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Taylor Frankie Paul is returning to production on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
Though Hulu declined to comment on Paul’s involvement in Season 6, Variety confirmed the news with multiple sources after it was implied
in social media posts from cast member Mikayla Matthews, who announced she was quitting the show on Sept. 14.
Outside of her Season 5 confessionals, Paul hasn’t shot new material for the reality show since March, when production was put on pause due to a police investigation into domestic violence allegations she and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen made against each other. Shortly thereafter, TMZ released video from a separate domestic incident between them, which led ABC tocancel her season of “The Bachelorette.” Paul and Mortensen have made additional allegations against each other in the months since, leading to mutual restraining orders and a battle for custody over their shared son, Ever. (No charges have been filed in the matter.)
Season 6 recently entered production without Paul. But on Monday, Matthews shared in an Instagram post saying that she was leaving the show after receiving news that upset her, which she implied was related to Paul. On Tuesday, she made another post all but confirming that her exit was a moral objection to Paul’s return.
Though Matthews didn’t mention Paul by name, she wrote, “The ONLY reason I’m leaving the show is because I was told a certain person was coming back. I told them before agreeing to do 6 that I wasn’t going to film if that certain someone came back. Because it’s UNETHICAL and kids are involved. And I’m being put in an unfair position because of the things I’ve seen and heard that I don’t agree with.”
“Mormon Wives” cast members Mayci Neeley and Layla Taylor may be next to jump ship. Both left comments of support on Matthews’ initial post, and told fans their futures with the show were unclear. “I am finishing this current season that we are filming and then not sure for after that,” Neeley wrote in a TikTok comment after being asked about her status. She then posted a video about material that was cut from the recently released Season 5 with a caption that read, “At the end of the day I don’t care about having ‘aura’ I care about providing for my family and being a good wife/ mother. Period. Going into SLOMW my intention has never been the fame, it has always been $$$ to provide for my fam and to positively impact people by sharing my story. So I’ll take the cut and stay happy & healed.” Responding to a similar fan question about Matthews’ exit, Taylor wrote, “I just love her so much. It’s such an impossible situation for everyone involved, but I am finishing season 6 and then tbd.”
