Taylor Frankie Paul Says Others Linked to Mormon Swinging Scandal Are 'Nervous' About Show (Exclusive)

Premiering this week, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives follows a sisterhood of Mormon women struggling to rebound from a sex scandal that rocked the group to its core. As they try and find a path forward, they also face new drama with the men in their lives and each other, with cameras catching all the fireworks.

Paul exposed the sex scandal at the center of the show back in May 2022 when she announced her then-husband Tate Paul was divorcing her. At the time, she claimed the pair were part of a "soft swinging" community -- meaning they would stop short of having penetrative sex with other people.   The arrangement went sour, however, after she claimed to have gone too far with someone else in their community ... and some parties involved "developed feelings."

None of the other women in the Hulu show's cast were directly tied to the scandal, though Demi Engemann said she was at parties where her husband got weird "vibes" and specified they don't share. Engemann also claimed Paul told them she "definitely thought we would be fun to swing with," before accusing her of being "extra flirty" with her husband at one of the parties.

When TooFab caught up with Paul, alongside costar Jessi Ngatikaura, before the premiere, we wondered whether she wished others who were linked to the swinging controversy spoke up when it happened ... or were part of the show with her.

"Yeah. I'm actually glad you've asked this because you're the first person to ask me this. Yes, absolutely," she told TooFab. "It's unfortunate because they're coming out after the fact of the show being filmed. I felt like out of respect to them, I don't believe I used any names of people involved. I was very respectful, like, I could have came out and fully said it, you know?"

"But when the trailer was released, there's podcasts being made, there's people coming out now and it's just, like--" she added, before Jessi interjected, "Damage control."

"They're just nervous," Paul continued. "And I'm like, where was all this when you could have--? and who's to say I even talked about you on the show anyways?"

In recent weeks, MomTok alums Miranda McWhorter and Camille Munday -- who were both directly linked to the scandal but denied being swingers -- were brought back into the spotlight after Munday did a podcast interview. While speaking with Weekly Trash, she claimed both she and Camille were asked to be part of the Hulu show, but turned it down.

"For our lives, it didn't feel right at all," she said, adding that "it never made me feel good," and expressing concerns about her family.

Paul then hopped onto her own TikTok and claimed the women really turned down the show because they refused to be on a series with her. That led to McWhorter sharing text receipts showing they were concerned about Paul's assault case, ultimately turning down the show before knowing the verdict in her case. Chase also took to his own TikTok to defend his ex, calling Paul's claims a "pretty obvious attempt at garnering some clicks and views for the upcoming show."

Paul then hit back again, saying the receipts only proved her point, adding that her intention wasn't more PR but the extra attention wasn't "hurting us either."

"They're probably doing a disservice to themselves," she told TooFab, before adding, "and I wouldn't be surprised if they came out and tried for Season 2, if we got one."

The swinging scandal doesn't actually factor into this full first season that much past the first episode. For Paul, her storyline mainly revolves around her sometimes volatile relationship with Dakota Mortensen.

At the time of filming, Paul was pregnant with the couple's first child together, following a domestic violence arrest for Paul in February 2023. While she was originally charged with two felony counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, one felony count of aggravated assault, and one misdemeanor count of child abuse and criminal mischief, she eventually accepted a plea deal, which found her pleading guilty to one count of aggravated assault; the other charges were dismissed.

Throughout the season, the two often fight with each other, as trust issues and self-sabotage threaten to tear them apart. At points, her costars call the relationship "toxic," her own parents seem to take issue with their romance, and Dakota has to apologize for "overreacting" during one of their more explosive arguments.

"I think he had intention of being like a good boyfriend and protective and I think it could come off completely different and he's nervous for how he's gonna come off 'cause he's such a genuine good guy at the end of the day," Paul told TooFab of how Mortensen is feeling ahead of the premiere.

Her man isn't the only other half who might not come off looking the best when the show drops, as Paul said, "I can't speak for the other guys, but there were some things I'm sure you saw in there that they might regret doing on TV."

"But how many times do you get to watch the mistakes back, you know?" added Jessi. "So hopefully they can take it and grow. But there are some husbands and boyfriends that are probably gonna be cringe-watching it."

As for Paul herself, she hopes getting the show out there helps fans see deeper than "just the headlines that you hear" about her -- though she admits she wasn't nearly as present with the other women of #MomTok as she would have liked.

"I wish-- I wanted to be present with more of my girls. Because I feel like I was so distracted -- obviously one, like, family and my relationship -- that I wasn't present here and able to, like, speak my mind with #MomTok," she shared. "And that's the point of the show and I just sat back and watched it all like, what in the heck?"

"I have an opinion and I didn't say a whole lot there. And I think if I'd go back, I would do that differently," she added.

Fingers crossed for Season 2!

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives drops Friday on Hulu.