Given the ratings success of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, it’s no surprise that Hulu would invest in a spinoff. But what is surprising many fans is who the streamer assembled to lead its first offshoot.
Announced during the streamer’s Get Real event on April 22, the new spinoff, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County, will focus on young OC moms who “collide in a community where beliefs are not just their religion; they are their identity.” The logline notes that among the bunch, “some defend their way of life, fighting against modernity,” while “others embrace change, becoming a platform to disrupt the status quo.”
While it certainly sounds like Orange County will explore faith and tradition like the flagship series, some viewers pointed out that the “strong, game-changing influencers” leading the new iteration aren’t all Mormon.
The full lineup is: Aspyn Ovard, Bobbi Althoff, Avery Woods, Salomé Andrea, McCall DaPron, Chandler Higginson, Ashleigh Pease, and Madison Bontempo.
Aspyn, a longtime YouTube vlogger, has said that she grew up influenced by Mormon culture in Utah and even got baptized as a kid, but as she shared on the Girlscamp Podcast last year, she didn’t subscribe to the religion into adulthood. “That’s kind of where it ends for me,” she said.
You might recognize Bobbi from her viral, deadpan celebrity interviews. She’s spoken at length about her relationship to religion and growing up “very Christian,” but doesn’t appear to have ties to the Mormon Church.
Avery is not Mormon — as she once pointed out in one playful TikTok about “being the only non-Mormon mom at Target in Gilbert, AZ wearing a crop top.” She also shared on an episode of her podcast, Cheers!, that living in the state for a long time made her “very familiar” with the culture. Incidentally, Avery once interviewed her future castmate Salomé in an earlier 2023 episode, where Salomé shared that she considers herself Mormon but “not a Utah Mormon,” noting cultural differences.
If McCall looks familiar, that’s because she is Mayci Neeley’s sister — and like her, grew up in the Mormon faith.
Madison has shared that she is Mormon. And finally, Ashleigh and Chandler have both posted about baby blessings, a tradition that’s appeared on Mormon Wives and is often associated with the church.
So it seems the Orange County cast is mainly a mix of Mormons and women who have lived in Mormon-heavy communities but don’t practice the religion themselves (which, granted, would be a little wordy for a series title).
