'The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives' Stars On Changing The Image Of Mormon Culture | The View

>> Whoopi: WELCOME BACK. THE HIT HULU REALITY SERIES, "THE SECRET LIVES OF MORMON WIVES," IS HULU'S MOST WATCHED UNSCRIPTED PREMIERE OF 2024. IT FOLLOWS A GROUP OF MOM INFLUENCERS WHO ARE RADICALLY CHANGING THE IMAGE OF MORMON CULTURE. TAKE A LOOK. >> WE BLEW UP OVERNIGHT. >> 2 MILLION FOLLOWERS. >> 9 MILLION VIEWS. >> WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA. >> IT'S BEEN REALLY CRAZY FOR US. >> AND THEN IT JUST TURNED INTO THIS WHOLE GROUP IS SWINGING WITH EACH OTHER. >> WAIT, WHAT? >> A MORMON SWINGING SCANDAL HAS HIT UTAH. >> NO ONE WAS INNOCENT. EVERYONE HAS HOOKED UP, LIKE, WITH EVERYONE. >> TAYLOR ANNOUNCED THE GROUP WAS INVOLVED IN SOFT SWINGING. >> IT WAS LIKE SWAPPING IN FRONT OF EACH OTHER STANDING NEXT TO EACH OTHER. >> WHOA. [ APPLAUSE ] >> Whoopi: PLEASE WELCOME TAYLOR FRANKIE PAUL AND MAYCI NEELEY. WELCOME. [ APPLAUSE ] I'M SORRY. WELCOME TO "THE VIEW." >> Sara: WELCOME TO "THE VIEW." AND ALSO I RECOMMEND IF YOU START THIS SHOW, JUST SO YOU KNOW, YOU WON'T STOP UNTIL YOU FINISH THE ENTIRE THING. TAYLOR, YOU STARTED A TIKTOK GROUP CALLED MOMTOK IN 2020 THAT FEATURED YOU, MAYCI, AND YOUR GROUP OF MORMON MOM FRIENDS SHOWING YOUR LIVES TOGETHER ON SOCIAL MEDIA. IT GOT POPULAR VERY QUICKLY, AND EACH OF YOU HAS MILLIONS OF FOLLOWERS, MILLIONS OF VIEWS ON YOUR VIDEO. WHY DID YOU INITIALLY START THE GROUP? >> THERE WAS NO, LIKE, INTENTION BEHIND IT. IT WAS MORE LIKE I KNEW THAT OTHER MOMS WERE KIND OF DOING THE SAME THING, LIKE, WE WERE JUST MAKING MOM CONTENT, AND THEN I INVITED A COUPLE OF MOMS OVER, AND IT, LIKE, BLEW UP, SO WE WERE LIKE, OH, WE DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD, SO I WOULD JUST INVITE MORE AND MORE GIRLS THAT WANTED TO DO IT IN THE COMMUNITY AND THEN WE ALL DRESSED THE SAME AND IT WAS JUST LIKE -- WE'RE MORMON. IT WASN'T LIKE YOUR TYPICAL THING THAT WOULD POP UP ON TIKTOK. I THINK THAT'S WHY IT WENT VIRAL. >> Sara: MORMON MORE THAN THE MOM. >> AND WE WERE WEARING TANK TOPS SO THEY'RE LIKE, THESE AREN'T YOUR REGULAR MORMONS. SO I FEEL LIKE IT WAS THE FUN MORMONS. WE WERE GETTING READY, AND MOMS WERE LIKE, THAT'S NOT WHAT MOMS LOOK LIKE. WE'RE, LIKE, TIRED. WE DON'T GET UP AND GET READY, SO IT'S JUST LIKE THIS CONTROVERSIAL THING OF BEING LIKE ON TIKTOK AS MOMS. >> Joy: LET'S TALK ABOUT THOSE HEADLINES, BECAUSE IN 2022, YOU CREATED QUITE THE SCANDAL, MISS TAYLOR. YOU REVEALED THAT YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND WERE GETTING A DIVORCE. >> UH-HUH. >> Joy: BECAUSE YOU BOTH HAD ENGAGED IN SOFT SWINGING WITH OTHER COUPLES. >> YES. >> Joy: USUALLY THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS. IT'S THE SOFT PART THAT'S THROWING ME OFF. [ LAUGHTER ] AND THEN, OF COURSE, IF YOU'RE ENGAGED WITH OTHER COUPLES, YOU MIGHT FALL IN LOVE WITH ONE OF THE GUYS OR ONE OF THE WOMEN IF YOU'RE OF THAT PERSUASION, YOU KNOW, SO WHAT HAPPENED THERE? >> YEAH, WE, LIKE, OPENED UP OUR RELATIONSHIP. >> Joy: AND WHAT IS SOFT SWINGING? EXPLAIN THAT. >> Sara: NOT HARD