Jessi Ngatikaura Dishes On All The Mormon Wives Drama

Jessi Ngatikaura gets why viewers might think she’s a “mean girl.” “There were a few instances where I did some things to stir the pot,” the The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star tells Bustle.

The 32-year-old salon owner steps into a more prominent role in Season 2 of the Hulu series, taking viewers inside her hair business, JZ Styles, and breaking the fourth wall several times, opening up about the cast’s brand deals and contract disputes.

She also proves her reality TV expertise: Memorably, she throws a Halloween party that spirals into a series of screaming matches about Taylor Frankie Paul’s swinging scandal, culminating in a police visit — not to mention renewed tension between Jen Affleck and her husband Zac, who reacted poorly to Jessi and Demi’s Chippendales-themed surprise.

“What I keep saying to people who have been like, ‘You invited [Miranda McWhorter’s ex] Chase to the party, you knew it was going to end that way,’ I'm like, ‘But it was great television. Are you guys not happy you have that scene?’” she says. “No one wants to watch a boring Halloween party. Especially because we’re all sober.”

Still, Jessi rejects the mean girl label. She’s always the first to offer a shoulder to cry on — as seen when Demi broke down about her fertility journey — and free salon services, which everyone takes advantage of this season. “Genuinely, it's so hard to see a friendship on TV only and understand the dynamics,” she says. “We love playing pranks on each other. We always roast each other.”

One thing that’s definitely not an innocent joke, though? Jessi’s fallout with her BFF Demi, which is now being hashed out through the press. Ditto the Season 2 finale cliffhanger, in which — amid speculation of a hookup between Demi and Vanderpump Villa star Marciano Brunette — Marciano claims he had a full-on affair with Jessi.

“I'm excited to be able to tell my version because there's so much more to this story,” she teases.

Below, Jessi addresses Marciano’s bombshell accusations, breaks down what happened with Jen and Demi, and gets real about whether MomTok will survive this.

There’s a very memorable moment when you have to ask the police if they’ve seen Mormon Wives. Do you often find yourself asking locals this?

I'm so embarrassed to do that. I just assume no one’s seen the show unless they bring it up. But the cops were asking me so many questions about the dynamic, why there were cameras here. So I was like, “This is the only way to explain it.” I really thought that was going to get cut.

Has the show given you any special perks or things that you get away with back at home?

Swig gives us unlimited credit, so we get to go for free anytime we want.

Oh nice! Now that you know more about Jen’s pregnancy and mental health struggles, do you feel any differently about your arguments?

Totally. Obviously, TV leaves out a lot of context. Us girls had no idea what Jen was going through.

When she didn't show up in Arizona, we figured she was trying to avoid talking about all these things. All we knew from Whitney was that she was pregnant and sick. I really wish that we had been told that she was really struggling and having some scary thoughts, because we would have dropped our weapons and ceased fire. But Jen and I have talked so much since then. She's one of my closest friends, and we’re all good.

I do have to ask about the Bennifer costume. What inspired that?

You don't see this side of her often, but Jen has the best sense of humor, and she leans into these things. For months, we had all been joking about the Ben Affleck thing since it came out in the media. There were moments where she was like, “This is so funny, this is amazing,” about [my costume]. Of course, the show kind of makes it look like it was a little dig, but we all roast each other in this group. But looking back, I probably wouldn't have chosen that costume if I had known [about Jen’s struggles].

Viewers get to see a lot more of your business this season, but it also ends up getting involved in some of the drama. How did you feel about that?

You go on a show like this hoping your business can get some exposure, right? But when it’s negative or dramatic, it’s scary. I have put everything into my business. I’ve been doing it for nine years. I employ all of my family. My dad is my business partner. My mom, sisters, and grandpa all work for me. I have 35 employees, and this is their livelihood.

So it was disheartening to know that one of my best friends would sh*t on my business, not only because she was my friend, but because she’d also received so many benefits from that business: free wash and styles whenever she wanted, free hair extensions, free color, free anything.

Your business played a small part in the contract negotiations, too. As Demi tells it, you considered walking away from the show, and insinuated that you didn't need the money because of your business. Is that accurate?

I wasn't going to walk away, but I do very well for myself, and I'm not really doing the show for money. I respect that other people are, but I genuinely love it.

Going back to the beginning, we were on a call with our lawyers and managers. A bunch of the husbands were on, and they all said, “We're going to say that we’re all going to walk as a group, so there’s strength in numbers.” But I joined in late and wasn't aware of that. The first thing I hear is Demi's husband [Bret] saying, “Well, the whole group's going to walk if we don't get X amount.” The amount he said was ridiculous, so I interrupted and was like, “I just want to say I'm not willing to walk, and I don't appreciate you speaking for me.” And that is what made all hell break loose.

This was before the first season even aired, so we had no idea what the reaction was going to be. We didn't know what to ask for. But he and Demi were really pissed, so she started trying to get me kicked off the show, telling people that I had no morals or values because I was willing to have my friends make less money.

