Marciano Brunette is suing The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Demi Engemann after she accused him of sexual assault.
In legal documents obtained by Us Weekly on Friday, December 5, Vanderpump Villa star, 32, and his legal team claimed Demi, 31, falsely described him as a “sexual predator” – allegations which he claimed has damaged his reputation.
Marciano’s legal team alleged via the docs that Demi’s comments that she received “unwanted touch” from him while filming for Vanderpump Villa in Italy in August 2024 were untrue. He insisted any physical interaction between them was consensual.
“The truth is straightforward. Engemann and Marciano met while filming in Italy. They flirted. They spoke privately. They shared a consensual kiss. They separated,” the documents read. “After filming, Engemann stayed in contact with Marciano for months through calls, FaceTime, texts, invitations, and even location sharing. That behavior confirms a continued relationship, not a person reacting to sexual assault.”
Describing the sexual misconduct accusations against the reality star as “false,” Marciano’s legal team further alleged Demi’s claims have caused “severe” damage to Marciano’s reputation.
“They accuse Marciano of criminal sexual conduct he did not commit. They were published broadly, republished repeatedly, and framed to harden into ‘truth’ in the minds of viewers,” the documents continued. “The damage has been immediate and severe, including lost professional opportunities, harassment by strangers, and lasting harm to Marciano’s reputation.”
The lawsuit also accused production of having “amplified the same accusations for profit.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Demi’s representatives for comment.
During a confessional in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ third season, Demi, who is married to Bret Engemann, insisted that any physicality between her and Marciano was “unwanted.” Marciano previously alleged that they kissed.
“Everyone is going to handle these kinds of situations different. You never deserve unwanted touch,” the influencer said at the time. “No matter what it looks like, no matter what your relationship was like before or after, unwanted touch is unwanted touch.”
Following the episode, Maricano has remained adamant that the claims against him are untrue.
“It is unfortunate to see everything that is going on now, because everything that happened [on Vanderpump Villa] was consensual,” Maricano claimed on an episode of the “Juicy Scoop” podcast on November 25. “I will just flat-out say that the accusations she’s making against me are 100 percent false.”
Several days prior to the podcast appearance, he echoed a similar sentiment, calling the claims “entirely false” via a statement to People on November 20.
“I want to be absolutely clear: I am taking this matter extremely seriously,” Marciano said via the statement. “This is the most difficult situation I have ever faced, and the allegations against me are not only entirely false but profoundly damaging. I remain committed to addressing this issue fully and transparently.”
In response, a rep for Demi, 30, told E! News on November 21, “As a woman, it distresses me that what happened to Demi is being minimized.”
Speaking exclusively to Us Weekly in May, Demi denied she was unfaithful to her husband with Marciano in Italy.
“Nothing happened with Marciano. At the expense of sounding rude, there wasn’t even a remote attraction to him. It sucks that women can’t be kind and friendly and even playful with men in this world without it being taken as like you’re open. I had a rock on my finger the entire time I was there,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in May. “I brought up my marriage multiple times and they were told that we were married women — so it sucks that we couldn’t just go and have a good time and that he couldn’t respect that.”
