Marciano Brunette and Demi Engemann are putting their legal battle to rest.
The “Vanderpump Villa” star, 33, filed a motion Wednesday, Aug. 5, informing Utah federal court that he and the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” alum, 32, reached a settlement in his defamation suit against her, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.
Brunette sued Engemann and Jeff Jenkins Production Company in December, accusing them of “publishing false accusations of sexual assault and branding Marciano a ‘sexual predator'” on the Hulu series. The new filing indicates they intend to submit a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice, which will bar the same claims from being brought to court ever again once the final judgement is entered.
In a statement to USA TODAY, a representative for Engemann said, “Demi Engemann, Jeff Jenkins Productions LLC, and Marciano Brunette have reached an agreement out of court resolving all claims among them. The parties will have no further comment on the matter.”
USA TODAY has reached out to a representative for Brunette for comment.
What did Marciano Brunette accuse Demi Engemann of doing?
The lawsuit stemmed from an alleged incident in August 2024, when Brunette said he and Engemann “shared a consensual kiss” while filming Season 2 of “Vanderpump Villa” in Italy, on which he was a server and she was a guest.
The MomTok member later spoke about being “sexually assaulted” and groped throughout Season 3 of “Mormon Wives,” which premiered in November. Brunette’s lawyers said the show “took Engemann’s false accusations about sexual assault and exploited them as one of the primary storylines.”
The complaint alleged Engemann was “shifting her story over time” and “reframed the obviously consensual interaction as one of sexual misconduct and then as sexual assault.”
Brunette added that they allegedly “remained in close contact” after the trip, exchanging “over a hundred pages of text messages” through March 2025. His team further claimed “none of the messages suggested that they had engaged in any type of non-consensual encounter, sexual or otherwise.”
The suit also cited examples of more public instances of alleged defamation. In April, Brunette’s lawyers said Engemann made a “false and defamatory” statement when she called Brunette a “s3ual pr3dator” in a social media comment.
During Engemann’s appearance on “The Viall Files” podcast in May, she stated, “I had been groped, sexually assaulted,” although she did not name specifically Brunette. In a Dec. 4 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Engemann said she “unequivocally” was “sexually assaulted and inappropriately touched without my consent,” per the lawsuit.
In that same interview, Engemann claimed “there is footage in the hallway that this happened” but said she was told the video was not accessible. Brunette’s lawyers said in the initial filing that “footage, accessible to Jeff Jenkins, would not only refute Engemann’s narrative, but would depict behavior inconsistent with the allegation that Plaintiff committed a sexual assault.”
Lisa Vanderpump, an executive producer on “Vanderpump Villa,” told Access Hollywood in November, “I categorically know what happened because we have cameras everywhere and I’ve seen every ounce of the footage. So I think when the [‘Mormon Wives’] women are doubting [Engemann], I think they’ve got very good reason.”
Brunette said he “lost professional opportunities” as a result of Engemann’s allegations, including “a lucrative contract to appear on a popular reality dating competition show,” and led to “harassment by strangers and lasting harm to Marciano’s reputation.”
Engemann’s lawyers later fired back at Brunette in a Feb. 17 motion to dismiss the case, saying it was “a sham” and “was brought solely to gain media attention.”
“Brunette is desperate to be famous and is using this lawsuit to try to make up for his failure-to-launch TV career, lack of event invitations, weak social media following and obsession with ‘getting even’ with Engemann,” the filing said. “Through the suit, Brunette wants to punish Engemann for exercising her First Amendment right to speak out concerning Brunette’s misconduct and opining on sensitive topics involving sexual assault (and likely to deter other women from coming forward).”
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Mormon Wives’ star Demi Engemann, Marciano Brunette settle defamation lawsuit
Reporting by Liza Esquibias, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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