The Mormon women behind the #MomTok phenomenon have turned the social media world upside down with a scandal that their content creators are also a swingers' gang.
Taylor Frankie Paul shocked the TikTok world when she announced her divorce from ex-husband Tate Paul in 2022 and shared details about her “soft swing” lifestyle, including friends who appeared in her videos.
Hulu's new series “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” explores the aftermath of the sex scandal that rocked TikTok and turned several dance influencers into high-paid mothers.
“I want people to understand more about who I am,” Taylor told People magazine. “I wanted to be vulnerable and show people that even when you're at rock bottom, there's still hope.”
Taylor and her ex-husband had agreed to a lifestyle that included having multiple partners, but as a couple they decided not to “go all the way.”
When the scandal came to light, she admitted to “breaking the agreement” and cheating on her ex-wife with Dakota Mortensen, who she now calls her lover and with whom she recently had a child.
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” explores the aftermath of the sex scandal that rocked TikTok. Disney Hulu's new series delves into the “scandalous world of Mormon mom influencers.” Disney
Taylor's world changed almost overnight, but so did the lives of many of the women featured in her videos and on her platform.
“The scandalous world of Mormon mom influencers comes tumbling down as they're caught up in a swinging sex scandal that makes international headlines,” the show description reads. “Now their sisterhood is shaken to its core. Their faith, their friendships, and their reputations are all at stake. Can #MomTok survive and keep fighting by the rule book, or will the group fall from grace?”
“I love the Mormon church, but there are so many rules we have to follow,” Mikayla Matthews said in a confessional interview. “We were raised to be housewives for our men, to fulfill their every need.”
“Have a baby by the time you're 21, or in my case, 16.”
“Well, I'm like, f**k this,” Taylor said, before a video montage of clips from her TikTok days played. “I created MomTok. It's a group of Mormon moms who make TikToks. It started with Whitney, Macy, Mikayla and me.”
“We're breaking new ground,” Whitney says, “and trying to change the stereotypes of gender roles in Mormon culture.”
“That's what scares me,” one husband says in the trailer. “In the church, we have rules for a reason.”
In another excerpt, Taylor explains, “Macy, shake your booty as hard as you can,” before launching into another dance routine. “My only goal was to provide for my family,” one mother said.
They “exploded” overnight with just their group dance routines and relatable comedy sketches, quickly increasing their following from a few million to nine million.
“Nobody's innocent. Everybody relates to everybody,” Taylor said in a TikTok clip shared with the trailer.
Taylor Swift Frankie Paul revealed that she and her ex-husband agreed to a lifestyle that included having multiple partners. Disney Mikayla Matthews said in a confessional interview that she was “raised to be a housewife who fulfilled all the desires of men.” Disney
“It was like they were standing next to each other in front of each other exchanging,” one mother explained to the group.
“There's a battle going on over MomTok right now,” another mom confessed, before cutting to footage of her husband sighing in stress. “The drama is between them now.”
“The group is important to me,” Jennifer Affleck explained to her husband Zach during a tense conversation, to which Zach, whose famous cousins include Ben and Casey Affleck, responded, “It's hard to be divorced and raise two kids, so it's up to you to decide.”
Macy Neely stars in “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” Disney
“I feel like I've had 10 years' worth of marriage counseling filming this one season,” Jennifer told People magazine.
As friendships tear apart behind the scenes, worlds begin to collide offline.
“Online it seems like we're all good friends, but in reality we're not,” Whitney says.
Jennifer Affleck said filming the movie was “like 10 years of marriage counseling.” Disney
At one point, the issue of alcohol came up — Mormons forbid alcohol as part of their religion — and the drama reached a turning point when body camera footage showed the night Taylor was arrested in February 2023 on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.
She was charged with aggravated assault (a third-degree felony), two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child (a third-degree felony), child abuse (a class A misdemeanor) and criminal damage to property (a class B misdemeanor).
In August, Taylor pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, and the other charges were dropped.
