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‘Mormon Wives’ Star Shares Dark Details of Modeling Career Before GLP-1s

The 25-year-old reality star says the encounters may have triggered her eating disorder.

Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

PublishedApr 22, 2026, 1:32 PM EDT

UpdatedApr 22, 2026, 1:36 PM EDT

Updated Apr 22, 2026, 1:36 PM EDTPublished Apr 22, 2026, 1:32 PM EDT

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Layla Taylor, a star of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, recounted the disturbing events that she believes contributed to her eating disorder relapse and GLP-1 addiction.

“You think when you’re in the modeling industry that you have to be bone thin...and very unhealthy and not eating,” the 25-year-old social media influencer and model shared on Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea podcast.

She shared the story of a “weird” work experience that reinforced this belief, noting that while she had already battled an eating disorder and body dysmorphia, the event in question happened during a healthier period.

“In a [fashion] show that I walked in, I was hanging out with some of the models in the morning while we were getting our glam done,” Taylor told the podcast. “And I was like, ‘Does anyone want anything from Starbucks? I’m gonna DoorDash some food.’”

She added, “This was before my eating disorder started to get bad again.”

Her friendly offer was met with an unexpectedly negative response. “All the girls were like, ‘No, we don’t eat before shows,’” Taylor said.

She also reflected on another difficult moment that affected her self-esteem.

During season four of the hit reality show, Taylor applied to Ford Models seeking representation. The renowned agency is behind the careers of supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Christie Brinkley, and Brooke Shields.

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Despite her high hopes, however, Taylor says she was rejected after attending a casting in New York City—an outcome that devastated her self-esteem.

“Having someone say that they didn’t wanna take me on, even though they didn’t say anything physically was wrong with me, I feel like my brain automatically was like, ‘Oh, I’m not small enough, or I’m not pretty enough,’” Taylor told cast-mates Jessi Draper and Miranda Hope during the episode. “But I think more of it was just like, ‘I feel like I weighed too much.’”

Taylor then revealed that she was on GLP-1 weight loss medication, despite being 5-foot-9 tall and weighing 99 pounds. This weight-to-height ratio is considered significantly below the “healthy” range, according to the National Institutes of Health.

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Taylor admitted that she took the rejection even harder than it was portrayed on the show.

“That rejection is someone physically looking at you and saying ‘no,’ and that’s obviously very hard, especially with somebody like myself who deals with such bad body image issues and confidence issues to begin with,” Taylor said.

Although the rejection was difficult at first, Taylor could now see it as a “blessing in disguise.”

“Looking back now, I’m very happy that they said ‘no’ because I feel like I found an agency that I am signed with now that honestly feels like home to me,” she revealed.

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“They actually want me to put on some weight right now, which is actually very healing to hear,” she said, praising her current agency for being “body positive.”

Taylor previously called GLP-1 weight loss drugs “addicting” and revealed that she had struggled to stop using them.

On March 15, she posted a video on Instagram showing her inspecting her body in the mirror. In the caption, Taylor wrote, “For the past two years, I’ve been struggling silently with an eating disorder I believed I had left behind in high school.”

She continued, “It’s been lonely and exhausting, fighting a battle in my own brain while trying to show up like everything is okay and receive comments daily on my body. Recovery has been messy and far from linear. Some days feel strong, and others feel really heavy.”

Taylor has since entered treatment. Her hope, she says, is to inform people of the dangers of eating disorders and GLP-1 abuse by sharing her story.

If you or a loved one is struggling with disordered eating, please reach out to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at nationaleatingdisorders.org.

Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

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