‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ star Mikayla Matthews and husband Jace Terry announce separation amid intimacy issue

Mikayla Matthews & Jace Terry, popular couple from Hulu’s The Secret Life of a Mormon Wife (formerly The Secret Life of a Mormon Woman), have broken up years after experiencing intimacy problems relating to Mikayla’s childhood trauma.

The pair met at 16 years old when Mikayla was 21 years old and would subsequently become partners, welcoming their first child shortly after becoming parents, before getting married on March 1, 2018just months after becoming parents of an infant, and have developed into a family of four children. Even though throughout the season of MomTok from the show, Mikayla and Jace had seemingly been in a strong relationship, many issues in relation to the physical and emotional aspects of their relationship as husband and wife were revealed during season 3 and subsequent seasons.

Mikayla disclosed that from the age of 6 until the age of 15 years old, she suffered from having been s*xually abused by three individuals, leading to significant triggers surrounding intimacy. Mikayla referred to kissing more as a challenge in contrast to sex and stated that, at this time, her nervous system is operating at a “fight or flight* level. Along with ongoing flare-ups from chronic illnesses and recovering from her last postpartum stage, progress from therapeutic services has halted. “Right now, I am completely overwhelmed…I have so many things that require my time. Intimacy…will take months to get right…there’s no way,” stated Mikayla.

Jace expressed his frustration, but also stated he understood Mikayla’s struggles and that, while they need both types of intimacy, he yearns to develop an emotional connection with his wife. “More than anything… I just want to feel like I can connect with my wife again,” stated Jace.

Mikayla’s decision has been made publically, but privately she talked to some of her friends and family about it. They both agreed that co-parenting and having daily interactions with the kids are their main priority. Mikayla is currently concentrating on her individual healing process with the help of stem cell treatments and her sister, Whitney Leavitt.

Even though the breakup looks like it could be a temporary measure, they both hope that through their commitment to doing trauma work together, their kids will see their mother and father as having an emotionally healthy relationship with each other. The fans of the reality series will continue to follow Mikayla and her family as they show what life is like for those in the Mormon influencer community.