Taylor Frankie Paul announces exit from 'Secret Lives of Mormon Wives'

Taylor Frankie Paul has announced she's quitting The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

According to TMZ, the reversal comes just days after reports indicated she was returning to film Season 6. 

The news follows weeks of turmoil surrounding her role on the Hulu series, which intensified after co-star Mikayla Matthews announced her own departure earlier this month specifically because Paul was coming back. 

Matthews explained her decision in an Instagram post: "I've said from the beginning of this that I'm not comfortable being a part of something that continues to platform behaviour I don't agree especially given my own experience growing up in a home with multiple forms of abuse... For me personally, continuing to directly profit from this behavior feels wrong and unethical. It feels like a disservice to the children, everyone's healing and the millions of people watching." 

She later clarified directly that Paul's return was the sole reason for her exit, writing, "The ONLY reason I'm leaving the show is because I was told a certain person was coming back... Because it's UNETHICAL and kids are involved."

The controversy traces back to March, when footage surfaced showing Paul throwing metal chairs during a 2023 domestic violence incident involving her then-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, with the video appearing to show her young child struck and crying during the altercation. 

The fallout from that footage had already led ABC to cancel Paul's planned season as The Bachelorette. 

Season 5 of Mormon Wives, which aired earlier this month, documented the chaotic aftermath of Paul's return from Bachelorette filming, including her rekindled relationship with Mortensen despite a mutual protective order between the two. 

Castmates Mayci Neeley and Layla Taylor have both signaled they remain undecided about their own futures on the show following the turmoil.