'Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Star Taylor Frankie Paul Talks Hitting 'Rock Bottom' After Swinging Scandal, Arrest (Exclusive)

'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' premieres Friday, Sept. 6 on Hulu.

By Anna Rumer

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul has nothing but gratitude looking back at her experience hitting "rock bottom." Ahead of the Friday, Sept. 6 premiere of Hulu's new buzzy show, Paul opened up to PopCulture.com about finding her way again after MomTok's "soft swinging" scandal and her February 2023 arrest – much of which will play out on viewers' screens. 

MomTok made headlines in 2022 when the group of Utah-based Mormon TikTokers became embroiled in a "soft swinging" scandal exposed by Paul amid her divorce from her ex-husband. While Paul never named her friends who were involved in the swinging, she has denied any of her fellow Secret Lives co-stars – who include Mayci Neely, Whitney Leavitt, Layla Taylor, Demi Engemann, Mikayla Matthews, Jen Affleck and Jessi Ngatikaura – were involved.

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(Photo: Disney)

Paul then made headlines again after she was arrested in February 2023 on domestic violence charges after a fight with her boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. She pleaded guilty in September 2023 to aggravated assault. 

"Honestly, I felt like a lot of it was a major learning lesson," Paul told PopCulture of looking back on the past two tumultuous years. "However, I'm so grateful because I think I've matured from it [and become] more wise and empathetic towards others. I feel like I needed to go through some s-t in order to understand where people are coming from in any situation like divorce or embarrassment, loss, hitting rock bottom."

She continued, "I mean, look, it's okay. I've been there ... [and] if you haven't been through those types of things or been at rock bottom, then it's hard to relate and sympathize with [someone]. So I feel like I'm glad I went through that so I can maybe one day help someone else."

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(Photo: Disney/Pamela Littky)

It was challenging, however, dealing with all the "resentment" Paul thinks some of her fellow MomTokers, including Leavitt and Engemann, had against her stemming from the initial scandal. "[The resentment] built and built and I felt like it was released on the show," Paul teased, adding that she's not shocked things "eventually just blow up" after festering for two years. "

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Despite all the drama heading her way this season, Paul hopes viewers "see a more genuine side" to her that she doesn't show on social media. "I'm nicer and more genuine," she insisted. "I think I show very little of myself [on social media]. And so this was the perfect opportunity, I think, to show more of me ... just a deeper level of myself."

All 8 episodes of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives will be available Sept. 6 on Hulu.

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