Season 2 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives bore witness to the end of Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen’s relationship. When Taylor announced her divorce from Tate Paul on social media, she dropped the bombshell about “soft swinging.” Her reveal broke the internet, and a scandal was born! This situation also caused stress among the MomTok group. Plus, Taylor faced fierce backlash for her comments.
So, I think it’s fair to say that Taylor was not in the best place when she and Dakota embarked on their romantic journey. Of course, Taylor gave birth to their son, Ever True, in March 2024. However, before Ever’s birth, Taylor endured a miscarriage.
Even Taylor’s family wobbled in their support for the couple. Before Ever’s birth, Taylor’s no-nonsense mother, Liann, didn’t support their relationship. However, once Taylor became pregnant, she lobbied hard for Taylor and Dakota to keep the family together. After all, Taylor has two children, Ocean and Indy, with her ex-husband, Tate.
In the end, the dynamic between Taylor and Dakota seemed toxic and unhealthy, and they split for good. Let’s take a look at why Taylor and Dakota’s decision to split was the best decision for them.
Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen had a rocky relationship in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
From the jump, the couple seemed to clash. Unfortunately, this led to some extremely poor decision-making. In February 2023, Dakota and Taylor were involved in an altercation. After she admitted that she threw a chair at Dakota, Taylor was arrested.
She was charged with two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, aggravated assault, and child abuse with injury. The body cam footage showing Taylor’s arrest played during Season 1 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. And it was … upsetting.
Taylor took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, and the remainder of the charges were dismissed. Still, the red flags were flying, but the couple didn’t see them.
During this time, the couple seemed to be on and off until Taylor became pregnant with Ever. Both parties wanted the stability and nurturing environment of a strong relationship, but they could not get there. And while Dakota was ready to pop the question, Taylor pumped the brakes. Instead, over her family’s objections, the couple moved in together.
One reason that Taylor wasn’t ready to make it official? She had major trust issues and was concerned that Dakota had cheated on her. He repeatedly denied her accusations, leaving Taylor feeling unsettled. Plus, Dakota had trust issues of his own because Taylor cheated on Tate with one of her soft-swinging partners.
Taylor discovered that Dakota had cheated in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
During the Season 1 finale of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Taylor’s co-star Mayci Neeley shared the rumor that Dakota had cheated on Taylor with a woman named Jenna. This supposedly happened early in Dakota and Taylor’s relationship. During the Season 2 premiere, Taylor said that she, Dakota, and baby Ever were living as a happy family. “And then I learned that he was lying this entire time,” Taylor said.
So, Jenna met with Taylor at Mayci’s house to detail her relationship with Dakota. When Jenna gave Taylor her phone, all the pieces started to come together. It seems that while Dakota told Taylor that Jenna was begging to spend time with him, it was the other way around. Oh, the LIES!
And what hurt Taylor the most was that Dakota took Jenna on dates during the day and slept with Taylor at night, like she was a dirty secret. Of course, this revelation wreaked havoc with Taylor’s trust issues and feelings of self-worth, and she kicked Dakota out of the house.
At Jessi Ngatikaura’s hellish Halloween bash, Dakota really upset Taylor when he decided to side with Chase McWhorter, who was married to Miranda McWhorter. He and Miranda, who was Taylor’s former bestie, were involved in the swinging scandal. So, when Taylor and Chase began to argue about the past, Dakota didn’t support Taylor. Oof. For Taylor, it brought back feelings of betrayal and low self-esteem.
Taylor and Dakota are doing what is best for their child in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
Both Taylor and Dakota want to do what is best for their son. While still separated, they tried to work on themselves separately and in couples therapy. And let’s not forget that Taylor’s family was pushing hard for the couple to reconcile and stay together.
However, nothing changed in their relationship. Eventually, Dakota issued Taylor an ultimatum. After some careful thought, she decided that it was best to end their romantic relationship.
“Right now, we’re doing the best we can for our baby, and what happens in the future, I’m not sure,” Taylor previously said. “Right now, I’m focusing on only me.” The MomTok creator also opened up about co-parenting with Dakota.
“Co-parenting is great, but it’s also the worst,” she explained. “For me, experiencing that already with my other two, this one has been excruciating and been really hard.” Taylor added, “To make that decision for myself, because I knew the pain that was coming with it, made it a lot harder to let go of us being together.”
While this is not the outcome that Dakota and Taylor hoped for, it is a healthier dynamic for Taylor’s three children. And I commend the duo for putting their child’s needs ahead of their own desires.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is available to stream on Hulu.
TELL US – WAS TAYLOR FRANKIE PAUL AND DAKOTA MORTENSEN’S DECISION TO SPLIT FOR THE BEST?
