'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' season two reunion. Disney/Fred Hayes Logo text Taylor Frankie Paul’s previous domestic violence arrest and ongoing investigations into new allegations have dominated the media cycle for the past few weeks. The alleged occurrences all occurred with her on-again, off-again boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, of whom she shares her youngest child with.
Amid the controversy, Mortensen is set to make a guest appearance on another Hulu show and a new reality series backed by Alex Cooper‘s Unwell Network in just a few weeks.
On The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Mortensen is considered a member of “DadTok,” a copycat name that refers to the husbands (and exes) of MomTok, the women who make up the show’s core cast. At the season three reunion for the Hulu hit, it was revealed that DadTok would be attending a luxury getaway on the third season of their sister series Vanderpump Villa, following in the footsteps of the women, who went on the show’s second installment.
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The Mormon Wives season three reunion was a tease of what was to come for the series, which saw more of the spotlight shift onto DadTok. The men took over the majority of the narrative on the recently released fourth installment, and each has been involved in the heavy media cycle for varying reasons.
Jordan Ngatikaura will be the “guest of honor” on Vanderpump Villa, which is fronted by Lisa Vanderpump and Vanderpump Rules alum Stassi Schroeder. Ngatikaura himself has been making waves as he filed for divorce from Jessi Draper, who recently went on Call Her Daddy to allege that her soon-to-be ex-husband tried to hire escorts and attended sex parties while they were married.
Chase McWhorter, ex-husband to Miranda Hope, was also spotted getting cozy with Draper, which has sent the internet into a firestorm. His brother, Mason McWhorter, also recently broke things off with Layla Taylor. Additional Villa attendees include Zac Affleck (husband to Jen Affleck) and Jacob Neeley (husband to Mayci Neeley).
But amid recent reports that Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was pulled by ABC following the leak of a video depicting the domestic violence incident that led to her 2023 arrest involving Mortensen, the question on everyone’s minds is whether Hulu is still going to release DadTok’s episode of Vanderpump Villa.
On Monday, March 16, it was reported that season five of Mormon Wives paused filming amid an alleged February domestic incident between Paul and Mortensen. A spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department told People that there is an open “domestic assault investigation” involving Paul and Mortensen. They noted that “allegations have been made in both directions” and “contact was made with involved parties on [Feb.] 24th and 25th.”
A few days later, on Thursday, March 19, video of the events leading up to Paul’s prior 2023 arrest was leaked, showing the reality star throwing barstools at Mortensen while her daughter was present. Hours later, ABC pulled season 22 of The Bachelorette, three days before its scheduled March 22 premiere.
“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,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said in a statement at the time.
One day later, on Friday, March 20, NBC News obtained audio of a Zoom call held on March 7 with the Mormon Wives cast and three Disney executives, where they voiced concerns about continuing the series with Paul amid the investigation.
The production company on Mormon Wives, Jeff Jenkins Productions in association with 3BMG and Walt Disney Television Alternative, launched their own investigation separate from the police, which is ongoing. The Hollywood Reporter previously reported that production on season five will remain halted until production’s investigation concludes.
With an ongoing internal investigation led by Mormon Wives production, and a reported third alleged domestic violence incident that is currently under investigation, also involving Paul and Mortensen, some fans believe the Vanderpump Villa episode that is set to feature Mortensen and the men of DadTok should also be pulled.
“Hulu should cancel the DadTok episodes of Vanderpump Villa,” reads the title of a Reddit thread in a Mormon Wives-related channel. “This is a horrible situation with no winners. Dakota should be off the air just as much as Taylor,” the same user wrote.
Hulu has not responded to The Hollywood Reporter’s requests for comment.
Under a promotional asset posted to the show’s official Instagram on March 19, just ahead of The Bachelorette being pulled, a user wrote on March 21, “If Hulu isn’t moving forward with airing the bachelorette, they really shouldn’t be airing the dadtok episode of Vanderpump Villa [sic] then either.”
Under the same comment, another user argued that because Paul was the one who was “charged with domestic violence….there’s a BIG difference.” The original commenter offered a rebuttal which argued that “ABC needs to keep their energy consistent.”
“Their statement said they’re ‘supporting the family,’ yet as of now, they’re still airing Dakota’s Vanderpump Villa episode where he sleeps with a staff member,” they wrote. “Airing more of their laundry for drama during an active investigation is in extremely poor taste. If they actually care about the family like they said, they should pull the episode.”
THR has reached out to ABC for comment, but did not hear back.
On Monday, it was further revealed that Mortensen will be competing on a new YouTube reality series via Cooper‘s Unwell Network with a cast of “polarizing” reality TV stars and influencers. The show will premiere on April 6, ten days before season three of Vanderpump Villa is slated to hit Hulu April 16. (THR has also reached out to Cooper’s rep, but did not hear back by the time of publication.)
His latest casting on the YouTube series has sparked further backlash. Under the cast reveal on the network’s Instagram, the comments were flooded with criticism tied to Mortensen’s involvement on the show.
“Why the hell would @unwell give Dakota more exposure. This was my last straw,” one user commented, as another questioned, “Why would you have Dakota on this show. He is involved in a serious investigation. Do better and don’t do everything for views. Smh.”
“The fact that Dakota is getting screen time for a small part in a show like this and Taylor is not getting her time to shine on bachelorette is actually DIABOLICAL,” another comment wrote. Cosmopolitan even argued that Unwell should “cancel the whole thing altogether.”
Filming on Cooper’s new YouTube reality show was completed by early February, The Salt Lake Tribune previously reported, meaning that it was shot before the alleged incident between Mortensen and Paul occurred at the end of the same month. Vanderpump Villa, too, shot last year (as depicted on Mormon Wives season four), meaning the new allegations were not made public when Mortensen was cast for both respective shows.
However, that has not slowed down backlash as both networks have not indicated that Mortensen’s appearances on both shows may result in their episodes or seasons being pulled, similar to what occurred with Paul’s Bachelorette installment.
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