Vanderpump Villa’s Marciano Brunette told Newsweek that Hulu’s production has reviewed all the footage of the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives trip to the villa and cleared him of any wrongdoing during production with Demi Engemann.
“I can’t say too much but let’s just say that everything was looked over and I was a thousand percent cleared of it,” Brunette said. “I think everything was looked at from a production standpoint.”
While Brunette believes production cleared him of wrongdoing, he told Newsweek in his first interview since the accusations were made public, that he’s not aware of a formal investigation being conducted. He said he talked with production loosely about what was being done and that he believes having all the footage from filming the crossover episode of Vanderpump Villa helps his defense.
Newsweek reached out to Engemann and Hulu via email for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
When the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast visited Vanderpump Villa, Engemann and Brunette appeared to develop a friendly relationship. While playing a game of truth or dare, Brunette was dared to kiss one of the women. It’s not seen on the show, but Brunette said he asked Engemann if he could kiss her on the cheek. Engemann reportedly said yes, and he kissed her on the cheek.
Brunette told Newsweek another kiss, on the lips, occurred when the women were saying goodbye and leaving the villa. Engemann admitted to the kiss on the cheek but vehemently denied this ever happened and said there were two other times that he grabbed her butt inappropriately.
“I was either sexually assaulted or I wasn’t,” Engemann told Whitney Leavitt on an episode of Season 3 of Secret Lives. “And the answer is that I was.”
Brunette denied he sexually assaulted Engemann and said everything between them was consensual. He said he was being careful about his behavior because they’re on camera and he knew anything inappropriate could be a problem for him.
He told Newsweek he first became aware of Engemann saying he assaulted her when Jessi Draper Ngatikaura told him about it. However, Brunette said she didn’t convey how serious the situation was so he didn’t feel the need to speak out about it.
“I wanted it to go away because I was like, this isn’t real. This is not happening to me right now,” Brunette said. “I’m like, oh my gosh, like this is gonna ruin my life.”
Vanderpump Villa shows the two separating from the group to have a “therapy session,” which Brunette said was a conversation spanning several hours that covered parts of their lives that led Brunette to believe they had a connection. At the end of the show, he tells Engemann how much he’s liked getting to know her and Engemann told him he was “special.” The two hug and Brunette said they exchanged contact information to keep in touch after the show.
On Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Engemann said Brunette was “in love” with her but there was no reciprocity. At a Hulu event, to which Brunette said he was uninvited, Engemann spoke with Vanderpump Villa’s Hannah Fouch about what happened. Fouch asks Engemann to take back the “sexual predator” label she put on Brunette, which Engemann refused to do.
Engemann’s version of the story was questioned by some of her castmates on Secret Lives. Several women noted that she previously said she wasn’t a victim and they questioned why she continued to talk to him if he assaulted her. Engemann acknowledged that her response may seem odd, but defended herself, saying that there’s no correct way to respond to unwanted touch. She also said the women were “victim shaming” her.
Ngatikaura agreed that there are many ways to handle a trauma like sexual assault, but still doubted Engemann’s recollection of what happened.
“I appreciate her for absolutely sticking up for me because she knows that, like, that didn’t happen,” Brunette said, referencing Ngatikaura. “And I’m definitely very appreciative of them doing that when they didn’t have to whatsoever.”
Leavitt defended Engemann throughout the season, telling Taylor Frankie Paul that they don’t get to decide how Engemann feels about the interactions with Brunette. In the season finale, Engemann expresses frustration that she’s not being believed and people don’t want to “truly understand.”
“I’ve never even told [Marciano] he was cute,” Engemann said. “But Marciano did sexually assault me.”
Brunette said that he was “a little shocked” he didn’t have any confessionals in the new season of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives to counter Engemann’s narrative. He said he was told he would get confessional time and that he was contracted for the whole season but stopped filming once the accusations came out.
While he’d like the opportunity to air his side on the show, he said he doesn’t think Hulu would have him back on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
“I do hope Hulu handles this very carefully because this is very serious,” Brunette said.
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