“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” has paused production amid an alleged domestic violence incident involving star Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, according to media reports.
Production on the Hulu reality series has paused amid an open “domestic assault investigation” in Utah, a spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department told People. Per the outlet, “allegations have been made in both directions,” and contact was made with both parties on Feb. 24 and 25.
A representative for Hulu did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Paul and Mortensen, who frequently appear in the Hulu series, were involved in a domestic violence incident in Season 1 of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” that was documented by the series. By Season 4, which debuted on Hulu last week, Paul and Mortensen were still engaged in a toxic, on-again-off-again relationship.
Paul is set to star in the upcoming season of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” which debuts next Sunday, with “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” serving to bookend her experience on “The Bachelorette.” Season 4 of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” saw Paul prepare to head out to film “The Bachelorette,” and Season 5 was set to document the aftermath of her time on the ABC show.
“If you watch Season 4 of ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,’ the handoff is, Taylor has to go be ‘The Bachelorette, and then next Sunday, her ‘Bachelorette’ journey will start,” Rob Mills, Walt Disney Television’s EVP of unscripted and alternative entertainment, told TheWrap on Monday. “Season 5 will pick up where that went off, so if we can thread that needle correctly, it’s going to be great for one of those things where one plus one will equal three for both franchises.”
Paul’s season even got a post-Oscars boost on Sunday night, with former “Bachelorettes” coming together for a “Before the First Rose” special to give advice to Paul, who is the first “Bachelorette” who hasn’t appeared on “The Bachelor.”
