‘The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives’ Star Demi Engemann Says Her Husband Was Married To This ‘RHOSLC’ Star: “Utah Is Very Small”

It’s a small world, but Utah is even smaller. Demi Engemann, who stars in Hulu‘s new reality series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, just revealed her surprising connection to one Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star.

Angie Harrington, who made cameos in the first and second seasons of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City before joining as a “friend of” in Season 3, was once married to Demi’s current husband Brett Engemann.

“My husband’s ex-wife was on Real Housewives as a ‘friend of,'” Demi told DECIDER ahead of the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiere.

Angie decided to step away from the show ahead of Season 4, though she previously credited her former marriage with helping her navigate reality TV.

“I’ve learned not to care what people think. I had a very public divorce in Utah Valley. And my ex-husband was kind of the golden boy of Provo. So that prepared me for reality television,” she told The Salt Lake Tribune in February 2023, referring to Brett’s past as the Brigham Young University quarterback.

Brett shares two teenage sons with Angie, who went on to have a third son with her current husband Chris Harrington. Demi, for her part, has one daughter from her first marriage.

But the former football player and reality TV aren’t the only things the two women have in common. Demi admitted that she also auditioned to be on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City before nabbing a spot on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which follows the Mormon #MomTok influencers in the wake of founding member Taylor Frankie Paul’s swinging scandal.

“I actually interviewed to be on Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. And I know a few of the cast members just from past relationships,” Demi said. “And so, yeah, we do cross paths and it’s not surprising because Utah is very small and especially the influencer world and community here is very tight-knit. So we do cross paths.”

Demi wasn’t the only #MomTok member who has interacted with a Real Housewives star. Layla Taylor also told DECIDER that she was good pals with Monica Garcia, who was fired from the show after it was revealed in the Season 4 finale that she was running a social media page dedicated to trolling her castmates.

“I know Monica. We are just kind of internet friends and we chat here and there,” Taylor said. “She’s given me advice on the reality TV show world and stuff like that. Sweet girl. [I] wish she was still on this season, to be honest. I think she had a really good aspect to last season.”

Not only are Demi and Taylor also close with Meili Workman — who will appear as a “friend of” in the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City‘s upcoming fifth season — but their co-star Jessi Ngatikaura knows some of the Bravo women through her hair empire JZ Styles.

“I’m in the beauty industry and we all live in Salt Lake, so I actually do some of their hair and I’ve, you know, communicated with them. They’re all amazing women. I think that they’re so good at what they do,” she said, noting that she “really respects” Heather Gay, who owns the Beauty Lab & Laser medical spa in Utah.

However, Ngatikaura added that their show is a bit “different” than The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.

“We’re influencers and we’re just living our lives on camera, doing our thing in our friend group, whereas Housewives are usually a little bit older and a little more seasoned. We just kind of came in unhinged,” she joked. “But they are really great women. I look up to a lot of them.”

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives will begin streaming on Hulu on Friday, Sept. 6, while The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 5 premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 18 on Bravo.