Mormon Wives OC Star Madison Reveals Real Housewives Came Calling 3 Times

Madison Bontempo just explained how she swerved three different Housewives openings and still ended up on Hulu 's new The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County. If you are keeping score at home: that is the diamond (Beverly Hills), the orange (OC), and yes, the snowflake (Salt Lake City) all brushed aside before she said yes to something else entirely.

So how close was she to Housewives?

On the Wednesday, May 13 episode of the 'Unplanned' podcast, Madison, 34, said Bravo kept circling her as she bounced between cities. When she lived in Los Angeles, she says she was asked to join The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and turned it down. After moving to Orange County, she says The Real Housewives of Orange County called, and she said no again. She hinted there was Salt Lake City interest somewhere in the mix too.

Then she moved to Utah, moved back to OC, and RHOC reached out yet again. That third time, she actually took the preliminary interview to, in her words, see the vibes. Producers wanted her to meet the other women and pushed for her to sign on, but she got cold feet and walked away.

Why she chose Hulu's Mormon Wives: OC instead

Months after she said no to RHOC (again), Hulu offered her the Orange County spinoff of its Utah-set reality series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which follows a group of young Mormon mom influencers. This one clicked for her for two reasons: the cast are her real-life friends, and she is LDS herself. She also liked that everyone would be starting together, instead of her being the designated new girl on a long-running ensemble.

'This felt more right because the girls are my real friends. I am LDS.'

Who is in the OC cast

• Madison Bontempo (34)
• Aspyn Ovard
• Avery Woods
• Salome Andrea
• McCall DaPron (36)
• Ashleigh Pease
• Chandler Higginson Brooks
• Bobbi Althoff

The OC crew was already out together at Hulu's Get Real House event in April 2026, which tells you the promo train has left the station.

Her ties to the OG Utah crew

Madison is not a stranger to the Utah cast. She says she knows Demi Engemann because Demi's ex-husband, Blake Corbin, was a groomsman for Madison's husband, Kyler Fisher. She and Kyler also know Dakota Mortensen and Taylor Frankie Paul: Dakota did tile work on their Utah bathroom during a remodel, and they later met Taylor at the gym. And Madison went to high school with Mayci Neeley. So, yes, there are real-world threads connecting the two cities.

Will any OGs show up in OC?

It is not confirmed which Utah originals (if any) will make the jump. There is at least one built-in family link: McCall DaPron, 36, is one of Mayci Neeley's older sisters. And one major possibility is Jen Affleck, 26, who moved from Utah to California and is expected to surface in the OC spinoff. Jen first broke out as part of the MomTok circle with Taylor Frankie Paul, Whitney Leavitt, Mayci Neeley, Mikayla Matthews, Layla Taylor, Miranda McWhorter, and Demi Engemann. For context: Demi exited the OG show ahead of season 5.

Bottom line: Madison passed on Housewives three times, but still landed in the genre with a cast she actually knows. Honestly, that is probably the cleaner on-ramp.