Taylor Frankie Paul reveals the two Mormon Wives who have ‘been by her side’ amid drama
She gave them a shout-out in her latest post
Taylor Frankie Paul’s world has totally transformed in literally a matter of weeks and the fallout has been impossible to ignore.
Between The Bachelorette being pulled at the last minute, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives pausing production, and her friendships inside MomTok suddenly looking very different, the spotlight on Taylor has only gotten harsher in recent weeks.
But while plenty of cast members have publicly distanced themselves or condemned the situation, a much smaller inner circle seems to have stayed close.
Taylor’s Bachelorette season was axed
View this post on Instagram
What should have been a huge reality TV glow-up for Taylor turned into a disaster for ABC.
Her already-filmed season of The Bachelorette was abruptly cancelled just days before its planned March 22 premiere after a 2023 video resurfaced showing Taylor throwing three stools towards her ex, Dakota Mortensen, with a child nearby.
ABC then confirmed it would no longer air the season, and the scandal quickly snowballed into one of the wildest Bachelor Nation shake-ups in recent memory.
A Disney spokesperson told TMZ: “In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of ‘The Bachelorette’ at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.”
Taylor and Dakota are now tied to multiple domestic-violence investigations in Utah, and Mortensen was granted a temporary restraining order as well as temporary custody of their 2-year-old son, Ever, ahead of an April 7 court date, per PEOPLE.
Taylor’s team has pushed back hard, saying she has endured “extensive mental and physical abuse” and is focused on protecting herself and her children, while Mortensen has denied those accusations.
That same chaos also hit Hulu hard. Production on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season five was paused, and a report from PEOPLE said cast members were reluctant to keep filming amid the latest allegations and the media frenzy surrounding Taylor.
Only two Mormon Wives stars were ‘by her side’
The cast response has been all over the place, but one name has stood out as Taylor’s clearest defender: Jessi Draper.
Jessi has publicly called Taylor her “real friend,” said she loves her, and insisted the woman in the leaked video is not the whole picture of who Taylor is.
Via Entertainment Weekly, she also said she has held Taylor through her darkest moments and was still in touch with her after the Bachelorette cancellation.
As for the second Mormon Wives star still seemingly in Taylor’s corner, she also mentioned Demi Engemann in her Instagram comment.
She wrote: “@demilucymay thank you for checking in as much as you have and the wellness gift😭 You and Jessi I’ll never forget didn’t leave my side at my lowest.”
Mayci Neeley appears to be the other closest ally publicly linked to that support bubble right now.
While Mayci has not defended Taylor as explicitly as Jessi has, she did reshare coverage of Jessi’s supportive Call Her Daddy interview as the cast signalled they were ready to move forward with filming, which suggests she is at least not joining the pile-on.
Meanwhile, Layla Taylor and Miranda McWhorter have made it clear that the safety of the children comes first, and neither woman sounded interested in softening the seriousness of what’s going on.
So yes, Taylor may still have support, but it looks increasingly limited to a very tight circle.
Taylor Frankie Paul has now released a statement in response to the leaked video of her throwing the stools, with her rep telling Entertainment Weekly: “It’s sad to see the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child.
“Releasing an old video, which conveniently omits context, on their son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior.
“Thankfully, the public has seen this act before and knows who he is and sadly, many will recognize this pattern of manipulation, both in his actions on the show, and from their own experiences.”
Dakota has also released his own statement to Entertainment Weekly, saying: “His number one priority here is protecting [their 2-year-old son], Ever. He knew there was a possibility it could come out, but he was not going to be the one to proactively do that because he has always wanted a decent relationship with Taylor. It’s been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to co-parent well.
“He was just hoping that if he says nothing, as he usually does, it would go away. He’s never done any kind of sit-down interview about his side. He kind of just lets it all happen to him, and I think he realizes with the severity of everything now that he just can’t do that.”
For all the latest reality TV cast member news, scandals, gossip and updates – like Reality Shrine on Facebook.