Mormon Wives’ Jessi and Demi Feud Explained: Fruity Pebbles Drama, Affairs

When The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered on Hulu, viewers couldn’t tell Jessi Ngatikaura and Demi Engemann apart — and now the costars are in a full-fledged feud.

The hit reality series debuted in September 2024 and introduced Us to Utah content creators otherwise known as MomTok. Jessi, 33, and Demi, 30, were both part of the friend group but were initially closer than some of the other members.

By the time season 2 aired in early 2025, Jessi and Demi acknowledged a falling out that took place behind the scenes. They hinted that contract negotiations led to Demi asking for more money, which caused tension for some of the other cast members.

“Demi and I did have a falling out a couple of months ago. It really rocked our friendship,” Jessi shared in a season 2 confessional, which aired in May 2025. “We had a little disagreement about money.”

The drama continued when Taylor Frankie Paul claimed Demi insulted Jessi’s hair salon, JZ Styles. Demi denied the accusations, and ultimately the duo rekindled their friendship. That is until they took a trip to Italy to film season 2 of Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa.

Demi’s surprising friendship with Marciano Brunette left her costars with questions due to her marriage to Bret Engemann. Demi maintained that nothing romantic took place and then accused Marciano, 32, of sexual misconduct, which he has denied.

It was Jessi who subsequently revealed that she had a two-month emotional affair with Marciano. Jessi also claimed that Marciano was pushed to air out their secret romance by Demi, who allegedly leaked the information to producers to make sure it got addressed on screen.

From there, Jessi and Demi’s feud truly exploded as they traded insults back and forth. Jessi took it one step further in November 2025 when she finally revealed details about Demi and Bret’s secret sex act that came up in season 1.

“It’s very telling that [Jessi is] choosing to break story line and bring it up now, only after her own affair has come to light,” Demi wrote via Instagram at the time. “This is nothing more than a desperate attempt to shift attention away from her own behavior.”

With The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives renewed for season 4, this mess is just the beginning. Keep scrolling for a comprehensive explainer on the feud — including the fruity pebbles of it all:

What Was Demi and Jessi’s Friendship Like Before ‘Mormon Wives’?

When The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered in 2024, Demi and Jessi were in a good place. They often sided with one another while facing off with other members of MomTok, which was mainly Whitney Leavitt at the time.

What Originated the Feud?

Season 2 offered a different glimpse into Demi and Jessi’s dynamic. Demi was the first one to speak up on “The Viall Files” podcast in June 2025 when she revealed they were at odds while “negotiating contracts for season 2.”

“We had had, like, a mutual understanding that we were gonna come in fighting for everything as a united front,” Demi claimed, referring to a joint phone call with network executives. “Then, [my husband, Bret, and I] felt like she dogged us and went around us, like, ‘I’m gonna get whatever I want.’ So, we were like, ‘Well, f*** it, then we’re gonna do the same thing.’ It’s not a shock that I’m a fan favorite [after the first season]. I feel, like, I’m an asset [and] I should fight for more.”

Demi was divided on whether she would reconcile with Jessi.

“If you had a friend, where you’ve hurt each other and then that person decides to completely remove themselves from your life and block you on everything, do you feel like it’s your place to go knocking down their door?” Demi shared. “It’s almost, kind of, if the conversation were to naturally happen, sure, [and] now I know how to take full accountability.”

She concluded: “I don’t think I’d go knocking down her door necessarily to be, like, ‘Wait, hold on.’”

How Did JZ Styles Drama Make It Worse?

Later in season 2, Taylor told Jessi that Demi advised her against going to Jessi’s salon to get her hair done.

“She doesn’t think you’re good at hair,” Taylor said. “She told me not to go to you for hair and that’s why I went to a different salon because she doesn’t think you’re good at all.” Taylor then turned to Demi and added, “You don’t think she’s good at hair but you feel obligated to go to her.”

