Mormon Wives' Mikayla Matthews Details 'Traumatic' Pregnancy at 16, Weeks After Meeting Husband

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star appeared on the May 21 episode of The Squeeze with Tay Lautner, where she opened up about becoming a parent at 16 and the trauma she carried with her after experiencing years of sexual abuse.

"I think I got pregnant literally a year, almost a year exactly after I moved out of my house at 15," Matthews, now 25, revealed. "And then I'm jumping into now being a mom and raising a kid at 16, 17. I think all that was traumatizing, but also it was so helpful being with someone like Jace because, again, he's been like so patient with me and he like truly wants me to be the best version of myself."

Matthews met her now-husband Jace Terry -- who is five years her senior -- shortly after moving out of her mother's home. The pair were introduced by her sister and his roommate, and just one month later, she was pregnant.

"I had only known him for like a month before," she recalled.

At the time, she was staying with her sister, had dropped out of high school, and felt completely disconnected from her peers. "I didn't really tell any of my friends. I kind of just dropped off the face of the earth," Matthews shared.

She found out she was pregnant after passing out in the sauna.

"My mom took me to the hospital," she told Lautner, where blood tests revealed she was in the early stages. Matthews said she "immediately" knew she wanted to "keep" the baby, and praised Jace for his reaction to the surprising news. "His immediate reaction was to support whatever I wanted to do," Mathews said.

While her relationship with her mom was strained, Matthews said she leaned on her during that time because "none of my friends knew. So I was just so isolated and alone."

"At this point, I barely knew Jace ... So, although I wasn't comfortable around [my mom], it was just like more comfortable than with Jace at that point," she continued. "But even that was difficult," she added, noting that "Being around her was obviously very triggering."

Mikayla and Jace welcomed their son Beckham in 2017 and tied the knot the following year.

They've since go on to welcome daughter Haven in 2019 and son Tommie in 2021. The couple is currently expecting their fourth child. But even after becoming a mom, Matthews said she struggled with the unresolved trauma.

"I still internalized all of that hurt and abuse," she admitted, adding that it wasn't until years later that she started going to therapy. More issues emerged during her second pregnancy, when she noticed she and Jace started having struggles with intimacy.

"Sex became very triggering," she shared, adding that at that point, Jace didn't know about the abuse. Trying to push through for the sake of their relationship, Matthews said "subconsciously I was resenting him and making him the abuser where it wasn't the case."

Still in therapy, Matthews says she's been able to recognize her triggers and has begun healing.

"I've learned a lot through therapy," she said, explaining that she started opening up to Jace about the abuse "six years ago."

"I had to kind of tell him because it would get so frustrating," she explained. "And I feel like a lot of that anger was being put on him and he felt a lot of rejection of like, 'I'm not attractive. My wife doesn't want to sleep with me.' And that made me feel so guilty."

Opening up about her past traumas helped the couple grow stronger, with Mathews calling her husband "really patient."

"He's very gentle with me because he knows the situation," she added.

The National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline -- 800.656.HOPE (4673) -- provides free, 24/7 support for those in need.