Mormon Wife Mayci Neeley Shares Her Son’s Reaction to the ‘Sex Talk’
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Mayci Neeley has quickly discovered the best way to talk about the birds and the bees with her 10-year-old son, Hudson.
“He recently learned what sex is; he’s at that age,” Mayci, 30, mentioned on the Sunday, October 12, episode of the “Sunday Sports Club” podcast. “We had to have the conversation, and I’m like, ‘You’re not reading [my] book [until you’re 18].’”
Mayci discovered that she was pregnant with Hudson at just 19 years old, shortly before her ex-boyfriend and Hudson’s birth father, Arik Mack, tragically passed away in a car accident. Mayci then married Jacob Neeley, who later adopted Hudson. (Mayci and Jacob also have two daughters together.)
“When we talked to him about sex, the thing that upset him the most was learning that he has a different dad because I had sex with someone else,” the MomTok influencer shared about Hudson’s reaction. “He was so shocked and even asked my husband, ‘Why did you marry her?’”
Mayci noted that she and Jacob, 30, only provided Hudson with the “basic” sex education.
“He got the basic explanation: ‘You have sex to make a baby.’ So he realized, ‘That’s how I was created,’” she explained to podcast host Allison Kuch. “Then, he asked, ‘Dad, why did you marry her if she did that and had a baby?’ Kids really have no filter [and] no shame.”
Mayci shared more of her journey in her newly released memoir, Told You So, including how she coped with Arik’s death while pregnant.
“It was the hardest experience of my life. The grieving process was incredibly intense,” Mayci exclusively told Us Weekly earlier in October. “There were so many things I wished I had said, so many regrets about what I said before he passed, and so many things I wish I could still ask him. It’s contributed to a lot of anxiety in my present life. When my husband doesn’t respond within a certain timeframe, I worry, ‘Did he get in an accident? Are my kids safe?’ I get so anxious.”
She added, “I felt extremely depressed… I never seriously contemplated hurting myself because I knew it would devastate my family — and I had my baby growing inside me. I understood that wasn’t an option.”
Mayci also shared with Us how growing up in the Mormon church influenced her pregnancy experience.
“Those actions are definitely against church guidelines. I felt immense guilt because we are taught that sex outside of marriage is akin to a sin next to murder,” she expressed. “It’s the shame and guilt ingrained from my upbringing. After Arik passed away, I found myself drawn to religion to help make sense of it all.”
Mayci elaborated on why she decided to deepen her connection with religion following Arik’s death.
“I turned toward it because I needed to understand. As of now, I feel like I’m somewhat in the middle,” the reality star said of her relationship with the Church of Latter-Day Saints. “I’ve always been someone who’s kind of in between. What I focus on — at least within my faith — is my relationship with God and striving to be a good person. That’s what truly matters, and ensuring my kids feel loved and grow into good individuals as well.”
