The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Demi Engemann debunked rumors about her 16-year age gap with husband Bret Engemann — including whether he was her babysitter before they got married.
“I didn’t cheat on Bret and we did not know each other when I was 9 years old,” Demi, 31, said during a joint interview on the Sunday, March 15, episode of the “I Do, Part 2” podcast, addressing a number of allegations regarding her relationship.”
Demi acknowledged that speculation started when she tried to lean into the humor around her and Bret’s age difference.
“I met Bret when I was 21 years old at our good family friend’s funeral. I’m kind of to blame for that [rumor]. Because it was the satire time of TikTok where people are just going after our age gap relationship,” she recalled. “So then we just play into it.”
While the comments about her marriage didn’t “bother” Demi, it was a problem for Bret, 47.
“The age where I met her just keeps getting younger and younger and younger,” he noted, before Demi added, “And then he was my babysitter and then he was best friends with my parents. The thing just keeps getting spun and spun. So I take full responsibility for starting that whole thing.”
Demi continued, “It’s my job to clear it up. We met when I was a beyond legal adult and we both were married to different people. It was not at all what people are saying on the internet. … It’s so wild to think about because there’s so many connections [between us] but I genuinely never met Brett until that funeral.”
Before Demi and Bret were introduced to Us on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which debuted in 2024, Bret was married to The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City alum Angie Harrington, with whom he shares two sons. Demi, meanwhile, was previously married to Blake Corbin, with whom she shares a daughter.
Demi has frequently explained that she properly met Bret when she was older.
“So if you don’t know, my husband and I are 16 years apart and I knew him through a family friend growing up,” she shared in a February 2023 TikTok video. “He was so much older than me. When I was 9 years old, he was married to his first wife and having babies.”
Demi recalled having a crush on Bret before they became friends as adults, adding, “He was very sweet and supportive and just offered his help in any way that he could with both Blake and I [amid our divorce]. We met up a couple weeks later. At this point, I’m in no position to get in a relationship. I’m just looking for someone to talk me through a divorce, [someone] that had been through it.”
The reality star stood by the timeline of their romance. “Out of respect for my ex-husband and the divorce not being finalized, we waited to go on any official date,” she explained. “So we were kind of hanging out and keeping it casual while trying to figure out my new situation with my ex-husband and coparenting.”
Demi concluded, “I definitely needed to date other people and just be alone to figure out my new normal. I went crawling back to Bret, begging him to take me back. We got back together, we dated for about 10 months before getting engaged.”
The duo have also shut down claims of infidelity after Marciano Brunette said he had an affair with Demi. She accused Marciano of sexual misconduct and he subsequently sued her for defamation.
“The fidelity thing is so funny because you won’t find a couple that’s more committed to each other and doesn’t even have a thought of being with anybody else,” Bret shared on Sunday’s podcast episode while blaming Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa for the rumors. “That’s been such a dumb thing to even have to talk about.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is streaming now on Hulu.