Demi then clarified that JZ Salon is “great at extensions” but didn’t know how good they were at “color.” Jessi explained that she was hurt by Demi’s comments after regularly giving her — and their other costars — free extensions and hair treatments.

Off screen, Jessi told Page Six that her relationship with Demi was permanently damaged.

“Yeah, it’s done,” she said about Demi’s actions being “unforgivable” to her. “I’ll never be friends with her again. And I’m a pretty forgiving person. So, it’s a lot for me to say that.”

Where Does Marciano Fit Into All of This?

Before season 2 of Mormon Wives premiered on Hulu, the cast filmed scenes for season 2 of Vanderpump Villa. Marciano immediately found himself smitten with Demi — who has been married to Bret since 2021. Marciano and Demi ended the season on good terms, but Demi later called him out for perpetuating rumors that she was unfaithful.

“Nothing happened with Marciano. At the expense of sounding rude, there wasn’t even a remote attraction to him. It sucks that women can’t be kind and friendly and even playful with men in this world without it being taken as like you’re open. I had a rock on my finger the entire time I was there,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in May. “I brought up my marriage multiple times and they were told that we were married women — so it sucks that we couldn’t just go and have a good time and that he couldn’t respect that.”

Season 2 of Mormon Wives told a different story when Marciano popped in at the end to claim Jessi was the one he had an affair with off screen.

“We have tried meeting up [to continue the affair],” he claimed. “[Her husband] Jordan doesn’t know the truth about how extensive it was. It was not just a one-time hookup thing. It was not some one-night stand.”

Jessi remained largely tight-lipped until the season 3 premiere in October 2025 confirmed that she had a two-month affair with Marciano. Demi, who wasn’t present for most of the season, was brought up when Marciano claimed she orchestrated him revealing his affair with Jessi on the show.

This led to a seemingly permanent falling out between Demi and Jessi.

“During season 3 — when this was all unfolding — our only conversations were on camera. There was that one sit down we had in a restaurant. It was the first time we spoke,” she detailed. “I remember going into it pretty heated and she completely turned it on me and was like, ‘You’re victim shaming [over my claims of sexual misconduct against Marciano].’ At the time I was like, ‘I’m going to look terrible. I have to give into this because if people take her side or the audience believes her, I’m going to look bad.’”

She added: “So I just gave in. That’s why you see us leave on somewhat OK terms. Because I was like, ‘How the hell am I going to fight with victim shaming?’”

What Is Fruity Pebbles and What Does It Have to Do With Jessi and Demi?

Season 1 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives featured a scene where Whitney pulled a prank by gifting Demi a box filled with fruity pebbles. Viewers later learned that Demi and her husband, Bret, engaged in a sexual experience named after or with the cereal, which they didn’t want to explain on screen.

“There was a little bit of tension with my husband and I once it came out,” Demi exclusively told Us at the time. “Now he’s like, ‘Is anybody saying anything?’ It’s become a funny, fun thing that we are totally just having fun with it.”

Demi hinted there were no plans for the couple to elaborate. “We’re keeping it a mystery,” she added. “If people slowly start to figure it out, then, maybe, we’ll talk about it. I was not expecting it to go as crazy as it did. I thought it would be a little thing that a few people would catch onto. It’s every other story post that I’m tagged in. It is bizarre. It’s hilarious. We’re just keeping the mystery alive. It’s been fun.”

After Demi made a dig in November 2025 about her relevance in the public eye compared to Jessi, the latter took to social media.

“Since she wants to be petty and be an asshole, I think I am just going to go ahead and say that grandpa Bret likes to drink her piss like it is dirty soda,” Jessi alleged via Instagram Stories. “He gulps it down like water. And that is what fruity pebbles means.”

Demi went on to release her own statement, writing, “What my husband and I did one time behind closed doors was a consensual and private experience in our marriage. I won’t let a private act between my husband and I be a distraction from a serious act that I did not consent to.”

Will MomTok Survive This?

As of November 2025, most members of the show have sided with Jessi. The only cast member on Demi’s side appeared to be Whitney.