‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Season 5 Trailer Teases Leadup to Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘Bachelorette’ Season Being Pulled
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives will be back sooner than expected.
Hulu released the trailer for the show’s fifth season on Wednesday, which will release on Sept. 10 with only five episodes after filming was halted due to an alleged domestic incident involving Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex Dakota Mortensen.
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The trailer gives a tease into the footage that was filmed leading up to the production pause, including Paul’s return from filming season 22 of The Bachelorette and Whitney Leavitt‘s Broadway debut. After filming stopped, the women returned to film only confessional interviews.
Paul, Leavitt, Jen Affleck, Jessi Draper, Layla Taylor, Mayci Neeley, Mikayla Matthews and Miranda Hope all return to round out the season five cast; they also serve as executive producers.
ABC pulled Paul’s season of The Bachelorette from air in March, days before its release, after a video of her throwing barstools at Mortensen from a 2023 domestic violence incident, which led to her arrest. On April 21, Hulu revealed that production on season five was picking up, confirming that Paul did not return to film confessional interviews, but only to participate in the opening title shoot. (THR previously reported that the ball was in Paul’s court on a Mormon Wives return, and the team behind the show wants her to return if and when she’s ready.)
The season five logline for Mormon Wives reads, “After two wild years, #MomTok is hotter than hell, but will friendships and dreams go up in flames? Taylor returns from The Bachelorette with unfinished business, an old temptation, and the pressure of life in the public eye. Whitney debuts on Broadway in New York City as tensions back home chase her. Back in Utah, the limits of loyalty are tested as fame, secrets and backlash threaten #MomTok — with every blowup making headlines. As the heat threatens to burn the sisterhood, have they finally flown too close to the sun? With rumors spiraling and the public demanding answers, the sisterhood starts to crack, and #MomTok must decide what — and who — it’s willing to sacrifice.”
The show has been very much riddled with controversy since Paul’s Bachelorette season was pulled. On March 25, NBC News also reported that Paul was under investigation for an alleged third domestic violence incident, also involving Mortensen, that allegedly occurred in 2024. (All three alleged incidents have involved Paul and Mortensen.)
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However, on April 7, Paul filed a temporary restraining order against Mortensen, which she 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 trailer shows footage of Paul questioning Mortensen about a lip tattoo of her initials, which was detailed in her filing. (On April 14, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office revealed they would not pursue new charges against Paul following the separate investigations led by the Draper Police Department and West Jordan Police Department.)
Paul and Matthews were also embroiled in a nasty social media feud that was sparked amid the controversy. Tension between the two boiled over when Matthews took to her Instagram Stories with a lengthy statement addressing that she was “setting boundaries” with Paul. Matthews addressed The Bachelorette lead’s turbulent relationship with Mortensen, which encompasses a history of domestic violence. In her statement, she made a comparison about her health and skin flare-ups to Paul’s relationship with Mortensen, which led Paul to fiercely fight back.
Elsewhere, Draper has been navigating a rocky separation from her husband; Leavitt has announced she’s leaving Mormon Wives after this fifth season; and Affleck has begun filming for the franchise’s first spinoff, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County.
ABC has not shared any updates on the status of The Bachelorette season 22.
Mormon Wives is produced by Jeff Jenkins Productions in association with 3BMG and Walt Disney Television Alternative. Season five EPs include Jeff Jenkins, Russell Jay-Staglik, Andrea Metz, Dan Cerny at Jeff Jenkins Productions; Ross Weintraub, Reinout Oerlemans at 3BMG; and Lisa Filipelli, Georgia Berger, Danielle Pistotnik at Select Entertainment.
