"Hope the world can be gentle on her": The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Layla comments on the tension between Jessi and Jordan

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Layla Taylor recently weighed in on the tension between co-star Jessi Ngatikaura and her husband Jordan Ngatikaura after Jessi was accused of having an affair with Vanderpump Villa fame Marciano Brunette in season 2. 

On November 12, 2025, Page Six Radio shared clips of their conversation with Layla, in which she shared her take on the conflict, noting that the repercussions of the allegation had been challenging for the parties involved in the scandal.  

Speaking for her co-star, Layla hoped viewers would go easy on her. 

“I just think that it’s been a very emotionally taxing last little bit, and I hope that the world can be gentle on her,” she said. 

Romance rumors about Jessi and Marciano sparked after the latter appeared in two episodes of Vanderpump Villa. Although she dismissed the allegations as a matter of friendship, in the season 2 finale, which aired in May 2025, Marciano claimed he had been intimate with Jessi. 

In a May 2025 interview with Bustle, Jessi claimed that Marciano’s version of the story “was not accurate,” but at the same time, she admitted relationships were hard and “people make mistakes.”

In another May 2025 interview on The Viall Files podcast, Jessi shared that her marriage was in a “tricky” situation. 

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Layla shares her take on the equation between Jessi and Marciano

While speaking about the toll the scandal took on Jessi’s marriage, Layla said it would be “hard” for Jessi to relive the drama since it would give viewers another opportunity to share their opinions on her marriage. 

Nonetheless, she wanted Jessi to be happy irrespective of who she was with. While speaking about how difficult things were in her marriage, Layla noted that Jessi was good at “putting up a happy face” even when she was struggling. 

“I feel like I’ve seen Jessi now like in her lowest moments now going through this. She’s still good at slapping a smile on, and you would never know that she’s going through a hard time,” Layla said.

According to Layla, Jordan was a “harder person to be around” since he was blunt about his opinions in a “rude way,” which Layla felt added to the tension in their marriage. 

That said, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star claimed Jordan “emotionally” exploited Jessi. 

She also talked about how Jessi, in season 3, admitted to not feeling beautiful to Jordan. 

“Jessi’s one of the most beautiful humans I’ve ever met, inside and out. She’s seriously such a gem, and I think it’s hard though when you’re in a relationship where you’re not necessarily getting uplifted all the time and you’re not getting that validation that you need,” she added. 

Later, when asked about the “truth” of Marciano and Jessi, Layla said that she believed Jessi over Marciano. 

According to her, if Jessi were already getting exposed for an affair, facing its consequences in her marriage as well as in the form of online hate, it would not do her any good to deny the claim. 

Layla believed that for Marciano, the whole situation was more of an “ego thing,” saying he might have liked Jessi and did not get the reciprocation he expected from her. 

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star went so far as to call Marciano a “fame-hungry” person, who wanted his edit in the show, which he got in season 3. 

That said, Layla stated that the Marciano issue ended in season 3, and she hoped it would not resurface. 

Stay tuned for more updates.