When Hulu gambled on a group of sex-swinging Mormon TikTokers of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” to be their next reality stars, they likely never imagined that the show would break viewership records and garner more attention than their long-running legacy titles. The exotic LDS community in Utah offered viewers a brand new group of characters to observe, analyze, love and hate-watch – miles away from the Hollywood machine and its reality show cogs.
If the swinging scandal and its fallout was at the center of the first season (with a side of ketamine therapy and 30-mg soda runs), the tensions of the second season feel even more consequential. One pivotal scene is when Taylor Frankie Paul, the TikToker who first brought the group’s swinging antics to the public in 2022, comes to her parents for advice on how to navigate the situation with her baby daddy Dakota Mortensen, whom she finds out was lying to her and seeing other women while they were still figuring out where their relationship stood. Rather than holding Dakota accountable for not being honest, her dad shames Taylor for having sex with him despite not being in a committed relationship.
“What does that say about you?” he asks, literally pointing his finger at his daughter while she cries into her hands.
“Obviously that scene was very harsh and hard to watch,” Paul tells Variety. “I was bawling my eyes out watching it. I hate to say it, but it is a good example of how we are judged and raised in the LDS culture. Did the approach come off harsh and really hard to watch? Absolutely.”
She says that rewatching the show is an emotional experience, but has been helpful for her family to see her perspective, adding that her dad “cried watching a lot of the episodes because he obviously wasn’t seeing all the pain I was in and why.”
“Him and my mom were like, ‘Maybe we should have taken a different approach,’” she says.
The show’s lighter-fare drama, though, is what gives it its slapsticky-y, campy edge and arrives through the conflicts within MomTok itself — from Taylor accusing Demi Engemann of criticizing Jessi Ngatikaura’s skills as a hairstylist (as an extensions stylist, Jessi’s specialty is “Utah curls”) to the group’s endless toxic antics. One episode sees the group play Pregnancy Test Roulette with a cast member who has openly struggled with infertility, while another sees strippers perform lapdances on Jen Affleck in front of her husband after a trip to a Chippendales show in Las Vegas in the first season nearly ended her marriage.
Below, Paul talks to Variety about the reaction online to Season 2 since it was release on May 15, rewatching the show’s most heated scenes — including that fight with Demi — and what’s next for her outside of MomTok. Note: She wouldn’t say no to “The Bachelorette…”
What has it been like since the show aired, and absorbing everyone’s reactions to it?
It honestly still is the same as Season 1: kind of mind-blowing. I feel like it definitely hit a different level of audience. I think more people tuned in, because I think the second season obviously is much more dramatic, and you see a lot more people are talking about it.
You were in the comments defending your family after people saw that heated argument with your parents about Dakota. What was it like for viewers to see that scene — and what’s your family’s reaction been?
Obviously, that scene was very harsh and hard to watch. I was bawling my eyes out watching it. And you see maybe five minutes of what was probably an hour scene. I hate to say it, but it is a good example of how we are judged and raised in the LDS culture. Did the approach come off harsh and really hard to watch? Absolutely. But it speaks for itself, honestly. My dad and mom are my biggest supporters, and so for me, it was really hard to see them get the hate because, yes, they are harsh and blunt, but the reason I have the capacity I do to take on so much of people’s opinions is because I grew up having everything told to me bluntly, good or bad. So for that, I’m always thankful for them.
We’ve all had family dinners that we’re not proud of. I think most people can say that. And so for them to have one of the hardest ones on TV — the people that are speaking on it, let’s see your worst night on television. You’re probably not proud, right? So it’s just a hard thing to do, putting your life out on screen.
What was your dad’s reaction rewatching that scene, and did it have any effect on his views about the situation?
He watched it. He cried. He cried a lot of the episodes, because he obviously wasn’t seeing all the pain I was in and why. And he now knows more to the story than he did, and he saw how he was, and he was like, “Oh my gosh.” Him and my mom were like, “Maybe we should have taken a different approach.” And of course, the way they cut it is not exactly how it went down.
