[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
What fans did not see during the Season 3 reunion for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives? Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen accused each other of abuse — long before the recent alleged incident!
Amid the ongoing investigation into a domestic assault involving the former couple, sources connected to the reality show told TMZ on Wednesday that Dakota claimed Taylor has been abusive toward him while filming the reunion episode. However, producers cut it!
Whoa!!!
Related: Taylor Frankie Paul Interview Glitch Leads To Conspiracy Theories About Abuse Allegations!
He wasn’t the only one to make a serious accusation on camera, though! A production source with direct knowledge alleges BOTH Taylor and Dakota made allegations of physical abuse on the stage, but production decided not to air the back-and-forth exchange because it had nothing to do with the season.
Uhhhh, we hope someone on the team looked into the allegations and didn’t just sweep them under the rug afterward, especially if something happened on camera. That would be very problematic if they are possibly protecting alleged abusers. Just saying.
Besides that, we are SHOCKED the allegations didn’t air. Their toxic relationship is a big part of the show, and producers can’t deny that. The series literally opened up with Taylor getting arrested for domestic violence in 2023, in which she eventually pleaded guilty. It would still fit into their storyline, even in Season 3. But something tells us that Mormon Wives just wanted to give Taylor a good edit because she is the new leading lady of The Bachelorette.
According to TMZ, the Disney and Hulu executives were also present when Dakota made the abuse allegations about Taylor in front of production. That means they were also aware of the claims at the time.
WTF.
BTW, this means the producers would’ve been sitting on this knowledge for a while. They just released their fourth season last week (though a reunion episode hasn’t aired yet). The Season 3 reunion aired in early December 2025, just months before the exes allegedly got into their altercation that shut down the production.
This isn’t the first time since the domestic dispute allegations came out that we’ve heard of higher-ups knowing of Taylor’s past behavior but ignoring it. As we previously reported, Dakota warned ABC about her alleged past abuse before she began filming The Bachelorette, but they continued with her as the lead anyway. Producers also allegedly wanted her so badly because they thought she would help expand their audience, so they cut corners in the vetting process. The Bachelorette will still air on Sunday, as well, despite everything going on. It goes to show where the network’s alleged priorities are at…
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments (below)!
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives/Hulu]
