Bobbi Althoff has clarified her religious background after fans questioned her casting in Hulu’s “Mormon Wives OC.”
The podcaster and influencer, 29, addressed the confusion directly on Instagram when a follower asked whether she actually practices Mormonism. Althoff, who rose to fame through her deadpan celebrity interviews on “The Really Good Podcast,” explained her connection to the faith is more complicated than the show’s title suggests.
“I am not Mormon, but I do have a Mormon brother,” she wrote, according to the exchange. “And I grew up going to Mormon church, like, twice.”
Althoff’s casting in the Orange County spin-off of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” surprised viewers familiar with her online persona, which rarely touches on religion or faith. The original series, now heading into its fifth season, built its audience around a collective of young Mormon mother influencers who gained traction on TikTok through the #MomTok tag.
The influencer expanded on her upbringing during a 2024 appearance on Rainn Wilson’s “Soul Bloom” podcast, where she described her childhood as nominally Christian despite her father’s inconsistent practice. “We considered ourselves Christian. I feel like my parents indoctrinated me with religion,” she said on the podcast.
Her religious identity shifted significantly during her four-year marriage to ex-husband Cory Althoff, with whom she shares two children: Luca, five, and Isla, three. She told Wilson that she “stopped being religious” because her partner “didn’t really believe in anything,” though she emphasized the change wasn’t forced. “That wasn’t like he forced me to, it wasn’t part of our lives,” she said.
The couple’s split in 2024 prompted Althoff to reconnect with spirituality. “Divorce is a very sad thing. I had to find something, so I started going to church again,” she explained. She added that she definitely believes in “something bigger than me that can hear my thoughts and make me feel better about things.”
Althoff is not the only cast member whose religious credentials have drawn scrutiny. Avery Woods previously stated she’s “the opposite of Mormon,” while Aspyn Ovard described herself as baptized and raised in a “Mormon-adjacent” Utah community before drawing a clear boundary. “It’s like you’re not Mormon, but you do follow a lot of similar things,” Ovard said. “That’s kind of where it ends for me.”
The original “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” launched with a premise centered on young Mormon women navigating faith and modernity, using their #MomTok platform to challenge patriarchal structures while maintaining religious identity. Over five seasons, that focus has evolved, and the Orange County spin-off appears to be pushing further from strict religious parameters with its casting choices.
Althoff’s insistence that she grew up in a Christian household, despite her father not “really lead[ing] a Christian life,” adds another layer to the ongoing questions about how faithfully the expanding franchise represents its titular demographic.
Hulu has not announced a premiere date for “Mormon Wives OC.”