SWINGING, IT'S SOFT. [ LAUGHTER ] >> Joy: THAT MAY BE THE PROBLEM. >> Alyssa: GENTLE. >> GENTLE, YES. I FEEL LIKE IT WAS -- SO, SWINGING IS WHERE YOU FULL ON SWITCH PARTNERS, SWINGERS, FOR UP WE OPENED UP OUR RELATIONSHIP PLAYING GAMES AND BEING INTIMATE ALL IN FRONT OF EACH OTHER. WE WEREN'T FULL ON SWITCHING, PER SE, YEAH, SO THAT'S WHY THEY CALLED IT SOFT SWINGING, WHICH I DIDN'T COME UP WITH THAT TERM, BY THE WAY. I WAS TOLD THAT. >> Sara: THAT WAS ASSIGNED TO HER. >> I WOULD HAVE CALLED IT INEXPERIENCED PEOPLE -- >> Joy: MORMON SWINGING WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD. >> YEAH. >> Alyssa: YOU GOT MARRIED VERY YOUNG. >> WE ALL WERE. >> Joy: YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH ONE OF THE GUYS THAT YOU STARTED TO INTERACT WITH, RIGHT? >> Whoopi: OR IS THAT TRUE? >> YEAH, I WOULDN'T CALL IT FALL IN LOVE. I CAN'T SPEAK -- BEING IN AN AFAIR, FEELINGS ARE, LIKE, HEIGHTENED. >> Joy: YEAH, YEAH. >> AND WHEN YOU GET OUT OF IT, YOU'RE LIKE NONE OF THAT WAS ACTUALLY REAL LOVE. YOU KNOW, SO I FEEL LIKE I WOULDN'T SAY THAT NOW, BUT BACK AT THE TIME I MIGHT HAVE FELT THOSE FEELINGS. >> Joy: YEAH, YEAH. >> Chelsea: MAYCI, I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE CAN HEAR FROM YOU. >> SORRY. >> Chelsea: YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT KIND OF TAYLOR, HER FEELINGS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, AND WE CLEARLY SAW THE CLIP. HOW DID THAT AFFECT YOUR FRIEND GROUP? WERE YOU WORRIED ABOUT HOW PEOPLE WOULD RECEIVE YOU, THE MOM AND POP COMMUNITY -- >> CLEARLY, I WAS NOT INVOLVED THIS THIS LITTLE GAME. IT WAS INTERESTING, BECAUSE WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON? I DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WAS GOING ON. I'M LOOKING ONLINE AND STUFF, BUT THEN AFTER A COUPLE WEEKS, IT WAS, LIKE, FUNNY, WHAT'S GOING ON. THEN YOU'RE GETTING CALLED A SWINGER. WAIT, NO, NO, THIS IS GETTING SERIOUS. I'M NOT A SWINGER. AT THE END OF THE DAY I KNOW I'M NOT INVOLVED. YOU CAN SAY WHAT YOU WANT OR THINK WHAT YOU WANT, BUT I KNOW THE TRUTH. >> Chelsea: HEALTHY ATTITUDE TO HAVE. >> Alyssa: IT SHOWS EVERYTHING FROM SWINGING TO DISCUSSIONS AROUND GENDER ROLES, INFIDELITY, SOME OF THE IMPORTANT ROLES, BUT IT DID GET BACKLASH FROM THE CHURCH. WERE YOU PREPARED FOR THAT? WERE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THAT REACTION TO THE SHOW? >> I WASN'T WORRIED BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE WE OBVIOUSLY FILM -- WE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO BE IN THE SHOW, AND THE TRAILER OBVIOUSLY WAS, LIKE, TO GET EVERYONE -- IT WAS A BITE. >> Alyssa: WE KNOW. >> SO I FEEL LIKE WHEN YOU WATCH THE SHOW, IT'S NOT WHAT IT'S ABOUT. IT'S MUCH DEEPER THAN THAT. YES, I KNEW THAT WOULD GET THE JUDGMENT, BUT I WASN'T WORRIED WHEN I SAW THE SHOW. >> AND TO BE HONEST, WE GOT MORE JUDGMENT FROM BEFORE THE SHOW CAME OUT FROM THE TRAILER. NOW WE HAVEN'T SEEN A LOT. PEOPLE WATCH THE SHOW AND REALIZE IT'S NOT ABOUT JUST SWINGING AND STUFF LIKE THAT. THERE'S MORE LAYERS TO IT. >> Sara: THE UNIVERSAL THEMES OF FAMILIES AND