Though Taylor Frankie Paul had just set her return to “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” she says she has decided to step away from the Hulu reality show after the latest development in her months-long legal scandal with the fathers of her children.
In a post on Instagram on Monday, Paul wrote that her “gratitude goes out to all the networks that supported me throughout this and gave me the chance to return. However I don’t desire to move forward like this.” She then lashed out at her “Mormon Wives” castmates, saying they’d engaged in a “pile on” — she wrote that “laughing about my kids is disgusting.” Since Season 5 of the show premiered on Sept. 10, the “Mormon Wives” cast, which has been filming Season 6 without Paul since July, have been going back and forth ceaselessly on social media.
Sources told Variety last week that, as reported by TMZ, Paul allegedly failed a recent drug test ordered by a Utah court during her ongoing custody battles with her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, which whom she shares one son, and her ex-husband, Tate Paul, with whom she shares a son and daughter. Whether Disney and Hulu would have moved forward with Paul after the failed drug test is now a question that will never be answered.
Paul did not address the drug test allegations in her Instagram post. Neither Hulu nor representatives for Paul immediately responded to a request for comment.
Paul was required to take the drug test after a court ruling in July, but her results were put under a protective order, preventing them from being shared outside of those directly involved in the case. Her ex-husband filed documents asking the court to unseal the results on Aug. 13, but they were not public until TMZ’s reporting.
Both custody battles began after an explosion in Paul and Mortensen’s relationship back in March, when production on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” paused due to a police investigation into domestic violence allegations the two made against each other. Soon after, TMZ published video from a separate incident between them, which showed Paul in a violent altercation with Mortensen and throwing a chair while one of her children was nearby. That prompted Disney to unschedule the premiere of “The Bachelorette” Season 22, which featured Paul as the star. With additional allegations made by both Paul and Mortensen, a court granted them mutual restraining orders, but neither of them faced charges.
The scandal has ricocheted onto all involved with “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” with several online feuds occurring among cast members in the months leading up to the Sept. 10 release of Season 5. Shortly after Season 5 was released, Mikayla Matthews announced she had left the show midway through filming Season 6. She later clarified that she was leaving because of a moral objection to Paul’s return. (To that end, Paul wrote on Monday, “I originally was willing to be removed to let them all continue on with less stress and I’m back to that point.”) Cast members Mayci Neeley and Layla Taylor both indicated they were also unsure about their futures on the show after the news. Whitney Leavitt had already announced her decision to leave the show months ago, citing her budding acting career.
Paul’s post on Monday concluded with this bit, directed toward her former #MomTok sorority: “I treated production and crew with respect always, in fact they are ones who checked on me throughout this. I agree it’s to the point of bullying for months now. What makes it harder to take in is some of these parents have made mistakes that would result in the same judgement I’m receiving yet pointing a finger. However it’s a pleasure to remove myself so they can continue, because I’ve almost convinced myself I’m deserving of all this pain and to a certain degree absolutely this is consequences of my actions. My question has been how much suffering and scrutiny is going to be enough…I’m just relieved to be out.”