Taylor Frankie Paul is the TikTok creator who started MomTok and became the breakout star of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Born May 23, 1994, she is 32 years old as of October 2026. She built an audience of roughly 6 million TikTok followers with dance videos, parenting content, and unusually frank talk about her marriage, her faith, and her mistakes. In 2022, her livestream confession about “soft swinging” with other couples in her Mormon mom friend group made international headlines and became the premise of the Hulu series. In September 2025, ABC named her the lead of The Bachelorette season 22, making her the first Bachelorette ever chosen from outside the Bachelor franchise. The season was filmed but never aired: ABC pulled it in March 2026, days before its premiere, after video of a 2023 domestic altercation resurfaced. In September 2026, Paul announced she was stepping away from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
Early Life
Taylor Frankie Paul was born on May 23, 1994, in Pueblo, Colorado. She was raised in Pueblo by her mother, Liann, and her stepfather, Jeremy, moving to Utah at age 16. Her biological father was not present during her childhood and she saw him only once before his death.
She was raised in the Mormon faith. In an interview with Decider, Paul said she does not let herself feel pressure from her church, explaining instead that she does what she feels is right for her own happiness. That independent streak would later define both her content and her public image.
Before fame, Paul lived the life she would later broadcast: young marriage, early motherhood, and a close circle of Mormon mom friends in Utah. She married Tate Paul in 2016. The couple had two children together: daughter Indy May, born in August 2017, and son Ocean, born in June 2020.
Rise to Fame: MomTok and the Soft-Swinging Scandal
Paul and her friends, all Mormon mothers living in Utah, started making TikTok videos together in 2022 and tagged them #MomTok, which became the name of their influencer group. The group included Jen Affleck, Mayci Neeley, Whitney Leavitt, Layla Taylor, Demi Engemann, Jessi Ngatikaura, and Mikayla Matthews.
The turning point came in 2022. Paul announced her divorce from Tate Paul on TikTok, and in a livestream she told viewers that she and Tate had been “soft swinging” with other couples in the MomTok circle, a practice where couples swapped partners without going all the way. She admitted she had broken the group’s agreed rules, which ended her marriage. The confession spread far beyond TikTok. Outlets including the New York Post and Rolling Stone covered the story, and the idea of buttoned-up Mormon moms involved in partner swapping drew global attention.
Paul leaned into the attention rather than hiding from it. She kept posting, kept talking, and turned her messy personal life into content. Her follower count climbed past 5 million on TikTok, and she became the most recognizable face of MomTok.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
Hulu saw the potential in the scandal and built a reality series around it. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered in September 2024, following Paul and the MomTok women as they dealt with the fallout of the swinging revelations, divorces, new relationships, and the strange experience of becoming famous for a sex scandal inside a conservative religious community. Paul was the center of the show from the start, with storylines focused on her divorce, her new boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, and her tense friendships with the other women.
The show became one of Hulu’s signature reality hits. Season 2 premiered in May 2025. In July 2025, the series earned its first Emmy nomination, a milestone for a show that started as TikTok gossip. Season 3 arrived on November 13, 2025, with all episodes dropping at once. Season 4 followed on March 12, 2026.
Season 5 premiered on Hulu on September 10, 2026, with five episodes following a production hiatus. Season 6 began filming with Paul still attached, but the show’s future looked shaky: castmate Mikayla Matthews quit, saying she did not feel comfortable being part of a show that gave Paul a platform, and both Mayci Neeley and Layla Taylor hinted they might leave after season 6.
Then, on September 21, 2026, Paul announced on Instagram that she was stepping away from the series herself. “My gratitude goes to all the networks that supported me throughout this and gave me the chance to return. However I don’t desire to move forward like this,” she wrote. In the post, she described criticism from castmates as bullying and referenced the strain of her ongoing legal battles.
Personal Life: Marriages, Children, and Dakota Mortensen
Paul married Tate Paul in 2016 and announced their divorce in 2022. They share daughter Indy May (born August 2017) and son Ocean (born June 2020).
After the divorce, Paul began a relationship with Dakota Mortensen, the man she identified as the person she had cheated with during her marriage. In March 2024, she welcomed her third child, son Ever True, with Mortensen. The relationship was turbulent from the start. The couple broke up and reconciled repeatedly between late 2022 and 2025.
In April 2025, Paul and Mortensen were spotted together at the Stagecoach music festival, sparking reconciliation rumors. By September 2025, Paul confirmed on the Call Her Daddy podcast that they had hooked up around Stagecoach but that the relationship was over. The Bachelorette announcement cemented the split, and Mortensen posted his displeasure about the casting on TikTok.
In early 2026, Paul briefly dated Ben Lambert, a country musician she had met on social media who flew to Utah to visit her, a storyline featured in season 4 of Mormon Wives. In September 2026, Paul rekindled things with Lambert after filming The Bachelorette, but later called it off, with her tumultuous custody battle with Mortensen cited as a factor.
| Child | Born | Father |
|---|---|---|
| Indy May Paul | August 2017 | Tate Paul |
| Ocean Paul | June 2020 | Tate Paul |
| Ever True Mortensen | March 2024 | Dakota Mortensen |
The Bachelorette: Casting, Filming, and Cancellation
On September 10, 2025, Paul appeared on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, where ABC announced her as the lead of The Bachelorette season 22. The casting broke franchise tradition: every previous Bachelorette had been a contestant on a prior season of The Bachelor, while Paul came from completely outside the franchise, via Hulu and TikTok.
