The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has taken over people’s televisions over the past couple of years. If you don’t know, the reality show follows a group of Mormon wives whose friend group blew up on TikTok following a swinging scandal. Then, they got a television show that follows them in their day-to-day lives. However, when the cameras are not around, the most drama seems to come to the surface for this friend group. This makes me, and others at home, wonder what is going on and ask: Should these women and their husbands have a platform at all?
The hit series just released the fourth season, following the drama that happened with Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex, Dakota Mortenson, along with the reconnection with Whitney Leavitt after seasons of her being on the outs. However, the cameras stopped rolling after a violent video was released by her ex, Dakota Mortenson, to TMZ. The video shows Paul throwing chairs at Mortenson back in 2023, with her daughter present and crying. Paul was already under heat with domestic violence charges brought against her in 2023 after an argument with Mortenson.
Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was also canceled for respect of the family and sensitivity following the release of that video. Currently, Paul is under investigation for domestic assault, though she has chosen to state that this was “an attention-seeking move” and part of Mortenson’s manipulation following their split and toxic relationship. Regardless, this is a serious situation with children impacted and involved in the incident, making Paul’s time away from the show and self-reflection following a proper investigation extremely necessary. This situation is truly sad to witness and brings into question who society allows to have a platform.
While the cameras are away following this sensitive situation, more has happened involving the other Mormon wives as well. First, Mikayla Matthews has split from her husband, Jayce Terry, after eight years together, following therapy sessions to address their issues and work through them. Matthews and Terry have four children together and have openly stated they are not against reconciliation; they are splitting time with the children to maintain stability. They seem to be taking time away from each other to allow for the space they need.
Jessi Draper’s husband, Jordan Ngatikaura, has also filed for divorce, though the couple has already been split for a year. This comes after a statement that Draper made in November that she suffered emotional abuse from Ngatikaura throughout their relationship. She explained further and went into immense detail about the separation on the Call Her Daddy podcast, going into how Ngatikaura has been hiring escorts with her money and even attempting to blackmail her.
She explains how they attempted to go to therapy together but had irreconcilable differences, especially after finding out Ngatikaura hired escorts on her dime. Overall, the split was very messy, which is exacerbated by Ngatikaura being close and sticking by Mortenson and the reveal that Draper kissed co-star Mirando Hope’s ex, Chase McWhorter.
Then, Layla Taylor also revealed she is in treatment following developing an addiction to GLP-1s. She opened up briefly about her addiction on the latest season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, revealing to the friend group that she has become reliant on GLP-1s and has fallen back into disordered eating patterns from high school. She opened up about this struggle as she wants to share her journey to get healthier and grow her self-love, fighting for her two children. This real and honest discussion of body image struggles and disordered eating will help others feel supported and bring awareness to the danger GLP-1s can bring to those struggling with disordered eating.
Though the cameras are down, a lot of the co-stars of the show have been going through their own journeys and struggles, from divorces to opening up about addiction. Whether you like them or not, they are still real people, and I hope they all heal in the way they need to, away from the cameras as Paul’s investigation continues.