The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul appears to be stepping back from the hit Hulu show.
Paul is embroiled in a serious legal battle with her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, who is the father of their son, Ever. Paul shares two other children with her ex-husband, Tate Paul.
The 32-year-old rose to fame on SLOMW, which features a group of Utah-based Mormon women known as “MomTok” who bonded over posting dancing videos on TikTok. The reality show came to fruition after Paul outed some of the group members as swingers in a social media post.
Paul has been involved in several controversies in recent months, leading to the cancelation of her season as The Bachelorette. Meanwhile, season five of SLOMW premiered September 10 on Hulu.
In a Monday Instagram post, Paul wrote: “My gratitude goes 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.
“I originally was willing to be removed to let them all continue on with less stress and I’m back to that point. Some of the girls know what I’ve been through and then to turn and collectively pile on with their ‘statements’ knowing there has been ongoing abuse through the system the last 8 months on top of what I’ve endured,” she continued.
“Almost the entire cast plus some, going at me….laughing about my kids is disgusting. And I bit my tongue there.”
“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,” the SLOMW star continued.
“My question has been how much suffering and scrutiny is going to be enough…I’m just relieved to be out,” she concluded.
The Independent has contacted Hulu for comment.
Paul has had a tumultuous year. Her season of The Bachelorette was canceled days before its scheduled March premiere after video footage from a years-old incident with Mortensen was published by TMZ.
Around the same time, filming for season five of SLOMW was paused due to a newer alleged domestic violence incident between Paul and Mortensen. The two were handed respective restraining orders, but neither has faced charges relating to the new incident.
SLOMW has been filming season six since July, but without Paul. She has been trading online jabs with several of her castmates.
However, it was announced earlier this month that Paul was set to return to the show. That report appeared to result in Mikayla Matthews leaving the show midway through filming for season six.
Though Matthews did not mention Paul by name, she wrote on social media: “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.”
Both Mayci Neeley and Layla Taylor have indicated that they are uncertain about continuing on with the show, though they are still filming for season six.
The rest of the cast includes Jessi Draper, Jennifer Affleck, and Miranda Hope. Both Demi Engemann and Whitney Leavitt, who were part of the show’s original cast, have departed.
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