How did you work through that with her?

She ghosted me for about a week, then we ended up talking. You can see in the show that I forgave her pretty easily, and honestly, it's because I didn't know everything she had said behind my back. She told me I needed to earn her friendship back and was disappointed. It made me feel like I had to beg for her friendship. This all happened off-camera.

When she went on the Viall Files podcast, Demi claimed you blocked her on everything and that you only wanted to talk with her on camera when she approached you. What was your response to that?

That’s true. After the big scene at my house in the finale, Demi sent me a condescending text. She was like, “Why didn't you have my back with Taylor? You should have been right next to me saying all that.” I responded, “Hey, I feel like this is between you and Taylor, and I shouldn't have to get involved.” She did not like that, and basically sent me a breakup text — “I need space. This isn't healthy for me anymore. I'm so disappointed in you.” Kind of what she did to me during contract [negotiations].

She said she needed space, so I didn't respond. Then a week later, she was like, “I’m really sad. I miss you. Can we talk?” At that point, I was like, “No, I need space now. I'll talk to you on camera,” because we were filming the next week. Demi can be very manipulative, and I know she has that hold over me. It felt like if it was on camera, she would be held accountable for anything she said, and I wouldn’t get sucked into the manipulation because there would be people around. But she freaked out when I said that and started rage-texting me and harassing me. So I blocked her.

Before that final confrontation, Taylor gave Demi a Christmas gift through her mom, and it was a JZ Styles press package. Did you see that as humor or shade?

A little bit of both. Taylor is a little bit petty and has a funny sense of humor. She likes to push people’s buttons. So I personally thought it was funny. Honestly, it was great marketing for my business. I've had people reach out like, “Wait, can I order that exact package from your website?”

Silver lining. Do you see a future where you and Demi can reconcile?

I do. It will never be the same again. It's really hard to rebuild that trust. But we do work together, and we were so close at one point, and I forgive pretty easily. So yes, there are hurt feelings, but if we could have a conversation that was genuine and there were true apologies, then I could see us being cordial.

The season ends with Vanderpump Villa’s Marciano making explosive claims about you and him, and you don’t get the chance to respond on camera. How did you react when you saw that?

That was definitely a hard watch. We are continuing filming, so you guys will see this story unfold. I would say that viewers can look forward to me being very vulnerable and going behind the curtain of my real life and marriage. I think it's going to help a lot of women.

Wow. Is there a reason you can't talk right now?

Because of the show, I can't say much about it. But relationships are really hard, and people make mistakes. I will say that it’s not what he made it sound. What he said was not accurate. I wish I could speak now, but...

I watched Vanderpump Villa too, so I already knew about him falling for Demi. Did you ever have any suspicions about something happening between those two?

Oh yes, definitely. You're going to see a lot more of that in Season 3. All of it's very intertwined. You guys will have to stay tuned, but it's good.

I found him hard to believe, but we'll see what happens.

Honestly, yeah, he's a piece of sh*t.

How did your husband react to those comments?

He wasn’t happy. We knew about it before the show came out, but it’s different when you hear about something versus actually seeing it. I'm pretty sure he wanted to beat his ass. But I think it's going to open up a bigger conversation about marriage and relationship dynamics and how hard it can be.

What's one thing that you wish fans would have seen more of this season?

My thyroid journey. I was so disappointed to see that it was 10 seconds of the whole season because I actually found out about my thyroid condition during the first week of filming, and they filmed my doctor's appointments, my surgery day, recovering, crying with my sisters and mom.

The catchphrase of the show is, “Will MomTok survive this?” So I have to ask you, will MomTok survive this?

Well, I think MomTok will survive, but it may not be the same group you guys are used to. There's always going to be people coming and going. But Demi and Whitney are always the ones who are like, “I'm done. I'm back. I'm done. I'm back.”

Before we go, I have to ask you about Lana Del Rey. Please tell me every detail about running into her at Stagecoach.

In January, she started following me. Then she started following Mayci and Mikayla, too. Mikayla responded to her story about Stagecoach, like, “Can't wait to see you.” Lana messaged back and was like, “Oh my gosh, I want you to come meet me.” So we got to watch her whole show from the side stage. Afterward, she was fangirling over us, telling us she watched the show on her honeymoon. She was the nicest, most normal person. Just felt like one of the girls.

Other than her, which celebrity Mormon Wives fan has surprised you the most?

Ashton Kutcher. I went up to him the other night to introduce myself, and he’s like, “Oh, I know who you guys are. My wife and I watched your show. She made me watch it. We love it.” Then he asks, “Can we do the shushing picture?” So we took a picture doing the iconic shush, and then he FaceTimed Mila [Kunis]. That and [meeting] Lana Del Rey was the first time I thought, “This show's big. People actually watch this.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.