Marciano Brunette is taking Demi Engemann to court.
The Vanderpump Villa star filed a lawsuit against the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, accusing her of defamation for alleging that he engaged in "unwanted touch" with her earlier this year.
Marciano said that Demi damaged his reputation by falsely labeling him a "sexual predator," according to the legal documents obtained by E! News Dec. 7.
While filming a crossover episode of their shows in Italy, Marciano said he kissed Demi, though the MomToker—who has been married to husband Bret Engemann since 2021—said any physical contact between them was "unwanted."
In his legal docs, Marciano said their off-camera kiss was consensual, alleging the 31-year-old "reframed the obviously consensual interaction as one of sexual misconduct and then as sexual assault" to create a storyline for reality TV.
He went on to say that the pair kept in touch after their Italy trip, submitting alleged texts from her in his lawsuit. Furthermore, his lawsuit said that Demi shared her location with him, adding, "That behavior confirms a continued relationship, not a person reacting to sexual assault."
Demi's rep had no comment when contacted by E! News. However, Demi previously said that his advances were unwelcome.
"Everyone is going to handle these kinds of situations different," she said on the show. "You never deserve unwanted touch. No matter what it looks like, no matter what your relationship was like before or after, unwanted touch is unwanted touch."
At the time, Demi's rep made it clear they were standing by her, telling E! News, "As a woman, it distresses me that what happened to Demi is being minimized."
For Demi, not only did she say the alleged incident brought up past trauma for her, but she also shared how it created tension with her costars, who took sides in the dispute and expressed doubt over her story.
"I will never put myself in a situation like that again, and that sucks, especially when you've been in that situation and it brings up old stuff," she said during the SLOMW reunion, which aired Dec. 4. "Then you start really blaming yourself for what they did. It's more painful to not [be] believed and to say it and have to go over it and over and over and feel the pain of bad things than to just say, 'F--k, yeah, we kissed. F--k, yeah, this happened.'"
At the time, Demi's rep made it clear they were standing by her, telling E! News, "As a woman, it distresses me that what happened to Demi is being minimized."
For Demi, not only did she say the incident brought up past trauma for her, but she also shared how it created tension with her costars, who took sides in the dispute and expressed doubt over her story.
"I will never put myself in a situation like that again, and that sucks, especially when you've been in that situation and it brings up old stuff," she said during the SLOMW reunion, which aired Dec. 4. "Then you start really blaming yourself for what they did. It's more painful to not [be] believed and to say it and have to go over it and over and over and feel the pain of bad things than to just say, 'F--k, yeah, we kissed. F--k, yeah, this happened.'"
To learn more about the cast of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, read on.
Mayci Neeley
TikTok: 2.6 Million Followers
Instagram: 1.2 Million Followers
Mayci Neeley is married to Jacob Neeley with a blended family of three kids.
Taylor Frankie Paul
TikTok: 5.8 Million Followers
Instagram: 1.9 Million Followers
Taylor Frakie Paul shares two kids with her ex-husband and welcomed her third child with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.
Whitney Leavitt
TikTok: 3.2 Million Followers
Instagram: 1.1 Million Followers
Whitney Leavitt has three kids with her husband Conner Leavitt.
Layla Taylor
TikTok: 771K Followers
Instagram: 674K Followers
Layla Taylor is mom to two kids, who she shares with her ex-husband.
Demi Engemann
TikTok: 1.2 Million Followers
Instagram: 696K Followers
Demi Engemann and husband Bret Engemann have a blended family with three kids.
Jessi Ngatikaura
TikTok: 1.4 Million Followers
Instagram: 1.1 Million Followers
Jessi Ngatikaura shares a daughter, son and stepdaughter with her husband Jordan Ngatikaura.
Jen Affleck
TikTok: 2.5 Million Followers
Instagram: 1.4 Million Followers
Jen Affleck and husband Zac Affleck have three kids together.
Mikayla Matthews
TikTok: 3.3 Million Followers
Instagram: 1.2 Million Followers
Mikayla Matthews and husband Jace Terry are parents to four kids.