The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Layla Taylor is giving insight into how BFF Miranda McWhorter has been affected by ex Chase McWhorter kissing pal Jessi Draper.
“I’m just being there for her, obviously,” Layla, 25, exclusively told Luxury Handbag Shopping, while promoting her SHOWPO collection. “But when it comes to Jessi and Chase and all of that, I definitely think that you’ll have to wait and see. I’ll let those people speak on what’s been going on there.”
While remaining tight-lipped about the dynamics, Layla revealed that Miranda, 28, and Jessi, 33, are taking their friendship “day by day.”
“They’ll share it when the time is right,” she said, adding that the energy has not shifted with the cameras being down. “MomTok will always just survive.”
Mormon Wives season 5 halted production in March after Taylor Frankie Paul and ex Dakota Mortensen were involved in a domestic incident. Days later, news broke that Chase, 30, and Jessi shared a kiss at a party following her split from estranged husband Jordan Ngatikaura. (Jordan filed for divorce from Jessi in March. The pair share kids Jagger, 6, and Jovi, 2.)
“They were having fun at a party, and it’s not serious between them,” one insider exclusively told Us at the time.
Miranda, for her part, admitted in a statement to Entertainment Tonight that she felt “slighted” by Jessi over the incident.
“I knew there had been communication between Chase and Jessi but not to what extent,” she said. “Chase was upfront and told me that they were talking and that they kissed. Jessi reached out only after she knew Chase had told me something was going on with them.”
Miranda clarified that she has no “emotional attachment” to Chase, with whom she shares son Brooks, 6, and daughter Cohen, 4.
“He is my coparent. Although I do feel disrespected by Chase, I feel slighted by my friend. Chase and I are no longer partners and while I have a high expectation of him as a coparent, I also hold my friends to a high standard and believe in girl code,” she said. “With everything going on and all the chaos, I am just focusing on my kids. As unfortunate as the film break is and then also this betrayal I’m going to try and focus on my kids and reground myself. I am processing it and moving forward.”
Us confirmed on Tuesday, April 21, that Mormon Wives is set to resume production on season 5. No further details were shared at the time.
“It’s obviously a TV show, but there’s a lot of good that comes from the show,” Layla told Us, when asked if she ever wondered whether Mormon Wives wouldn’t return. “I’m really proud of our show. I think that is always going to be a strong standing show.”
For now, Layla is focused on navigating her recent split from Chase’s brother, Mason McWhorter, which is what led her to working with SHOWPO. Layla shared that she wants people to “feel confident and beautiful” while wearing the pieces from her Becoming collection, which she said is in reference to her “always trying to work toward the best version” of herself.
“I think going through something so hard like that with somebody that you really loved, not being with that person anymore definitely causes you to look internally in that healing process,” she told Us. “I just feel like I’m finally just in place right now that I am just happy with who I am and happy with how I was in the relationship and just proud of myself with how I showed up. I just feel like throughout this breakup, I’ve just learned a lot about me.”
