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Miranda Hope is ready for people to see more sides of herself outside of being a reality TV star.
Hope, best known for starring in the Emmy-nominated Hulu series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wivesrecently released her debut single “FU4THAT,” a fiery country-pop anthem about taking back your power, choosing yourself, and moving forward. This track marks the beginning of her music career, with Hope noting that “the EP or album will probably be the direction” for what comes next.
Her latest career moves come as The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives It remained in the headlines for months. In March, production on season 5 was halted after it was revealed that fellow Taylor Frankie Paul was involved in a domestic assault investigation. Since then, MomTok has continued to generate buzz with Jessi Draper kissing Hope’s ex-husband Chase McWhorter, Whitney Leavitt announcing she’ll be leaving the show after Season 5, announcing a spinoff, and more. Separately, Lili Taylor has publicly come out as bisexual, garnering support from fans and colleagues.
Amid all the “chaos,” as Hope describes it, one question has lingered: Can MomTok survive? In an interview with Hollywood ReporterHope talks about launching her music career, as things come to Season 5 of Slomo, The future of the series, her relationships with several cast members, and why she “never said never” to join Bachelor’s degree Franchise one day.
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How long has music been something you wanted to pursue? Was it always a dream behind the scenes, or was there a point where you realized you wanted to take it more seriously?
Ever since I was a little girl, this was the path I wanted to take. It didn’t really feel that real. I got engaged when I was 19, and married when I was 20. I felt like my life’s purpose was, you know, a wife and a mother – in the true Mormon way. It wasn’t until the show, that, among other things, sparked more of my creativity and made me want to go back to my roots a little bit. Obviously I have a lot of connections now and doors that have opened, so we decided to send it all out, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity.
Viewers Mormon wives I saw you on Stagecoach in Season 3, so it seems like you’re already a fan of country music. But for people who may not know this side of you yet, what attracted you to this genre of country music specifically?
I’m originally from a small town in Idaho, and I think that’s a big part of it. My family, even extended family, is very much my country, so I feel like it’s just my roots. I love all different types of music, and I think my writing and even singing style lends itself to country music. But I don’t know, we’ll see. I also love pop music. I feel like the song I just released is country pop. So, we’ll see what direction I take in the future, but for now, I’m very focused on country and bringing it back to my roots. It was fun.
“FU4THAT” has some beautiful personal lyrics. What inspired the song? What story were you hoping to tell through it?
I wrote the song with the intention of it being just a story where I had this experience of going from pleasing people to coming into my own, and deciding that I didn’t like the way I was being treated. It was written with the intention of it being about bad men I’ve dealt with in general. Obviously we all know there are some pointed lines about my ex, but overall, that was kind of the intention of writing the song. It shows the evolution from where I used to be now to now where I’m like, “No, I’m not going to keep treating me like this and taking it from people.” A lot of people ask if it’s about friendships too, and I say, “It wasn’t written with that in mind at all, but I also like proper shoes.”
Did Chase share his thoughts with you on this topic?
Yeah, I sent him the demo right after we recorded it, and he sent me a picture of him crying. But not because his feelings were hurt, just because he was proud. He didn’t care. He was so excited about it. If anything, he’s flattered to have some lines about him, for better or worse, positive or negative, he’ll take them.
What’s the response to “FU4THAT” so far? Has the feedback changed the way you think about future musical projects?
I feel like it’s been pretty compartmentalized. Half the people who listened liked it; Half hate him. But the thing is, a stream is a stream. Just like with the show, and I don’t usually deal with all the press, it’s good press. I don’t necessarily like to buy into that, at least when it comes to portraying reality TV. But with music and your creativity, it seems more appropriate in that regard, where I say, you know, it doesn’t have to be your cup of tea. This is very new to me too. It’s my first song I’ve ever released, and I don’t think the song was ever intended to be an acoustic showcase. It’s a fun and fun song with your girlfriends in the car type. And I wanted it, as my first song, as something that I think we can enjoy too, collectively with your girlfriends, I’ve Betrayed Too. In future releases, I’ve actually written and recorded some songs that are more like a ballad, a lot softer and a lot less F-words. So, in the future, there’s going to be a little bit more scope, and it’s going to be completely different.
What does the future of your music career look like? Are you hoping to release an EP or album, or maybe any live shows?
I think now an EP or album will probably be the trend. I’ve had some writing sessions since then, and while I was recently in Nashville, I did some writing sessions. Lots of exciting things at work. We’ll see where it goes, but that’s what’s on the radar at the moment.
Switch to secret life, Whitney recently mentioned on a podcast that the next season will only be five episodes. Is this accurate or is this something you can’t talk about yet?
