Cameras may be down on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, but drama is still up.
It’s been roughly a month since news broke that production on the Hulu series’ fifth season had been paused amid a domestic assault investigation centered on star Taylor Frankie Paul and ex Dakota Mortensen. The events, which occurred on Feb. 22 and 23, triggered a hiatus in filming and subsequent investigations by the Draper City Police Department, along with the show’s own production company, Jeff Jenkins Productions in association with 3BMG and Walt Disney Television Alternative.
In the days following, breadcrumbs of information about Paul’s 2023 domestic violence arrest entered the news cycle, with the final nail in the coffin arriving on March 19 when a video of Paul throwing barstools at Mortensen with her daughter present was leaked to TMZ.
ABC pulled Paul’s season of The Bachelorette hours later; the next day, on March 20, NBC News reported on a Zoom call the Mormon Wives cast had with Disney execs where they voiced concerns about continuing to film with Paul amid the allegations; and on March 25, reports of an alleged third domestic violence investigation involving the reality star and Mortensen were made public.
But now, on Tuesday, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office announced Paul will not face charges after separate investigations led by the Draper and West Jordan police departments. Because the incidents occurred over three years ago, the statute of limitations expired, per the DA.
A source close to the situation previously told The Hollywood Reporter that the cast call with Disney execs was held so the executives could inform the women that the show was going on pause amid their own investigation. The women were informed that filming for season five was to be paused until production’s investigation, which is separate from the law enforcement investigation, concludes; it was initially expected to wrap by the end of the week of March 27, but that was before the third alleged incident was made public.
There has been no update on the status of the investigation, or the status of Mormon Wives season five. In adjacent Disney news, ABC has also not given an update on the status of the future of The Bachelorette franchise following the cancellation of Paul’s season 22. (Hulu and ABC have not responded to THR’s multiple requests for comments).
As Paul faced a wave of backlash, Mortensen’s participation on two reality shows was also called into question, as both parties were being investigated. This prompted Hulu to edit out Mortensen’s presence on season three of Vanderpump Villa. (He still received airtime on Alex Cooper’s new YouTube reality show).
Outside of Mormon Wives, the former couple appeared in court on April 7, their first appearance tied to an existing order of protection Mortensen had filed against Paul. An hour before the scheduled court date, the former Bachelorette lead filed a temporary restraining order against Mortensen, which was granted.
In Paul’s filing, which THR obtained, she recounted several alleged abusive incidents involving Mortensen, including a Feb. 23 event where she says he “became physically violent,” and slammed her head on the dashboard of his truck. (The filing included photos of Paul’s bruises and screenshots of text messages between the two.)
Paul and Mortensen’s next hearing is slated for April 30, where a judge will review both of their filed orders, which may influence parental time for both parents. (Paul was granted eight hours of supervised visitation with their shared son, Ever True, on April 7). The judge was hoping to have confirmation on if criminal charges will be filed against either or both parties — which could be a decision that both ABC and Hulu may be waiting for to assess how to move forward.
Paul will not receive additional charges tied to the investigations led by police.
Throughout these past weeks, the Mormon Wives cast has been riddled with other viral dramas, including Jessi Draper seemingly canoodling with Miranda Hope’s ex-husband. On a more serious front, Draper recounted allegations of emotional abuse in her own marriage to Jordan Ngatikaura on Call Her Daddy; he also filed for divorce amid the production pause (on the same day ABC pulled Paul’s Bachelorette season), which Draper claims ensued after he learned she was set to share her side of their split on the prominent podcast.
After her podcast appearance, Jeff Jenkins, executive producer of Mormon Wives, reshared a Deadline pickup from Draper’s interview noting that she’d be ready to pick up cameras soon, which many of the castmembers reshared and commented on in support of.
With the fate of the series caught in the crossfire of plenty scandals, some cast members are making moves for their futures. On March 23, People reported that the show’s first spinoff is in the works, with Jen Affleck set to star in the new Orange County-based series.
Affleck’s team and Hulu did not respond to THR’s requests for comment about that report, though the Dancing With the Stars’ alumni’s social media activity hints that she made the move to SoCal.
Whitney Leavitt also previously told THR in mid-March that she’s “figuring out” what her future on the reality show looks like amid her blossoming Broadway and scripted career.
The rest of the cast, meanwhile, has continued on with their lives, posting their brand deals and attending music festivals, with no real word on what’s to come from the show that amplified their careers. Nonetheless, if Mormon Wives doesn’t pick back up soon — or if the network decides to fully scrap The Bachelorette — two of Disney’s most pop-culturally dominated unscripted shows of all time hang in the balance.
