Who Is Taylor Frankie Paul? What to Know About 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Star

The star of Hulu's reality hit is a TikTok star who became famous for a "soft-swinging" scandal.

Taylor Frankie Paul at "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" season 2 Los Angeles premiere held at Paramount Theatre on May 09, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
(Image credit: JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images)

In fall 2024, one question was on every reality fan's mind: "How will #MomTok survive this?" On September 6, 2024, Hulu premiered The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, a new reality show chronicling the eight Mormon moms and TikTok stars as they live their lives despite the societal confines of the Church of Latter-day Saints. While the cast boasts hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers, Taylor Frankie Paul was the most well-known before and after the series dropped.

Taylor first jumped from online to mainstream notoriety in 2022, when she revealed that she was part of a Mormon soft-swinging circle that resulted in a divorce from her first husband. The unanswered questions about the swinging scandal still loom large in Mormon Wives's second season, out on May 15, 2025, but that's not the only reason that millions of viewers have become mesmerized by Taylor's life, which is put on full display on one of Hulu's most-watched unscripted series. With all episodes of season 2 out now, it's time to catch up with Taylor Frankie Paul (including any updates on her life post-filming).

secret lives of mormon wives star taylor frankie paul smiles posing in a promotional shot wearing a white longsleeved shirt

Taylor Frankie Paul in a promotional shot for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2.

(Image credit: Disney/Pamela Littky)

Taylor Frankie Paul is a TikToker who focuses on lifestyle and mom content.

Taylor Frankie Paul, 30, is a full-time content creator based in Utah who's best known for her TikTok, which currently boasts 5.1 million followers. She posts a mix of lifestyle and parenting content, and her children often appear in her videos. Before her soft-swinging scandal and Mormon Wives, she became well known for originating #MomTok content.

dakota mortensen and taylor frankie paul posing together on a couch at a baby shower in secret lives of mormon wives

Dakota Mortensen and Taylor Frankie Paul in season 2 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

(Image credit: Disney/Fred Hayes)

Taylor Frankie Paul is a mother of three, and co-parents with her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.

According to Parade, Paul was previously married to her ex-husband, Tate Paul, from 2016 to 2022, and they share two children, Indy (born in 2017) and Ocean (born in 2020). Following their separation, Taylor met Dakota Mortensen, a real estate agent and recovered addict, on Instagram. A large part of their contentious relationship was seen in Mormon Wives, as they often fought and had trust issues. Taylor also revealed on the show how she was arrested in February 2023 due to an altercation with Dakota, and that she subsequently stopped drinking. The pair welcomed their child, a baby boy named Ever, in March 2024.

At the time of Mormon Wives season 1's premiere, Taylor and Dakota were still in a relationship, and she told TODAY that they were doing couples therapy and improving. However, by the time season 2 began filming a month later, Paul and Mortensen went through a rough patch as she discovered he was not faithful and lied to her at the start of their relationship.

a posed family photo from taylor frankie paul's baby shower in the secret lives of Mormon wives season 2

Aspen May, Liane May, Taylor Frankie Paul, and Dakota Mortensen in season 2 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

(Image credit: Disney/Fred Hayes)

On May 8, 2025, Paul revealed to PEOPLE that she and Mortensen are not currently dating, and that their relationship "depends on the day."

"I feel like right now we are individually working on ourselves and trying to heal, for not only ourselves, but for our son. So that's been the main focus the last few months, last half of a year," she told the outlet. "But to me, I don't know, I never say never, but right now it's just individually trying to heal and work on things we needed to work on."She also confirmed that she is co-parenting with both Mortensen and her ex-husband, Tate Paul. While she described her friendship with Tate as "smooth-sailing," she admitted that co-parenting with Mortensen "has been a struggle."

"Obviously, there's still feelings involved," she explained. "There's not wanting this, but needing this to happen. Yeah, so it things harder and not a smooth sailing, but hopefully, over time we learn."

A portrait of Taylor Frankie Paul from 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.'

Taylor Frankie Paul is still the most-followed cast member of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

(Image credit: Disney/Pamela Littky)

Taylor Frankie Paul was part of a Mormon swinging scandal that took over the Internet.

