'This was the most disturbing reality TV moment I've seen in years.'

I watch a lot of reality TV. It is, quite literally, my job, but it's also the source of most of my joy.

From Real Housewives to Love Island and all our local Australian TV formats — I love it all.

But a moment in my (and the world's) latest reality TV obsession did not spark joy in me. It made me upset. Very upset.

It was possibly the most disturbing scene I've seen.

It was a moment in Season 2 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

Watch the trailer for Season 2. Post continues after video.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not some delicate flower. I have endured a lot of disturbing reality TV moments in my time.

I watched scenes on Big Brother that I'd like to forget, especially during the adults-only episodes (iykyk).

I've seen men on The Bachelor dating upwards of 20 women at once, and one who simply couldn't pick a winner, so he just peaced out of the show and dumped them all.

I even watched a groom on MAFS describe cleaning his toilet with his wife's toothbrush.

But it was a scene in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives involving MomTok ladies Layla Taylor, Demi Engemann, and a game of 'pregnancy roulette' that has pushed me too far.

During a girls' trip, Layla — who is notably one of the youngest cast members — suggested playing a game she'd seen on TikTok: every woman would take a pregnancy test, put it anonymously into a communal basket, and then each would draw a test at random to reveal the results.

The glaring problem? Demi had been open about her fertility struggles and had spent the past four years trying to fall pregnant with her husband, Bret Engemann.

Therefore, a game that could potentially make this woman think she was pregnant when she wasn't just cruel — it was honestly quite insane.

And that's exactly how it played out, because these Mormon women LOVE to get pregnant.

Mikayla Matthews and Mayci Neeley were indeed both pregnant, and had been keeping their pregnancies as secrets that were about to be spilled.

Their tests came back positive, and one of the positive tests was pulled out by Demi.

In the scene, Demi experienced a momentary surge of hope which was swiftly dashed when it became clear the positive results were not hers.

Demi quickly broke down in tears and became inconsolable, describing the experience as "deeply sad" and "triggering."

Umm, yeah. That was horrendous viewing.

Despite Demi being far from a 'fan favourite' this season, viewers agreed that this moment went WAY too far.

As much as I don’t like Demi. Them playing pregnancy test roulette with someone struggling with infertility is actually insane. #TheSecretLivesOfMormonWives

— Bolu (@_bolubrea) May 18, 2025

The pregnancy test roulette was just fucking MEANNNN to do knowing one of your friends is struggling on their fertility journey….what the fuck was that????? #TheSecretLivesOfMormonWives pic.twitter.com/kpIVEDifhY

— . (@aaaaaaaa1933) May 20, 2025

why the FUCK did they play this pregnancy test roulette game??? like these women hate each other fr #SLOMW

— neeks (@neekstj) May 18, 2025

This whole pregnancy test roulette thing might be the most bizarre setup and aftermath to ever hit reality television #secretlivesofmormonwives pic.twitter.com/v3SZZKAHDN

— Joshua Borden (@_joshborden) May 20, 2025

The worst part of it all was when Demi realised she was holding a positive pregnancy test, she had a moment of confusion.

"[My] initial reaction is like, 'Holy s**t I'm pregnant', and then I'm like, 'Wait no, there's no way that you're pregnant, all you get is negative tests,'" Demi reflected in a confessional.

"I can't even explain how deeply sad I'm feeling at this moment."

Jessi Ngatikaura comforted Demi as she reflected on how thoughtless such a game was given her circumstances.

I’m almost done with season 2 of #secretlivesofmormonwives and idk if it was Layla’s idea or the show runner’s but playing pregnancy test roulette when there’s someone in the group dealing with infertility issues is weird and cruel pic.twitter.com/gx77wWnttz

— jelly 🩰 (@jelyssathelibra) May 19, 2025

"I try so hard to consider everyone's feelings, and I feel like people are so flippant about things that bother me," she said.

Jessi described the game as "so wrong", adding that "it wasn't a trick anyone was playing on you, but I think it was just really terrible timing."

It came across as particularly sinister as the group has been slowly turning on Demi over the course of the season. At best, the game came off as really mean, or at worst, as a form of bullying.

Some viewers felt the other women should have intervened or refused to participate, while others noted that the producers' push for drama may have contributed to the situation.

Either way, the audience wasn't happy with Layla for pushing forward with the game despite Demi's protests.

secret villain of mormon wives is layla because who would do pregnancy test roulette with someone who is going through fertility issues

— divya (@divsss9) May 25, 2025

For what it's worth, Layla later addressed the backlash and confirmed that her actions were not producer-driven. Howeer, she also said there was more to the scene than what was shown.

"I think you have to remember that they cut a lot out and they cut a lot out of that conversation… they cut out [my intentions behind] pregnancy roulette," she told Cosmopolitan.

"So, I feel like, at the end of the day, you have to remember that you're seeing so little, and obviously they can't show a 30-minute conversation that leads me to doing an action."

That doesn't explain why TF you'd play a game about pregnancy with someone struggling with that exact thing, but whatever!

Feature image: Disney Plus.