NEED TO KNOW
Taylor Frankie Paul could still make an appearance on season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives if she wants to rejoin filming, a source tells PEOPLE
The Hulu reality series is set to continue production after pausing amid a domestic assault investigation involving Paul and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen
PEOPLE previously confirmed that Paul and Mortensen will not be initially involved in filming when season 5 resumes production
Taylor Frankie Paul‘s future on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is still uncertain.
The Hulu series will continue filming following a weeks-long pause amid an ongoing domestic assault investigation involving Paul and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. On Tuesday evening, PEOPLE confirmed that the show will not be filming Paul or Mortensen when production resumes.
A source close to Paul now tells PEOPLE that she “has the option to return” to the reality show, and it’s possible she could make an appearance.
Taylor Frankie Paul at ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ season 2 premiere on May 9, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Credit: JC Olivera/Variety via Getty
“She’s receiving strong support from the cast and producers but is focusing on her kids and mental health issues and recovery from an abusive relationship,” says the source. “She’s doing great, and realizing how abusive her relationship actually was.”
PEOPLE has reached out to Hulu and representatives for Paul for comment.
Paul and Mortensen were involved in an open “domestic assault investigation” pertaining to incidents that occurred Feb. 24 and 25, Draper Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE on March 16, 2026. Amid news of the investigation, TMZ published footage from a 2023 incident involving the former couple, in which Paul was seen yelling and throwing chairs at Mortensen while a child was nearby.
Paul was previously arrested for alleged domestic violence in 2023, and she pled guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault, which means that if she complies with the conditions of the plea, that charge will be dismissed. The other charges have already been dismissed.
Amid the ongoing domestic assault investigation, Mortensen filed for a protective order against Paul on March 19, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. On April 14, prosecutors announced that they would not be pursuing charges against Paul.
The previous production halt came amid ABC’s decision to call off Paul’s forthcoming season of The Bachelorette, which was set to premiere on March 22. After the initial pause, sources told PEOPLE on March 16 that fellow Mormon Wives cast members were maintaining their distance as the investigation unfolded.
“The girls are very overwhelmed. They all banded together and they don’t want to come back right now,” said a source close to production. “They were just getting tired of Taylor, honestly.”
“None of the women want to be associated with her,” added a source close to the cast.
Dakota Mortensen; Taylor Frankie Paul.
Credit: Sara Jaye/Getty; Disney/Fred Hayes
Cast member Mikayla Matthews publicly addressed the production pause in a post to her Instagram Stories on March 19 — hours before the Bachelorette news was announced — saying that the choice to stop filming was “a decision that all us girls came up with and agreed on” and that they “didn’t feel comfortable filming with everything that was happening.”
Paul and Mortensen share 2-year-old son Ever, and their volatile relationship has been documented throughout the first four seasons of Mormon Wives.
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During an April 7 hearing, a judge granted Mortensen custody of their son, with up to eight hours per week of visitation for Paul supervised by a paid supervisor or someone vetted by the guardian ad litem. The arrangement is in effect until the pair’s next hearing on April 30, when the judge will review their competing protective orders.
Read the original article on People