On the podcast, Paul said she had joked about being the Bachelorette on TikTok for years but never believed it could happen. “I don’t know if that got their attention,” she told Cooper. “It was mainly a joke to me… then we had a meeting. I still didn’t believe it until I got the invitation, ‘Will you be our Bachelorette?'” She also discussed her hesitation about leaving Utah, explaining, “I’m a co-parent. I have two baby daddies, not one, so I’m dealing with two different people, my children, my home base is here. Can I travel that long? Can I be gone that long?”
Filming ran from October 26 to December 19, 2025, with portions shot in Utah and Colorado. In February 2026, ABC announced the cast of 22 men, reportedly including Clayton Johnson, the former fiance of singer Lana Del Rey. Paul got engaged during filming to contestant Doug Mason.
The season never aired. On March 19, 2026, just three days before its scheduled March 22 premiere, ABC pulled the season after video leaked of Paul’s 2023 domestic altercation with Mortensen. Disney Entertainment Television said it would not move forward with airing the season, stating its focus was on supporting the family. ABC filled the slot with a rerun of American Idol.
The fallout continued on the show itself. In season 5 of Mormon Wives, Paul admitted she had slept with Mortensen while still engaged to Mason. Mason later spoke out on Instagram, saying he had moved on and sending prayers to Paul, calling the canceled season “her moment” that was “blocked.”
The Call Her Daddy Interview
Paul’s September 2025 Call Her Daddy appearance was one of the most consequential podcast interviews of her career. Beyond the Bachelorette announcement, she addressed the 2023 domestic violence incident directly, saying the charges “were all dropped” and calling it the hardest time of her life. “I never had hurt my daughter. I never intentionally did anything with my children,” she said.
She also confirmed the end of her relationship with Mortensen, discussed dating before the show (including Ben Lambert), and spoke about the difficulty of being a single mother of three while carrying a reality TV career.
Controversies and Legal Issues
The 2023 incident with Mortensen has followed Paul for years. Paul was arrested after the altercation and charged with one count of felony aggravated assault, two counts of felony domestic violence in the presence of a child, one count of misdemeanor child abuse, and one count of misdemeanor criminal mischief. She pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault charge in August 2023 while the remaining charges were dismissed. The leaked video, which showed Paul throwing heavy metal chairs at Mortensen while her daughter Indy could be heard crying in the same room, prompted ABC’s cancellation decision and a new round of scrutiny.
In April 2026, Paul and Mortensen were granted mutual protective orders requiring them to stay at least 100 feet apart for three years. A hearing took place on April 30, 2026, in Salt Lake City’s Third District Court.
Paul has also been fighting custody battles on two fronts: with Mortensen over Ever, and with Tate Paul over Indy and Ocean. TMZ reported in September 2026, citing anonymous sources, that Paul had failed court-ordered drug tests and that her parenting time had been restricted. Paul has disputed characterizations of the legal proceedings in her public statements.
2024 to 2026: Recent Developments
Paul’s last three years have been a blur of career highs and personal crises. She went from Hulu breakout to Emmy-nominated reality star to Bachelorette lead to canceled lead in under two years. Her TikTok following sits around 6 million, with roughly 2 to 2.5 million Instagram followers as of early 2026.
As of October 2026, Paul has stepped away from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, is navigating custody arrangements under court supervision, and remains one of the most searched reality personalities in the country.
Whether she returns to television or rebuilds as a solo creator is the open question hanging over her next chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Taylor Frankie Paul?
Taylor Frankie Paul was born on May 23, 1994, in Pueblo, Colorado. She is 32 years old as of October 2026.
How many children does Taylor Frankie Paul have?
She has three children: daughter Indy May (born August 2017) and son Ocean (born June 2020) with ex-husband Tate Paul, and son Ever True (born March 2024) with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.
Why was Taylor Frankie Paul’s Bachelorette season canceled?
ABC pulled the season on March 19, 2026, three days before its scheduled premiere, after video leaked of a 2023 domestic altercation between Paul and Dakota Mortensen. Disney Entertainment Television said it would not move forward with airing the season. Paul had gotten engaged to contestant Doug Mason during filming.
Is Taylor Frankie Paul still on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives?
As of September 21, 2026, no. Paul announced on Instagram that she was stepping away from the Hulu series, writing that she did not desire to move forward with the show under the current circumstances.
What is MomTok?
MomTok is the group of Mormon mothers in Utah who began making TikToks together in 2022 under the #MomTok hashtag. Paul founded the group, which includes Jen Affleck, Mayci Neeley, Whitney Leavitt, Layla Taylor, Demi Engemann, Jessi Ngatikaura, and Mikayla Matthews. The group’s 2022 soft-swinging scandal became the premise of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
Who is Dakota Mortensen?
Dakota Mortensen is Taylor Frankie Paul’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her youngest son, Ever True. Their on-and-off relationship ran from late 2022 to 2025 and included a 2023 domestic violence incident, a leaked altercation video in 2026, and mutual protective orders granted in April 2026.