What exactly happened with Demi almost pulling out of the show’s contract?
Demi is very money-driven, and I think that’s what drives her for all this, and that’s great. It’s not a driver for me in this case. To an extent, sure, but that’s not everything. And so when they offered us our contracts, Demi was like “Oh no, we’re gonna all walk.” And then Jessi came into the call and was like: “Oh well, I’m not. So you can walk.” And then it created this mess, because we’re supposed to be a team doing this.
Like, it’s reality TV. It’s saturated. Nowadays [reality stars] are not getting paid the same as they once did. Like, let’s be realistic here. Not only that, we’re on Season 1. We shouldn’t have entitlement. Like, let’s build up to what we think we should earn, and not just have it handed to us. Just because we have one great season, it doesn’t mean we deserve to have all this money. And so some of us could see it. But some of us, like Demi, wanted to fight for more.
And then there are brand deals where she thinks that she deserved more, or the most, because she “held the season on her back.” And so that, to me, was very hard to listen to, because she was saying she was the star and making threats, like “Well they better do this, or they’re gonna lose their star.” And for me, I was baffled to hear it just because I’m like, “In what world do you think you of all people deserve that?”
Not that I’ve even asked for it, but I’m the one sitting here sharing almost everything of my life, paying for that. Like, it comes with consequences, and you think you deserve more for what? Calling people out? Like, I wasn’t understanding it, and so I wanted her explain it to me. So there was resentment there because I’m like, “Why do you think you deserve this?” That was my main question of the season.
Where are you and Demi at now?
This all happened months ago, and I know it feels like right now for everyone else — so fresh and so heated — and I get it, because we were the same way when we’re in it. But you have to remember, time has passed for us. Time heals all wounds. For me, I don’t have the energy to store the resentment, this hatred towards girlfriends. I am surviving things in my personal life, with my family and home, so I don’t have the energy for that. So when people are like, “You guys are very forgiving and it’s not real, it’s fake…” No, no, it is all real. It’s just like, “Am I gonna hold that and waste more energy that I don’t have to give to the resentment or the negative energy?” No, I’m not. Like, let it go. Let it pass through, so I can live happy.
How are the men on the show, like Dakota and Zac, compensated for their involvement?
I think all the men have their own contract deals. I actually don’t know their exact number. If I did know, I don’t remember it, to be honest. And because Dakota and I aren’t in the same home, I don’t keep up on that.
Is Jen Affleck back in MomTok?
She has tried to make her way back in. She stepped away for her mental health and is taking it step by step. She’s been wanting to come back, and we’re very welcoming to her. And I of all people can resonate with her being in a low place. That was really hard to watch on the show, her struggling. For me, take as much time as you need for whatever reason, because we don’t know what goes on behind your closed doors. Jen, take care of yourself and when you’re back, we’re ready for you.
How many seasons of “Mormon Wives” do you think you have in you?
I would do as many as I have the opportunity to do. I don’t have much else right now that I would choose over the show opportunity. It’s something I love, and I do it for my job. So, yeah, I would love to continue to do it as long as they’ll have me.
People are saying that you would make a great Bachelorette. Would that be something you’d be interested in, and has anyone reached out to you from other reality shows?
Absolutely, but if it hindered “Mormon Wives,” I would not. Like, I would always choose this. But if I could do a crossover, and do both absolutely, yeah. “The Bachelorette” I think would be a fun one.
How has being on the show and in the public eye changed dating for you?
I am very scared to get out there and date. I can’t really even picture it happening for me. I don’t know people’s intentions, or if they’re just wanting to date to get on the show. And so you have to question people’s intentions. I also have three kids, so who wants to come in and take over that role? But I do have a very good intuition, I will say. Like I can tell when something’s right and when it’s not. Clearly, that’s why I’m not with my baby daddy.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
