A major scandal has erupted in the reality TV universe — you might be thinking, What else is new? Sure, most reality TV revolves around drawn-out drama, but those stories don't usually cross over into other shows, make national headlines, or sound alarms about family welfare. We're currently witnessing one that is doing all of those things and then some. The lead of the upcoming season of The Bachelorette, Taylor Frankie Paul, is facing a domestic assault investigation in Utah, forcing ABC to cancel the entire season, which was supposed to premiere in just a few days.
But it doesn't just impact the dating show. Frankie Paul hails from another reality show called The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which was inspired by a TikTok scandal. Now that show is paused as well. It's all very complicated, but at this point, unavoidable. Whether you watch these shows or not, you've likely heard about the chaos more than once. And if you're trying to keep up with the story you can't seem to escape, don't worry, we're breaking it down for you.
What is MomTok?
If you don’t spend all your free time toggling between various streaming services and social media platforms, you might’ve missed the overnight sensation that was The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. It’s a Hulu reality TV show that follows (you guessed it) a group of current and former Mormon influencers who dubbed themselves MomTok.
But who/what is MomTok? That’s another important question. It consists of a dozen or so Mormon-raised women who live in Utah. Young, thin, conventionally attractive, and pretty darn good at dancing, MomTok formed a content creation group during the early pandemic, posting mainly dance videos. The group gained a respectable amount of TikTok fame. But it exploded into public consciousness back in May 2022 when one of the members of MomTok, Frankie Paul, revealed that she and her then-husband had been engaging in “soft-swinging” with another couple in the crew. It caused a giant internet and media frenzy, to say the least.
That viral admission and the scandal that followed propelled the Mormon Wives to snag their own TV show, with Paul as one of the stars.
Who is Taylor Frankie Paul?
Paul is 31 years old and has three children, one of whom she shares with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, 33-year-old Dakota Mortensen. She had her first two children with her ex-husband, Tate Paul. In September, ABC announced that Paul had been selected as the next Bachelorette. The idea was that she’d also continue to be on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which was filming its fifth season before this news broke.
Paul is often referred to by her peers as the leader of MomTok, although the series kicked off with her having to make amends with the women after her admission put all their relationships in the spotlight. Most of her castmates claim they were not involved in the soft-swinging (which is another explainer for another day), aside from Miranda McWhorter and her ex-husband Chase McWhorter, who joined the series in season 3.
Paul's family is also often on the series, including her mother, with whom Paul has a rocky relationship. In season 4, which just dropped, Paul goes on a journey to uncover more about her late biological father's other children. She had no relationship with her biological dad, whom she says didn't "want" her. In recent episodes, she comes to realize her toxic romantic relationships can be traced back to how she feels about her father.
What happened?
On March 17, news broke that Secret Lives of Mormon Wives had halted production for season 5 because Paul and Mortensen were part of an ongoing “domestic assault investigation.” We don’t yet have the details of this alleged incident or when it may have occurred, but a spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department said "allegations have been made in both directions” and that they contacted both Paul and Mortensen on Feb. 24 and 25.
"Taylor [Frankie Paul] has some pretty serious stuff happening regarding her past, and they will see what happens,” a source told PEOPLE of the filming schedule. “Until that resolves, they are off."
This isn’t the first time Paul has faced domestic violence allegations. In 2023, she was arrested and later charged with misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief, and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
The charges stemmed from an incident when Paul allegedly threw chairs at Mortensen while they were arguing, and a chair hit her daughter. Paul pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, and the other charges were dismissed. She was placed on probation, and the NYT notes, “a new criminal charge would violate her probation.”
While she may have put that in the past, unfortunately, it's coming back to haunt her. TMZ just acquired and published a video of the alleged incident, recorded by Mortensen. But it hasn't harmed her reality TV career until now — in fact, news of the 2023 assault and Paul’s subsequent arrest make up the final moments of the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives pilot.
Is The Bachelorette canceled?
Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was supposed to premiere Sunday night, March 22, but on Thursday, news broke that the entire season would be canceled. A spokesperson for Disney told E! News, "In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.”
That came after Cinnabon, a sponsor of The Bachelorette, announced it would be terminating its partnership with the show over the allegations.
“Cinnabon has made the decision to terminate its collaboration with ‘The Bachelorette’ and ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,'” a spokesperson for the company told Entertainment Weekly on March 17. “Recent developments and allegations surrounding the lead cast member led us to reassess this collaboration as it no longer aligns with our brand values.”
What has Taylor Frankie Paul said?
A spokesperson for Paul slammed the video, calling it “a destructive campaign to harm Taylor” and “a reprehensible attempt to distract from [Mortensen’s] own behavior.” They also alleged it “conveniently omits context.”
On Tuesday, Paul spoke to PEOPLE about the allegations. “It's a heavy time, and it's unfortunate," she continued. "I'm struggling for sure, but also at the same time I feel like if I don't show up, then I'm just giving these opportunities away and not enjoying what we've worked on and something super exciting that's coming. I just feel like it was the right thing to do... show up even though it's hard."
Meanwhile, Mortensen has spoken out via a representative. “His number one priority here is protecting [their son], Ever,” a rep for Dakota told Entertainment Weekly. “He knew there was a possibility it could come out, but he was not going to be the one to proactively do that because he has always wanted a decent relationship with Taylor. It’s been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to coparent well.”
