The Mormon women behind the #MomTok phenomenon turned the social media world upside down when a scandal revealed that the content creators were also a group of swingers.
Taylor Frankie Paul sent shock waves through the TikTok world in 2022 when she announced her divorce from now ex-husband Tate Paul and shared more of their “soft swinging” lifestyle, which included some of the friends featured in her videos.
A new Hulu series, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” follows the aftermath of the sex scandal that rocked TikTok and turned a few dancing influencers into moms with major incomes.
‘MORMON MOMTOK’ INFLUENCER ACCUSED OF DOMESTIC RAMPAGE AGREES TO PLEA: ‘A LOT OF JUDGING’
“I want people to have a better understanding of who I am,” Taylor told People magazine. “I wanted to be vulnerable and show people that when you hit rock bottom, there is hope.”
Taylor and her ex had agreed to a lifestyle that included having multiple partners, although Taylor and her ex decided as a couple that they “wouldn’t go all the way.” When the scandal broke, she admitted that she “did step out of the agreement” and cheated on her ex with Dakota Mortensen, who she now calls her boyfriend and recently had a child with.
While Taylor’s world changed almost overnight, so were the lives of multiple women included in her videos and on their own platforms.
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“The scandalous world of a group of Mormon mom influencers implodes when they get caught in the midst of a swinging sex scandal that makes international headlines,” the show’s description said. “Now, their sisterhood is shook to its core. Faith, friendship and reputations are all on the line. Will #MomTok be able to survive and continue to give the rulebook a run for its money, or will this group fall from grace?”
“I love the Mormon church, but there are a lot of rules that we have to follow,” Mikayla Matthews said during a confessional interview. “We were raised to be these housewives for the men, serving their every desire.”
“Have kids by the time you’re 21, or in my case, at 16.”
“Well, I’m like, f— this,” Taylor said before a video montage played clips from her TikTok days. “I created MomTok. It’s a group of Mormon moms making TikToks. It started with Whitney, Mayci, Mikayla and I.”
“We’re breaking a norm,” Whitney said. “We’re trying to change a stigma of gender roles in the Mormon culture.”
“That’s what scares me,” one husband said in the trailer. “In the church, we have rules for a reason.”
In another excerpt, Taylor explained, “Mayci, I need you to twerk your a– off,” before jumping into another dance routine. “My goal was really just to be able to provide for my family,” one mom said.
The women “blew up” overnight and went from a few million followers to nine million in no time, simply from their group dance routines and relatable comic sketches.
“Then it just turned into this whole group is swinging with each other,” Mikayla said.
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“No one is innocent. Everyone has hooked up with, like, everyone,” Taylor said in a TikTok clip shared in the trailer.
It was like swapping in front of each other standing next to each other,” one mom explained to the group.
“Now there’s a fight for MomTok,” another mom explained in a confessional before cutting away to one husband letting out a stressful exhale. “The drama’s now with the husbands.”
Jennifer Affleck explained to her husband, Zac, that “the group is important to me” during a tense conversation. Zac, whose famous cousins include Ben and Casey Affleck, responded that “being divorced and taking care of two kids would be kind of tough, so you make the decision.”
Jennifer told People magazine, “It feels like we got 10 years of marriage counseling in this one season of filming.”
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Worlds start to collide offline as friendships are torn apart behind the scenes.
“Online it looks like we’re all the bestest of friends, but we’re not,” Whitney said.
At one point, the subject of alcohol is brought to the table – something Mormons abstain from as part of their religion. Drama reached a tipping point when body camera footage showed the night Taylor was arrested in February 2023 on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence charges.
She was charged with aggravated assault (third-degree felony), two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child (third-degree felony), child abuse (class A misdemeanor), and criminal mischief (class B misdemeanor).
In August, Taylor pleaded guilty to aggravated assault (a third-degree felony), and the other charges were dismissed.