Day after day, we are always learning new information. It’s like the blind leading the blind here, where we are. We don’t really have any 100% specific information, and people keep asking about release dates and stuff. “Unfortunately, we don’t know any of this information,” I say. I wish they would give it to us, but yeah, so far, we know very little. So there’s not much I can talk about right now, but hopefully there will be more information about that in the very near future.
Season 5 was halted in March due to an investigation involving Taylor. It resumed a month later. Is photography over for you? Have you completed your confessions and share yet?
Everything about photography, in general, is up in the air. We still have some aspects in the works, and some conversations are still ongoing, but it’s been a whirlwind since we stopped – there’s nothing I’d say that’s clear or not. It’s really just a bundle of chaos. (He laughs.) This is new territory for everyone involved. So, we all hope that we can get it back to business as usual as soon as possible.
Jessie made headlines by kissing Chase. Where do things stand between you and Jesse today? Are you on speaking terms?
It’s been a while, so I’m not as excited about the situation as I was. Obviously people have seen a lot of things online about how I feel. I think I’m still completely dissecting how I feel about it, to be honest. In general, everything is just a complete whirlwind of ups and downs, but now I feel indifferent towards the situation. I still have my feelings on this, but we’ll see how things go moving forward. I’m open to having more conversations in the future, but for now I’m just trying to focus on my music, and we’ll deal with that when it feels like the right time.
Shortly after your song was released, Taylor commented on a TikTok post of yours, saying, “This is so good.” A Where do you stand now? From what you know, how is she doing?
Right now, I feel like I know very little. We’ve all been very busy at MomTok. For a long time, there’s been a lot going on, and we all have a lot of things going on as far as we’re concerned, and I think we’re all kind of focused on that, so we haven’t really talked lately. But I really hope she’s doing well, and from what I know and what I’m hearing, she seems to be doing better. I truly wish her nothing but the best. As far as our relationship goes, it’s the same as Jessie’s, where I’m open to conversations in the future when the time seems right, but for now I just hope you’re in a healthy and happy place.
As the franchise continues to grow with spin-offs and everyone branching out into different projects, where do you see it? Mormon wives Going through the next few years? Do you think some off-camera headlines would help or make it more difficult for the show to move forward?
I think both. Some of these headlines, that’s how the show came about – the swing headlines. Sometimes I think it serves us. I think it hurts us other times, especially when it comes to stories and things that audiences want to keep for television. A lot of times, with our crew, it spreads across the Internet, and I hope that moving forward, there can be more of an element of surprise and a more intimate component between the show and our audience. When it all spreads online, I don’t want to say it necessarily spoils it, because sometimes it adds a layer of excitement, or people say, “Oh, I can’t wait to see more context behind this.” So, I’m not saying that it necessarily clearly helps or hurts one or the other. It’s a delicate situation where both can be true, and so sometimes it helps us get those headlines, and then other times I think it obviously hurts us, which is, in part, why we’ve stopped shooting now. But MomTok has continued to survive for a long time, so I don’t see any reason why we can’t outlive this. (Author’s note: Shortly after this interview, the cast members posted videos together on social media, appearing to be filming.)
You have a lot of friends in Bachelor’s world. Is this something that attracts you to join this franchise in the future?
I don’t know if I want 20 or 30 guys treating me like shit. I’ve only written a song about a select group, and I don’t know if I can do a whole lot of them. It might be interesting that they’re all going to be great people, but dating on reality TV – never say never, but I feel like, especially as a single mom, that makes things more complicated, and then with music, I think I have a lot on my plate. I like to consider myself open-minded about future possibilities, but this isn’t really at the top of my list. Also, dating in general, right now, isn’t at the top of my list either. (He laughs.)
I know some girls in Mormon wives She visited Taylor when she was filming Bachelorette. Were you part of that group?
I wasn’t. Well, we’ve all had some ups and downs, but hopefully people will see it all unfold. But from the sounds of it, I think it would be really fun and interesting to see. But even while filming, we all have a lot going on, and unfortunately, we can’t access everything.
Laila recently announced publicly that she is bisexual. As one of her closest friends, how proud are you of her for being open about this part of her life?
I’m so proud. When she told me, I just cried. I’m so happy for her, and you can feel the relief, the authenticity oozing from her, even in our conversation about this. She’s really glowing, and she’s really come into her own over the last few years, especially this past year. It was a beautiful thing to watch as a friend, and I’m really proud of her.
Have you had a chance to meet the person you’re dating?
not yet. Hopefully soon, but we’ll see.
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“FU4THAT” Available to listen on Spotify and Apple Music.
