What Happened Between Jessi Ngatikaura and Marciano Brunette? Everything the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Star Has Said About Cheating Claims

At the end of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2, Jessi Ngatikaura found herself in some hot water.

During the season’s finale, Vanderpump Villa star Marciano Brunette sat down with Jessi’s costar Layla Taylor and claimed that he’d slept with Jessi. The bombshell reveal came months after a few of the Mormon Wives cast members — including Jessi — visited the Vanderpump Villa cast in Italy in August 2024.

Marciano is currently single; however, Jessi has been married to her husband, Jordan Ngatikaura, since 2020.

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star has yet to fully explain her side of things, but has indicated that the rumors aren’t true.

“A lot of this story is unpacked in season 3, so I can’t talk about it yet,” she told host Nick Viall during the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2 reunion, which premiered on July 1 on Hulu. “There’s a lot more to the story, and it’s not what you think it is.”

So what, exactly, happened between Jessi Ngatikaura and Marciano Brunette? Here’s everything to know about the rumors surrounding their relationship.

What happened between Jessi and Marciano?

In August 2024, Jessi and her castmates — including Layla, Jen Affleck, Demi Engemann and Mikayla Matthews — flew to Italy to meet and film with the Vanderpump Villa cast, which included Marciano.

A month later, Jessi and Marciano were spotted together in Los Angeles, sparking a wave of online rumors. The two were allegedly seen kissing at TomTom, a bar co-owned by Lisa Vanderpump and Vanderpump Rules stars Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval.

Marciano discussed the rumors in the season 2 finale of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, alleging to Layla that the pair’s interaction in L.A. led to “more than” kissing.

“Soon as I saw her, [she] jumps into my arms, wraps her legs around my waist,” he recalled to Layla. “I thought we were cool at the villa, but then she was extremely forward [at the bar].”

Marciano went on to claim that he and Jessi were still in contact, before alleging that Jessi’s husband Jordan was aware of the situation.

“He doesn’t know the truth about how extensive it was. It was not just a one-time hook-up thing,” Marciano said. “It’s not like this was some freaking one-night stand.”

Layla then asked Marciano, “Did you guys f—?” In response, Marciano nodded.

Jessi has denied kissing Marciano, but has not yet addressed his claim that they slept together.

Jessi said she isn’t “dumb enough” to cheat in public

During season 2, episode 6 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Jessi denied kissing Marciano at TomTom.

“If I was dumb enough to do that, I wouldn’t do that in public,” she said to the group.

In a confessional, Jessi added, “No, it did not happen.”

Jessi says she’s “excited” to address the affair rumors in season 3

In a May 2025 episode of The Viall Files, Jessi said that she can’t share her side of things just yet.

“I can’t say much, unfortunately. I wish I could,” she said, hinting that all would be revealed in season 3 of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. “But there is just so much more to the story.”

Jessi continued, “And again, relationships are hard and they’re nuanced. There’s so much more that I’m excited to share because I think people will be able to relate to my story.”

Jessi reiterated that sentiment during the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2 reunion.

She’s “working through things” with her husband, Jordan

During her interview on The Viall Files, Nick’s wife Natalie Joy pointed out that Jessi was not wearing her wedding ring and asked about the status of her marriage to Jordan.

“I will say that reality TV is hard on any relationship, whether it’s a friendship or a marriage, and we’ve been through a lot, and now it’s gonna be public,” Jessi shared. “We’re working through things, and we’re trying our best, but things are a little tricky right now.”

She added, “I’m excited to hopefully someday share more about that. But right now … it’s just real life, and it’s hard.”

Jordan was present for the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2 reunion, but wasn’t onstage when Jessi was asked directly about her rumored affair with Marciano.

“We’re both going through a lot right now, but I think [Jordan]’s willing to tell his truth, too,” she said. “He’s been very vulnerable throughout season 3. We both just laid it all out there. There’s no secrets, we are exposing it all.”