One of the women, Taylor Frankie Paul, explosively claimed in 2022 she and other Mormon couples were part of a “soft swinging” community — meaning they would stop short of having penetrative sex with other people — and admitted she “messed up.”
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City have some competition — in the form of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
Hulu announced the new unscripted series on Monday, confirming the 8-episode show will debut Friday, September 6 on the streamer.
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The logline is as follows: The scandalous world of a group of Mormon mom influencers implodes when they get caught in the midst of a swinging sex scandal that makes international headlines. Now, their sisterhood is shook to its core. Faith, friendship and reputations are all on the line. Will #MomTok be able to survive and continue to give the rulebook a run for its money, or will this group fall from grace?
The series stars a number of #MomTok stars — most of whom have more than a million followers on TikTok — including Taylor Frankie Paul (@taylorfrankiepaul), Demi Engemann (@demilucymay_), Jennifer Affleck (@jenniferaffleckk), Jessi Ngatikaura (@_justjessiiii), Layla Wessel (@laylaleannetaylor), Mayci Neeley (@maycineeley), Mikayla Mathews (@mikaylamatthews) and Whitney Leavitt (@whitneyleavitt).
The show comes from the producers behind Bling Empire, The McBee Dynasty and My Unorthodox life.
The biggest name here is Paul, who exposed the sex scandal at the center of the show back in May 2022 when she announced her then-husband Tate Paul was divorcing her.
At the time, she claimed the pair were part of a “soft swinging” community — meaning they had an open marriage but would stop short of having penetrative sex with other people. The arrangement went sour, however, after she claimed to have gone too far with someone else in their community … and some parties involved “developed feelings.”
“We had an agreement and I did step out of that agreement and that’s where I messed up,” she said. “No one was innocent, everyone has hooked up with everyone in this situation. It wasn’t like I was going around hooking up with my friend’s husband.”
“We were at a party, I got belligerent and we went and messed up with ourselves, rather with the whole group,” she added. “One time. It was a one time thing.”
She said the incident led to two divorces in their friend group; both Leavitt and Neeley denied being swingers at the time.
Paul also made headlines in February 2023, following an alleged incident with boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.
She was charged with two felony counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, one felony count of aggravated assault and one misdemeanor count of child abuse and criminal mischief (via CBS News).
Per a probable cause statement, Paul began hitting boyfriend Dakota Mortensen when he tried to leave during an argument. Video from the incident allegedly shows the influencer throwing barstools at Mortensen, hitting him with one which also hit her daughter. According to Page Six, the police report said the girl sustained a bump on her head — with authorities calling it a “goose egg” — while the chairs reportedly left holes in the walls.
Paul pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony count of aggravated assault in late August, while the other charges have since been dismissed. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, who cited court documents, Paul’s charge was entered as a misdemeanor, on the condition she abides by the terms of her plea agreement over the next three years.
She and Mortensen welcomed a child together, son Ever, in March. She also shares two children with her ex-husband.
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