much of her life on TV. She believes "more hate" and judgment will follow this explosive second season. It sounds like she is bracing for a storm.

"It's been pretty positive for me," Taylor, 24, said about what people have said so far. "I was pretty quiet season one. I was a little bit more reserved, so I feel like there wasn't necessarily much room for people to say much about me. But for the other girls, I know that they're definitely under some heat after season one came out." She expects things to change for her this time around.

"I think with each season there will be more and more voices that become more active and more vocal," she added. "And I could see that after season two, I could see some more hate on my end. But I think overall I felt good about my intentions and what I did throughout the seasons." It takes a lot of confidence to put your life out there knowing that many will judge you.

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Given the show's title, a lot of criticism came from the LDS Church, Layla remembered. She thinks they have "definitely kind of calmed down from their initial scare." Layla said that when the show title was announced before the first season, everyone was worried. Then the trailer came out and they thought it was "worse" in their minds. But after seeing the show, Layla believes they realized it was not misrepresenting things. Instead, it was showing members at different levels within their faith who still have a real connection with God and Jesus.

"I just feel like we weren't trying to come at the church in any way," she added. "I think they were maybe afraid that we were going to drag them. I don't think that's anyone's intentions. Even the people like myself that aren't active Mormons and Jessi [Ngatikaura] and a couple of the other girls, I think that we just wanted to show what our journey within their religion has been." This idea of fitting into the LDS way of life was a big topic in the first season. This new season will show some cast members dealing with what happened because of their actions last season.

Zac Affleck, Jen Affleck’s husband, faced a lot of criticism after treating his wife poorly during the first season. He admitted to having some "nasty" interactions with churchgoers over the past year. "Jen still wants to go [to church] and I think eventually we will," Zac admitted. "I feel not accepted. I also feel honestly embarrassed. We've had a couple nasty interactions with people [at church]." The DMs he received were also alarming. "I had 50 to 100 DM's saying, ‘You deserve to die’, ‘If I saw you in person, I’d kill you,’" he said. That is a truly scary amount of anger to face just for being on a TV show.

New Faces And Old Scandals Resurface In The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives Season 2

How The Infamous Soft-Swinging Scandal Continues To Affect The Cast's Relationships

The first season of the Hulu show followed the dramatic results of the swinging sex scandal. Taylor Frankie Paul, who called herself the creator of #MomTok, first revealed this scandal. Paul and her ex had agreed to a lifestyle that included having many partners. But they decided they "wouldn't go all the way." When the scandal broke, she said she "did step out of the agreement" and cheated on her ex. She cheated with Dakota Mortensen, her on-again, off-again boyfriend. This scandal shook the #MomTok community.

Miranda McWhorter, who had denied being involved in the soft-swinging before, is now a full-time cast member in Season 2 after her own divorce. Miranda is now trying to tell her side of the story. She said that she thinks viewers will find it "pretty relatable" that she has "skeletons in the closet." She feels it is important to be honest, even if people judge you. However, the other women on the show seem to see right through her. They know she is trying to get back into MomTok for the attention. Her claim that she has "never touched a wiener, not one time" definitely does not help her case when some of the other girls have already openly talked about their relationships.

Speaking of men behaving badly, Jen is minding her own business. She is drinking protein shakes and caffeine-free Diet Coke. Then her estranged husband, Zac, shows up. He has a new haircut. He brings a suitcase you might take on a women-only cruise. He thinks these things will help him convince Jen to take him back. This is the man who threatened to divorce his wife for walking into a lobby at a men’s dance performance and leaving quickly. His attempts to clean up his image include saying words like "therapy" and "fight for our marriage." He also said he would be "there to support you and your career." Jen puts her foot down. She has a list of demands. These include him truly thinking about her feelings. She also wants to be allowed to go to Chippendales if she wants. He looks at her as if she asked him to do something impossible. Their therapy sessions become quite something to watch.

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At Mayci’s house, Taylor sits down with Dakota’s side chick, Jenna. They compare notes. Taylor just had a child with Dakota and she has a full timeline of Dakota’s claims ready. Jenna is ready to share her full text history with Dakota. This man is in big trouble. It is another win for the MomTok mission of being open. Everything about this situation is very clear. But I will always remember the things Dakota and Jenna did together. They went to a trampoline park and the dinosaur museum. These activities do not scream "foreplay for sleeping with someone who is not your pregnant girlfriend." They sound like things you do with a kid you are babysitting if their parents give you a credit card. Taylor is very hurt. Not just by Dakota’s lying but by the fact that she was the "night girl" while Jenna was the "day girl." Jenna got the planned activities and the cute texts. Jenna had asked Dakota if he was dating Taylor. He said he was just hanging out with her for attention. That hair transplant probably cost a lot.

Miranda meets with Whitney. She thinks it will be easier to make friends by starting with the existing outcast. They connect over not dressing properly for the weather and being disliked by the other women. Miranda is hosting a happy hour at her house to break the ice. She does not want to solve online problems online. I agree with this idea. Everyone could benefit from more real-life talks, especially uncomfortable ones. But I do not think this is a good plan for Miranda. She has not shown she can handle someone like Demi in person yet. Whitney seems excited at the thought of someone else being in the hot seat.

Layla Taylor said putting their lives on reality TV creates "intense pressure." "There is definitely intense pressure to share everything. And then if you don't share everything, then you're hiding things," she told Fox News Digital. "And then I get comments all the time about the plastic surgeries I've done to myself, or I get comments from people saying like, 'Oh, I didn't even know you're a mom. You don't share your kids. Why do you hide them?'" Layla’s view on that is she is protecting her children from unnecessary comments. She quickly learned that she will not get everyone’s approval.

"I feel like it's just you are never going to have everyone be your fan," she said. "I feel like I just try to drown out everything because you don't want the ego side of yourself to get too high, but then you don't want to get overwhelmed by all the hate. And I just try to remember that at my core, who I am, and they show such— even though we're filming for months at a time, they're still showing such minimal parts of our lives. Just the big things and the big crazy moments and the moments that you lose your cool one day or the moments that you're crying." She reminds herself that the world sees a very small part of their lives. If people jump to conclusions from that small part, it is on them. The people in their lives know who they truly are.

What We Can Expect From The Rest Of The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives Season 2

The Continued Journeys Of Self-Discovery And How The Cast Members Grow

Even though being on a reality show has its ups and downs, Layla Taylor said she is learning so much about herself. She is using those lessons in her daily life. "I feel like I'm still learning so much about myself. I am only 24, so young, and I got married at a young age, and I feel like I was thrown into being a wife and then thrown into motherhood very fast and abruptly. Blessed, obviously from my babies. But I think that I'm still learning myself and learning who I am as a person and learning to not shift myself because of who I'm with," she explained. She talked about her recent ex-boyfriend, Cameron.

"And that's something that I was experiencing in my [last] relationship," she added. "And I was kind of molding myself into what he wanted for a partner. And looking back, I am never going to do that again. You either like me for who I am or you don't like me at all. And that's something that I'm learning and growing with time is accepting myself for who I truly am at my core, and my right person will like me for who I am." This strong message of self-acceptance is something many people can relate to. It is clear the women on the show are not just putting on a performance. They are truly navigating complex personal journeys.

The second season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is streaming now on Hulu. It will continue to show the complicated lives of these women. They balance their faith, public personas, and very real personal dramas. Expect more arguments, more confessions, and certainly more wild moments. The show promises to keep everyone talking. It is a series that definitely knows how to keep viewers glued to their screens.