Chase McWhorter and his (now ex-) wife Miranda have denied being involved in the “soft swinging” Mormon MomTok group that launched a ton of scandal (not to mention the Hulu reality show Secret Lives of Mormon Wives), but in a new interview with Us Weekly, Chase is telling all about what went down and who exactly got down with their friends’ spouses.
Chase— whose ex-wife Miranda is part of the MomTok group but does not appear on ‘Mormon Wives’— told the magazine for this week’s cover story that he and Miranda were involved more than they initially admitted to being when the scandal broke. Now that he and Miranda are divorced and Chase has stepped away from the Mormon religion, he decided to open up about what happened within the group.
“The sole reason I was embarrassed to be a part of the first place was the optics,” he told Us Weekly. “It was a learning experience, for sure, and looking back, we could have gone about it a lot of different ways.”
‘Mormon Wives’ star Taylor Frankie Paul first came forward online in 2022, claiming to be involved in a “soft swinging” group with several of her social media cohorts. The scandal exploded on social media, and eventually ended several marriages, including Taylor’s to Tate Paul.
Here, The Ashley breaks down some of the most-interesting parts of Chase’s interview.
On how the swinging began:
While Chase pointed the finger at COVID for the group starting their partner-swapping parties, he also revealed that things began innocently, with the couples playing “party games” together while getting liquored up.
“[It was] a bunch of our friends coming — couples — and then we’d all get trashed on alcohol and then, like, these games would come up, Spin the Bottle or whatever,” he said, admitting that he and Miranda participated in the games. However, Chase claimed that, in the beginning, no one thought things would escalate any further.
“It was never predetermined that we were going to be doing, like, swinging,” he said. “That’s what we always thought was a little bit misrepresented in Taylor’s story, as she presents it.”
On why the swinging began:
Chase stated that, in his opinion, the MomTok couples participated in the swinging activities because they had never had a chance to explore their sexualities before, due to the strict rules against pre-marital sex and other regulations from the Mormon religion, which also forbids alcohol use.
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“This is a bunch of people that grew up, for the most part, pretty Mormon and were in a lot of ways, I think, infantilized by the lack of these experiences they went through in college,” he explained. “So, this was kind of a new thing… [most of the people involved had] not ever dabbled in some of the stuff that you’d probably just get through and experience in college or high school. But I don’t really ever think anyone thought, ‘We’re gonna eventually, like, switch [partners] and then have sex with that person.’”
Chase also claimed that most of the couples involved were struggling in their marriages. (Later in the interview, Chase claims that he and Miranda did not split due to any of the controversy surrounding the MomTok swinging, and that they’ve been able to maintain a very cordial relationship post-divorce.)
On who did the swinging & who didn’t:
Many of the women who appear on ‘Mormon Lives’ have denied being part of the swinging scene, but Chase was happy to reveal who was— and wasn’t— actually participating in the partner-swapping shenanigans.
“I’ll tell you exactly who was never at any of the parties. Whitney [Leavitt] never came,” Chase said, adding, “I don’t think anyone wanted to kick it with Whitney.”
(As fans know, Whitney is currently on the outs with the majority of the MomTok group and has said that she may not return if the show is renewed for a second season, due to the “villain” edit she feels she was given.)
“Mayci Neeley, Layla Taylor and Jessi Ngatikaura were also never involved,” Chase said, adding that Jennifer Affleck was also “never” at any of the parties.
“Her husband [Zac] would have probably killed her,” he added.
Chase did reveal that Demi Engemann and her husband Bret were present at some of the parties, but claims they were just “hanging out” and “didn’t cross any lines.”
On his feeling toward Taylor now:
Chase says that he was “stunned” when he learned that Taylor and Tate had been doing “actual swinging” with another couple, and that Taylor had been having an affair with the other man.
“This was not a one-time offense,” he said, comparing him and other group members finding out to “a nuclear bomb [being] dropped.”
Chase also addressed how the scandal hurt Taylor and Miranda’s friendship, particularly when Miranda didn’t have Taylor’s back after Taylor spilled the beans about the scandal during her infamous 2022 TikTok Live.
“I don’t think Taylor liked the fact that Miranda wasn’t really there right by her side [during the scandal],” Chase said, adding that Miranda and Taylor are “cordial” today but unlikely to become as close as they once were.
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Chase also seems to have some animosity toward Taylor for making a private thing very public and telling the story in a way that made them all look like cheaters.
“We probably should have not been there. But at the same time, why does this have to be a public thing?” he said. “It seems like this was all happening behind closed doors, and now Taylor’s using it as a springboard to notoriety when she’s the one that actually just cheated.”
RELATED STORY: The Stars of ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’: Where Their Relationships, Lives & Friendships Stand As of This Week
One Response
He’s being disingenuous. Taylor dropped the bomb because everyone was making her out to be the home wrecker. Of course she screwed up, but her husband brought that man into their life. That matters.