Photo: JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images
When video footage leaked of incipient Bachelorette Taylor Frankie Paul throwing barstools at her now ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, it derailed two reality shows. Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was pulled from ABC’s lineup, but before that even happened, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives had already suspended filming season five. As the fallout continues, and fans question the filming and casting decisions of parent company Disney, Paul’s MomTok confederates are issuing statements and subtweets. Here, what the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars have said about Paul.
Taylor has spoken openly about being a survivor of domestic violence on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. On her Instagram Stories, Taylor said she felt compelled to speak out during this time. “My personal history as a survivor makes it impossible for me to stay silent,” she wrote without identifying any one party as perpetrator or victim. “I stand firmly against domestic violence in any form. I am keeping her children in my thoughts, hoping for their safety above all else.”
Hope, who was involved in the “soft swinging” scandal with Paul that launched the entirety of MomTok to fame, also posted an IG Story denouncing domestic violence generally. “I’ve honestly been a little at a loss for words trying to process this all. Everything has been really heavy to see,” she wrote. “Domestic violence and abuse of any kind is something I take very seriously. As a human, and especially a mother. I cannot support that kind of behavior. My heart is with the children in this, and I hope they’re safe, supported, and surrounded by love.”
While Taylor and Hope issued blanket statements against the concept of DV without attributing that crime to any one party, Engemann has plausible deniability about whether she was posting about Paul at all. In a now-deleted Story, the SLOMW star posted a meme about contentment as a housewife. “The bills are paid. My husband is hot. Our marriage is strong. The kids are happy & healthy. I feel so damn rich,” the meme captured by “Page Six” read. “My version of peace that no one could ever destroy no matter how hard some have tried,” Engemann added. “The best revenge truly is living well. I’ll die on that hill forever.”
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