The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Jessi Ngatikaura is weighing in on the news that production has paused on season 5 amid Taylor Frankie Paul’s legal drama with ex Dakota Mortensen.
TMZ and People reported on Monday, March 16, that producers behind the hit Hulu reality show stopped filming earlier this month following an alleged domestic dispute between Taylor, 31, and Dakota, 33, who share son Ever, 23 months.
The Draper City Police Department in Utah confirmed to Us Weekly on Monday that it was conducting a “domestic assault investigation” involving the pair, saying that “allegations have been made in both directions.”
As the news broke, social media users, including influencer Zack Peter, have been speculating about what led to the pause. In a Monday Instagram video, Zack brought up unverified reports of cast jealousy over Taylor’s status as the new Bachelorette, prompting Jessi, 33, to jump into the comments section.
“It was never a jealousy thing lol,” the JZ Styles founder replied.
On Monday, a source exclusively told Us that Taylor’s costars are hesitant to continue filming with her amid the situation with Dakota.
“The Mormon Wives cast [is] honestly terrified to film with Taylor right now,” the source said, adding that “the women have made it clear they don’t want to be around her because they see her as a major liability.”
According to the insider, Taylor’s fellow cast members “believed Taylor was in a better place” after she filmed her season of The Bachelorette and that Mormon Wives “was heading in a different direction.”
“Now, many of them feel they’ve moved past the point of dealing with this kind of behavior and simply don’t want to be put in that position again,” said the source.
Us previously reached out to representatives for Taylor, Dakota and Hulu for comment.
Taylor and Dakota’s up-and-down relationship has been a major focal point of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which first premiered in September 2024.
The first season documented Taylor’s arrest on domestic violence charges in 2023 following an incident involving Dakota. She later said all the charges were dropped.
“Getting arrested, it was the worst night of my life. I ended up being charged with aggravated assault with three years of probation,” she said in 2024. “After the arrest, I was under so much stress. I was filmed leaving the jail and then that was immediately on the internet. It was a blessing in disguise. It helped me wake up.”
Taylor also recently opened up to Us about her dynamic with Dakota in an exclusive cover story ahead of her season of The Bachelorette.
“It was hard because I’m, obviously, a part of that — it’s not like I am pointing the finger like, ‘He is [the toxic one].’ It takes two to tango. We were just not progressing,” Taylor said. “We like each other sometimes, and then we fight. It’s really hard to explain to people and unless you’ve been in that situation, it is hard to understand. If I could just snap out of it, trust me, I would. It’s just a lot harder said than done.”