In 2022, the self-proclaimed founder of #MomTok became infamous nationwide when she revealed on TikTok Live that she and her husband, Tate Paul, were getting a divorce. During the video, Taylor explained that she, Tate, and other Mormon couples had been practicing non-monogamy and soft swinging, a.k.a. switching partners with the stipulation that no one would "go all the way" unless their spouses were in the room. According to The Cut, Taylor added that she had been having an emotional affair with one of the husbands in the group and that they eventually "stepped out" of the group's agreement not to "go all the way," leading to Tate and Taylor getting divorced.

Following Mormon Wives's first season, Salon reported that Camille Munday and Miranda McWhorter, fellow Mormon TikTok moms who used to make videos with Taylor before the scandal, were rumored to have been the other women involved in the swinging. At the time, they denied their involvement. Following Mormon Wives season 1, Taylor also revealed that all couples involved in the swinging have since gotten divorced.

During her September 2024 appearance on the podcast "The Viall Files," Taylor explained that she revealed the swinging secret to set the record straight as rumors began circulating online that she cheated on her then-husband, Tate, with her best friend Miranda's husband.

"I don't know who did it, but it ended up hitting the internet. All my TikToks were like, 'Cheater, husband stealer.' And the girls were liking it, confirming it, my friends. So I was like okay, well if you're gonna do that, I'm just gonna go tell my story," she told host Nick Viall.

"So I got online, not thinking at all, but like, 'Hey yes, I did do this, but we were also all hooking up just the other night.' It just didn't feel like it was fair," she added. "There was a lot more to the story than just I am some sort of home wrecker."

Miranda McWhorter and Taylor Frankie Paul speak while sitting at a red wooden table at an outdoor fair, in 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.'

Miranda McWhorter and Taylor Frankie Paul have a private talk in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2.

(Image credit: Disney/Natalie Cass)

Taylor Frankie Paul reconciles with Miranda McWhorter on 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' season 2.

In spring 2025, Miranda was announced as a new cast member of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives ahead of season 2, surprising fans. Despite her initial denials, she admits to being part of the swinging in the season 2 premiere, explaining that she "wasn't ready to own anything" when the scandal broke, but now feels comfortable returning to #MomTok since her marriage is over. Miranda announced her divorce from Chase McWhorter, who also briefly appears on Mormon Wives, in August 2024.

As of Mormon Wives season 2's release, Miranda seems to be an official member of #MomTok again, with her and Taylor resuming their friendship. Speaking to PEOPLE, Miranda discussed their reconciliation.

"I can't speak for [Taylor], but I feel like me finally addressing that, and also her addressing the hurt aside from the swinging thing, was probably very validating for us both," she told the outlet.

@miranda__mcw

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Taylor Frankie Paul almost joined another Utah-based reality show.

It turns out that Taylor may have been destined to become a reality TV star. During her appearance on the podcast "Scheananigans," per Us Weekly, Taylor revealed to host Scheana Shay that the TikTok star was approached for Real Housewives of Salt Lake City before she ended up on Mormon Wives.

"I actually did get interviewed for the [The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City]. I had an interview I think a few months prior [to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives], maybe a little longer," Taylor said. "And basically…a little birdie told me, ‘You didn’t have enough drama in your life.'"

Taylor then admitted that she had not divulged the intimate details of her life, a.k.a. the tea that would eventually become the swinging scandal. "I was obviously not admitting to what we were up to," she added.

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Culture Writer

Quinci LeGardye is a Culture Writer at Marie Claire. She currently lives in her hometown of Los Angeles after periods living in NYC and Albuquerque, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and Psychology from The University of New Mexico. In 2021, she joined Marie Claire as a contributor, becoming a full-time writer for the brand in 2024. She contributes day-to-day-content covering television, movies, books, and pop culture in general. She has also written features, profiles, recaps, personal essays, and cultural criticism for outlets including Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Vulture, The A.V. Club, Catapult, and others. When she isn't writing or checking Twitter way too often, you can find her watching the latest K-drama, or giving a concert performance in her car.