Mikayla Matthews says there is much more to her story than what was shown on Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and she’s more ready than ever for fans to get to know her.
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Matthews, 24, is one of the stars of the hit Hulu reality series that follows a group of Utah influencers involved in TikTok’s “Mom Tok,” a group of social media stars often known for their ties to the Church of Latter-Day Saints.
The mom-of-three has amassed 2.4 million TikTok followers from sharing her journey with motherhood and, more recently, her intense battle with chronic eczema. Yet, when it came to wait made the final cut in the Hulu show, Matthews tells us that many of her scenes were cut to favor drama between other co-stars, including Taylor Frankie Paul and Whitney Leavitt.
“They didn’t show a lot of my storyline, but I had to definitely put myself out of my comfort zone,” she says.
“I went to therapy, they filmed me going to therapy where I’m just like, sobbing my eyes out, talking about the most traumatic things,” she adds of scenes that didn’t make it into the final show.
Matthews has spoken openly online about dealing with her life-altering condition, revealing in a September 8 TikTok that she has put plans to expand her family on hold while she focuses on her health.
“What you didn’t see on the show,” she wrote on Instagram days before our conversation, sharing photos of her eczema flares. “Showing up for filming the whole first season was not only physically exhausting but extremely mentally challenging and watching the show it’s very obvious I was fighting for my life, not only cause I’m surrounding by crazy women lol but because I was really really struggling.”
“I want to continue to shed light on the many stages of my chronic illness and chronic illness in general.”
In our conversation, Matthews revealed that a combination of her storyline getting cut and some nerves has left some viewers feeling like she appeared awkward and out of place on screen.
“I’ve gotten so many hate messages just on social media, so I’m kind of numb to it,” she tells us. “I think everyone’s going to have opinions, so I try not to think about it.”
Still, some of that commentary has got to sting when it comes to sensitive topics like religion or relationships, topics Matthews and her castmates have been facing a lot of scrutiny over. The show’s title alone generated backlash from other LDS members which Matthews, who was raised in the church, was surprised by.
“I was actually shocked from the backlash just on the name of the show, just because it said ‘Mormons,'” Matthews tells us. “The Mormon community was all up in arms about it [but] it didn’t offend me much. I mean, I haven’t been active in the church for a little bit but I know some of the girls got more more backlash from their families who are still very active.”
Though drama between Paul and her boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, and Jen Affleck’s issues with husband Zac dominated much of the season, Matthews notes that we likely won’t see her marriage at the center of the drama on the show.
“My husband’s always supportive of what I’m doing,” says Matthews, who shares son Beckham, 7, and daughters Haven, 4, and Tommie, 2, with her husband of over seven years, Jace.
“He just trusts me to not cross boundaries and to have respect for our relationship but he wants me to be my own person and do my own things.”
“I think we saw a little bit of that controlling dynamic in some of the relationships,” she adds. “So I do understand why people are concerned. I mean, as a friend group, looking in, we were all very concerned.”
For now, Matthews is looking forward and hoping to share more of her personality in season two.
“I’m definitely excited for season two,” she says. “I hope my story will be brought in a little bit more on season two, and I’m able to share a lot more with my chronic illness and my journey.”
“I haven’t heard anything about a season two yet, but, I mean, it’s gotta happen.”
Before you go, click here to see all the celebrities who were raised mormon.
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