"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.
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