STRUGGLE AND DISAGREEMENT, AND THINGS PLAY OUT WELL, AND I THINK EVERYONE CAN RELATE TO THAT, BUT, MAYCI, SOME PEOPLE HAVE THIS PICTURE IN THEIR HEAD OF WHAT A MORMON WIFE'S LIFE LOOKS LIKE. SO, WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTIONS YOU HEAR? >> ONE THING I SAY TO EVERYONE WE'RE NOT POLYGAMISTS, WHICH IS SO FUNNY BECAUSE SHE WAS SWINGING, KIND OF LIKE, OKAY, WELL, WE'RE NOT POLYGPOLYGAMIST. >> Joy: YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE NEXT STEP OF MARRIAGE IF YOU WERE POLYGAMISTS. >> WE WERE IN L.A. AND OUR MAKEUP AND HAIR CAME IN. WE THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE WEARING BONNETS. THIS IS SO INTERESTING, LIKE, SO THERE IS A LOT OF MISCONCEPTIONS LIKE THAT, AND IT'S ALSO, LIKE, WE'RE LIKE THE MODERN MORMONS, LIKE, NOT EVERYONE IS SO COOKIE CUTTER. YOU CAN WEAR A TANK TOP OR BE MORE OF A TRAD WIFE. YOU CAN DO IT ALL, LIKE, SO I THINK THAT'S WHY WE LIKE THE SHOW. >> Joy: THEY MIXED YOU UP WITH THE AMISH? IS THAT WHAT HAPPENED? >> I THINK THEY MIXED US UP, YEAH. >> Joy: THEY WEAR THE BONNETS, YEAH. >> Chelsea: MAYCI, THERE IS A LOT OF DISCUSSION IN THE SHOW ABOUT THE TRADITIONAL EXPECTATIONS THAT EXIST WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITY. NOT ONLY THE STEREOTYPES THAT OTHER PEOPLE MAY PLACE ON YOU, BUT KIND OF THE EXPECTATIONS FOR HOW GIRLS WILL BEHAVE, WOMEN WILL BEHAVE, WIVES WILL BEHAVE. HOW DID MAKING THIS SHOW AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN THROUGH IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS CHANGE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOURSELVES AS WIVES AND MOMS? >> YEAH, I FEEL LIKE I NEVER FELT SUPER TRADITIONAL. I'M FROM CALIFORNIA, AND I DO SAY THAT CULTURE IS DIFFERENT FOR MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA VERSUS IN UTAH. SO, LIKE, FOR ME I JUST DIDN'T FEEL LIKE ANYTHING DIFFERENT. LIKE, I'M JUST LIVING LIFE. LIKE I'M NOT A TRADITIONAL GIRL. THIS IS HOW I AM, SO I NEVER FOLLOWED THE TRADITIONAL NORMS OF THE CHURCH FOR ME. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU. >> YOU CAN SAY I DON'T REALLY FOLLOW THE RULES. [ LAUGHTER ] SO, I'M LIKE RIGHT THERE WITH HER. KIND OF JUST DID WHAT I WANTED BUT STILL WENT TO CHURCH ON SUNDAYS, AND I THINK THAT WAS A MESSAGE WE WANTED IS EVERYONE DOES LIVE DIFFERENT LIVES. YOU SEE A DEVOUT MEMBER, THEN YOU SEE SOMEONE THAT LEFT THE CHURCH, SO I FELL LIKE WE -- >> WE DON'T ALL FIT IN A BOX. >> NO, IT'S NOT JUST ONE WAY PEOPLE THINK THESE MORMONS ARE THIS ONE WAY. WE WANT TO SHARE THAT THERE'S ALL THESE DIFFERENT WAYS, AND WE DON'T WANT TO REPRESENT THE CHURCH BUT JUST TELLING OUR STORY. >> Sara: THAT'S ANY GROUP, TOO. RARELY DO PEOPLE SIT IN BOXES. >> EXACTLY. >> Chelsea: IT'S VERY UNCOMFORTABLE TO BE IN A BOX. >> Whoopi: LISTEN, WE'LL BE WATCHING AND LEARNING, I HOPE. >> YES. >> Whoopi: AND WELCOME TO THE HOUSEHOLD. >> THANK YOU. >> Whoopi: THANK YOU TO FRANKIE TAYLOR -- THANK YOU TO TAYLOR FRANKIE PAUL AND MAYCI NEELEY. YOU CAN SEE "THE SECRET LIVES OF MORMON WIVES" RIGHT NOW ON HULU. WELL, NOT RIGHT THIS SECOND, BUT, YOU KNOW, TODAY, YOU CAN SEE IT.