‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ star Taylor Frankie Paul reflects on domestic violence arrest after swingers sex scandal
"The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star Taylor Frankie Paul, who was joined by co-star Jessi Ngatikaura for a Fox News Digital interview, opened up about how her domestic violence arrest "could have saved my life" after her swingers sex scandal.
Mormon TikTok star Taylor Frankie Paul is speaking out about her arrest on domestic violence charges after her infamous swingers sex scandal.
Paul is a member of Mormon MomTok, a group of Utah-based wives and mothers who rose to fame on TikTok for their viral dancing and lip-sync videos. The now 30-year-old sent shock waves through the internet in a 2022 TikTok livestream when she announced her divorce from now ex-husband Tate Paul and shared more of their "soft swinging" lifestyle, which included some of the friends featured in her videos.
In February 2023, Paul was arrested and charged with domestic violence. Paul, who is starring in the new Hulu reality series "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives," recently sat down for an interview with Fox News Digital during which she reflected on her run-in with the law and the impact it had on her.
"That one was super difficult," Paul said in a joint appearance with co-star Jessi Ngatikaura. "That was the worst thing that I've gone through."
‘MORMON MOMTOK’ INFLUENCER ACCUSED OF DOMESTIC RAMPAGE AGREES TO PLEA: ‘A LOT OF JUDGING’
"The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star Taylor Frankie Paul opened up about being arrested for domestic violence. (Taylor Frankie Paul Instagram)
She continued, "I did go more into depth on the show with that very emotional topic. But I felt like I have learned from it."
"It was a regret," Paul added. "Hitting rock bottom, there's only one way to go, and it helped me to go up. So honestly, as bad as that night was — I think it was also like a blessing in disguise and maybe could have saved my life in a weird way, like, where I was just drowning in misery. So, you'll see more of that on the show."
After her arrest, Paul was charged with aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury and criminal mischief, according to Herriman police in Salt Lake County.
Taylor Frankie Paul was previously married to Tate Paul, with whom she shares two children. (Taylor Frankie Paul Instagram)
A complaint filed in Salt Lake County in March 2023 alleged that Paul threw a phone, a wooden play set and "heavy metal chairs" at her boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. One of the chairs allegedly hit one of her children who was sitting next to Mortensen on the couch during their argument, an affidavit stated.
She pleaded guilty in August of that year to aggravated assault, while the other four charges were dismissed with prejudice.
Paul has said that she and Tate, who share Indy, 6, and Ocean, 3, are on "good terms." After their separation, Paul began dating Mortenson. Seven weeks into their relationship, Paul revealed that she and Mortenson were expecting their first child together, but she suffered an ectopic pregnancy.
Though Paul and Mortenson's relationship has been marked with ups and downs, including her domestic violence arrest, the pair are still together. Mortenson regularly appears in Paul's videos and photos and the couple welcomed their son Ever in March 2024.
The TikTok star is dating real estate agent Dakota Mortenson. They welcomed their first child together in March. (Taylor Frankie Paul Instagram)
"The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" follows the fallout from Paul's "soft swinging" revelations and the sex scandal that changed the lives of the other women featured in her videos.
In her explosive 2022 TikTok livestream, the influencer said that she and Tate had agreed to a lifestyle that included having multiple partners. She said that they were engaged in "soft swinging" with a group of their friends comprised of other married Mormon couples.
Paul said the group had an agreement that they "wouldn't go all the way" with their other partners. However, Paul admitted that she "did step out of the agreement" with one of the other husbands in the group.
"That's where I messed up, and I, obviously, am losing everything that I have," Paul said during the livestream.
Paul claimed that "no one was innocent" within the swingers group and that "everyone had hooked up with everyone."
She went on to explain that she and Tate had "other issues" that led to their split but "this was like the tip of the iceberg."
WATCH: ‘SECRET LIVES OF MORMON WIVES’ STAR TAYLOR FRANKIE PAUL REFLECTS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ARREST AFTER SWINGERS SEX SCANDAL
After the scandal broke, other members of MomTok faced an onslaught of speculation over whether they had also participated in "soft swinging." Several took to social media to deny the claims while others stayed silent, but none have yet confirmed their involvement.
While speaking with Fox News Digital, Paul elaborated on the overlap between MomTok and her swingers group, explaining that the two were "a little bit intertwined." However, she added that "maybe only one" member of MomTok was a part of the other group, who she said were "all intimate with each other."
"I came out," she recalled. "It got on the internet, kind of broke the internet. MomTok was involved, and then — I guess the public kind of thought everyone was swingers in MomTok. And then it kind of blew up from there. People were dissecting. It was like a thing."
"And then we got offered this TV show, and I feel like it gave me an opportunity to kind of tell my side of the story, whether those who were involved were in it or not and those who were affected by it," Paul said.
Paul is starring alongside other MomTok members in the new Hulu reality series. (Natalie Cass/Disney)
Ngatikaura told Fox News Digital that the whole MomTok group was "rocked" by the scandal.
"Since we were all, you know, kind of close friends on the internet, people just assumed everyone in MomTok was involved," Ngatikaura explained. "So it was hard to navigate everyone just all of a sudden throwing accusations at you because of misconceptions. And the friendship group definitely dissipated."
She continued, "The cast of the show is a little bit different than the actual MomTok group because of that. There were a lot of people who didn't want anything to do with Taylor or MomTok anymore. So for me, I was just kind of focused on making sure the friendship stayed intact, and that Taylor was OK. But it definitely had its ups and downs. And you see that play out on the show."
WATCH: ‘SECRET LIVES OF MORMON WIVES’ STAR ‘WANTED TO TELL MY SIDE OF THE STORY’ ON SHOW AFTER SWINGERS SEX SCANDAL
Along with Paul and Ngatikaura, "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" also stars Mayci Neeley, Mikayla Matthews, Whitney Leavitt, Demi Engemann, Jennifer Affleck and Layla Taylor.
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A description for the show reads, "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 Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" follows the aftermath of the swinging scandal. (Disney/Fred Hayes)
The women's husbands and partners will be featured on the show, which also explores how they navigated the aftermath of the scandal.
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Paul told Fox News Digital that Tate was "in shock" after she revealed their swingers lifestyle on TikTok.
"I think when it hit the internet, everyone was kind of in survival mode and, like, 'What's going on?'" she recalled. "[Tate] kind of quieted down and kind of just wanted to mind his own business."
Paul continued, "He kind of just, like, got off social media and is living his life happy now, and I'm really happy for him."
WATCH: ‘SECRET LIVES OF MORMON WIVES’ SAYS EX-HUSBAND WAS ‘IN SHOCK' AFTER THEIR SWINGERS SEX SCANDAL HIT THE INTERNET
Ngatikaura explained that some of the husbands began to feel insecure about their marriages due to the scandal.
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"I would say that a lot of the husbands in the group that didn't know it was happening until the swinging scandal broke were like, ‘Oh my gosh, could that happen to me now?’" she said. "And I think that kind of led into jealousy with the husbands, and you see some of that play out on the show. There's insecurity now because you never know what could happen behind the scenes, you know? So I think it definitely rocked a lot of relationships. But again, maybe it needed to happen to make those relationships stronger."
All eight episodes of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" are available on Hulu on Sept. 6.
Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
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