Our first glimpse into the life of Taylor Frankie Paul ended in police sirens and handcuffs during the premiere episode of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (TSLOMW). Viewers witnessed Paul’s arrest after a concerned neighbor called the police while overhearing an argument between Paul and her now ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. We later learned that she was given a three-year abeyance as a result of the ordeal, but that was certainly an intense way to kick off a new show.
Dedicated fans will recognize Paul from her life before TSLOMW, specifically her large presence in MomTok. This content creator group started in 2020 with a few Mormon influencers before expanding into a platform that landed them a show on Hulu. It didn’t hurt that Paul broke the internet when she went live on TikTok and announced that she and several other MomTok members were soft swingers.
The news created waves in many communities, and Paul faced backlash from family, friends, and internet strangers. Despite that, it seemed like she managed to turn things around for herself as she reconnected with Momtok friends and started a relationship with Mortensen. Watchers of TSLOMW soon learned that wasn’t the case when her explosive argument ending in police sirens became the first of many incidents involving Mortensen.
Following that first episode and a difficult miscarriage that she speaks about on the show, Paul reveals to friends that she’s pregnant again with Mortensen’s child. This news wasn’t accompanied by much joy, however, as the two continued arguing about the trust issues in their relationship.
Things reached a boiling point when Mayci Neeley, a MomTok member, received an anonymous claim from someone who said she had relations with Mortensen before his relationship with Paul became official.
This betrayal confirmed some of Paul’s worst fears, and Season 2 of TSLOMW shows her continued struggle with Mortensen’s actions and the lack of trust she has in him. Viewers even witness a conversation between Paul and Jenna Jarvis, who’s the woman behind the anonymous claim.
Tensions continued to rise with another siren-filled night as a Halloween party turned hostile, and Paul publicly argued with both Mortensen and Chase McWhorter, who was someone from her swinging past.
All of this hardship and drama led us to the most current season of the show, where things kick off with Paul announcing how she’s going away on a therapy retreat. The hope was for her to go through some personal healing and learn about establishing boundaries as she moved forward with coparenting alongside Mortensen.
She returns from this retreat appearing as a new person entirely, showing more patience, understanding, and open-mindedness. Paul, who used to be the first to jump into any argument, was now quiet and hearing out all sides before making a judgment. We see this especially when she chooses to reconnect with previous members of MomTok, like Whitney Leavitt and Demi Engemann. Paul is still able to confront both and stand on business while being respectful.
Paul also helped de-escalate an argument between Engemann and fellow MomTok member Jessi Ngatikaura at a HydroJug influencer event. In the heat of the moment, she reminded Ngatikaura that arguing back only fed into the tension and was stooping to Engemann’s level. Paul’s past self would likely have held nothing back in such an ugly situation, but her new awareness helped stop things from getting worse.
These changes didn’t go unnoticed by the remainder of MomTok, and the decision was made that Paul would reclaim her position as their leader. This verbal agreement merely made official what has been obvious to the group for a while. Despite all her personal struggles, Paul has never failed to show up for those who needed her and ensured MomTok stayed strong despite all the drama with past or current members.
As the woman who started this whole journey, this full-circle moment was a satisfying end to her character arc on Season 3. Maybe Paul will finally get the happily ever after she deserves during her time on The Bachelorette, but if not, we’ll get all the tea first-hand in the recently announced Season 4 of TSLOMW.
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