Marciano Brunette, a server on “Vanderpump Villa” who was fired in Season 2, says “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Demi Engemann has repeated allegedly “false” claims that he’d assaulted her.
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“Vanderpump Villa” cast member Marciano Brunette is taking “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Demi Engemann to court for her sexual assault claims.
In a defamation lawsuit filed in Utah federal court on Dec. 5, Brunette, 32, alleges Engemann, 31, and the Hulu show’s Jeff Jenkins Production Company were “publishing false accusations of sexual assault and branding Marciano a ‘sexual predator.'”
According to Brunette’s legal complaint, he and Engemann “shared a consensual kiss” while filming Season 2 of “Vanderpump Villa” in Italy in August 2024. Lawyers for Brunette, a server on the reality show, say Engemann has been “shifting her story over time” and “reframed the obviously consensual interaction as one of sexual misconduct and then as sexual assault.”
Brunette and his team point to the fact that he and Engemann allegedly “remained in close contact,” claiming they’d “exchanged over a hundred pages of text messages” through March 2025 and “none of the messages suggested that they had engaged in any type of non-consensual encounter, sexual or otherwise.”
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Engemann and “Mormon Wives” for comment.
Marciano Brunette’s lawsuit: Demi Engemann’s sexual assault claims were ‘amplified’ for profit
Brunette’s characterization of the 2024 encounter, which “was not aired” on “Mormon Wives,” was that he and the mother of three, who is married to Bret Engemann, exchanged a kiss on the lips. Engemann then told Marciano: ‘I love you.’ Marciano responded back: ‘I love you too.'”
Brunette’s lawyers laid out multiple instances of Engemann going public with her assault claims, including a comment on social media in April that called Brunette a “s3ual pr3dator” – a statement that Brunette’s team calls “false and defamatory.”
In a May appearance on “The Viall Files” podcast, Engemann claimed “I had been groped, sexually assaulted,” without naming Brunette. Then, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight released on Dec. 4, Engemann said she “unequivocally” was “sexually assaulted and inappropriately touched without my consent.”
Engemann was shown talking about being “sexually assaulted” and groped throughout Season 3 of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” which premiered in November, per the lawsuit. This showed the production company “took Engemann’s false accusations about sexual assault and exploited them as one of the primary storylines,” Brunette’s team says.
The Jeff Jenkins production team “amplified the same accusations for profit” and “aired the allegations in a way designed to maximize impact while cutting Marciano out and denying him any meaningful opportunity to respond,” the lawsuit claims.
As a result of Engemann’s allegations, Brunette has “lost professional opportunities,” including “a lucrative contract to appear on a popular reality dating competition show,” and experienced “harassment by strangers and lasting harm to Marciano’s reputation.”
Brunette was “fired” from “Vanderpump Villa” during Season 2, and he previously said in a May 1 Instagram post that the termination was not related to “Mormon Wives.” At the time, Us Weekly described the firing as having happened after a “tense fight” with a fellow cast member, and Brunette alleged he was defending costar Hannah Fouch, who was also fired.
Lisa Vanderpump said ‘Mormon Wives’ cast has ‘good reason’ to doubt Demi Engemann’s claims
Brunette’s lawyers say that “footage, accessible to Jeff Jenkins, would not only refute Engemann’s narrative, but woulddepict behavior inconsistent with the allegation that Plaintiff committed a sexual assault.”
In the Dec. 4 ET interview, Engemann claimed “there is footage in the hallway that this happened” but she was told the video was not accessible.
Meanwhile, “Vanderpump Villa” Executive Producer Lisa Vanderpump told Access Hollywood in November that “I categorically know what happened because we have cameras everywhere and I’ve seen every ounce of the footage.”
She continued, “So when the [Mormon Wives] women are doubting [Engemann], I think they’ve got very good reason.”
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.