The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives season five is set to look a little different. There’s still plenty of drama, if not more than ever, but episodes have been cut short and one key figure of Mom-Tok will be notably absent for most of the new season: Taylor Frankie Paul.
The woman who painted herself as the pioneer of Mormon MomTok has consistently found herself at the centre of not just reality-series-worthy drama but serious trouble with the law.
For those who haven’t been following along, Paul was cast as The Bachelorette (US) for 2025; however, just days before the season was due to premiere on America’s ABC network, the season was cancelled.
“In light of the newly released video that 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,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said in a statement.
The video in question related to domestic violence charges brought against Paul for aggravated assault and other offences in relation to an incident with former partner Dakota Mortensen in 2023. These charges weren’t news to the network, which proceeded to cast Paul despite the influencer pleading guilty to aggravated assault, but appeared to draw the line at the newly released footage.
Following the cancellation of her Bachelorette season, a spokesperson for Paul released a statement, which read: “Taylor is very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritises her family’s safety and security.”
“After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm.” To date, no charges have been brought against Dakota Mortensen.
Now, as Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives season five premieres on Disney+ in Australia, the show has teased some of the drama that played out away from the public.
“There’s so much stuff the public doesn’t know,” one mum says to camera, before another is heard saying, “How did she get here?”
Taylor Frankie Paul Bachelorette Cancellation And Video, Explained
In March of this year, it was revealed via People that filming for the fifth season of Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives had halted due to “some pretty serious stuff happening” with Paul.
Then came a statement via Draper City Police Department which confirmed an open domestic assault investigation involving Paul and Mortensen was underway, adding that “allegations have been made in both directions”. No criminal charges were ever filed following the investigation.
Four days later on March 20, the video that led to the cancellation of Paul’s Bachelorette season was leaked to TMZ. In the clip, Paul appears to throw metal stools at Mortensen as part of the 2023 incident that led to the influencer being charged with assault.
Paul served her probation and eventually had the charges reduced from a third-degree felony to a Class A misdemeanour.
Filming for season five eventually resumed some two months after coming to a halt. However, a decision was made to no longer proceed with the regularly scheduled filming.
“Right now, they’re just filming confessionals for season 5,” a source told People. “They’ve decided they’re not going to film the rest of season 5, but apparently they’re still going to film season 6.”
The insider also confirmed the new season would only comprise of the five episodes filmed prior to the video leak and production ceasing. Whether the short episode run will reveal much – or any – of the lead up to the Bachelorette cancellation will be revealed when the show premieres.
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