Inside a Mormon dancing scandal: a new docuseries shows the drama between “MomTok” influencers.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” on Hulu shows how influential people deal with the effects of a shocking statement. In interviews, the women said that the chaos brought them closer in the end.
There was a big sex incident two years ago that rocked the world of a popular online group of Mormon moms.
MomTok is a popular online community that was created by a group of Mormon leaders in Utah. Its lifestyle and parenting videos made it popular on TikTok. Then, one of its main creators, Taylor Frankie Paul, said she and her husband were divorcing, which meant they had been having an open relationship, which was against the rules.
Paul called the situation “soft swinging,” and she said that a lot of couples in her group of friends did the same thing. A lot of people started to guess which other MomTok leaders were involved after the news came out.
A new Hulu documentary series follows eight of the influential people as they try to make sense of the chaos and trouble that has ensued.
The new movie “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” which came out Friday, shows how Paul and her fellow MomTokers are trying to fix their images and save their friendships.
The eight women in the series who were interviewed by NBC News said that the story brought them closer in the end, even though it caused some to avoid Paul at first.
“I think MomTok is now made up of a group of women who chose to stand by Taylor, good or bad.” We did have some tough times, but they made us better. A 32-year-old mother of three who runs a hair shop and posts vlogs of her personal life as well as videos of hair changes on TikTok said, “I think that’s a real testament to female friendship.”
Paul, who is now 30 years old, told her millions of fans about her swinging arrangement in 2022. She said that she and Tate Paul, who was her husband at the time, had agreed that they could be personal with the other people in their swinger group as long as both of them were there and neither went “all the way.”
Paul said during the livestream, “As long as we were both there and saw it and knew it, it was OK.” “And the second it goes behind without each other, that’s when you broke the deal.” “And I did that.”
She said that she had been cheating.
After two months, Paul, who has two kids with her ex-husband, called Dakota Mortensen, her new boyfriend, “the guy she cheated with.” They got married and had a child together earlier this year.
Paul never gave names of any other swingers, but all of a sudden, her influential friends and the larger group of Mormon MomTokers thought they were also involved, even though most of them weren’t.
Paul’s image took a hit when she was arrested last year after a fight with Mortensen. A child was present when she was charged with assault and domestic abuse. She later pleaded guilty to aggravated attack.
“I was going 90 miles per hour at that point.” Paul told NBC News, “I wasn’t even thinking straight.” “Being depressed myself, I don’t even know if I was okay with it.” I think I was just trying to stay alive at the time, and I may have made decisions I don’t like now.
She did something that split the MomTok group apart. During that time, Paul, who now has 4.1 million fans on TikTok, kept posting about how hard it was for her to deal with divorce, co-parenting, and her mental health.
Paul said she’s doing better now.
Ngatikaura said that being a leader can lead to bad treatment in the Mormon community, which is why she is worried about how people will respond to the show when it airs. But she and the other stars hope that the show will also help people connect with them better.
Ngatikaura said, “We’re excited to show that the show isn’t just about the sexy title; it’s about our real lives, our friendships, and our struggles.” “It’s going to hit home with women, and that’s all we want.”
Mikayla Matthews, a mom of three with 2.4 million TikTok fans, said that the story made her and other MomTokers rethink whether it was worth it to be a part of the community, even though it meant more attention.
But Matthews, 24, said she learned that making material for the internet has given her a chance to explore life as a young person beyond being a stay-at-home mom. This is especially true since she lost friends when she was 16 and became pregnant.
Matthews said, “It’s like going back to being a teenager again, where you could just forget about everything and have fun.” “I owe that to all the MomTok friends I’ve made.”
Whitney Leavitt, a MomToker with 2 million fans who posts dance and leisure videos, felt the same way. “Cleaning up poop and spit up all day for the rest of my life,” she said, is no longer a part of who she is because she is a maker.
Still, the show gives us a look into her personal problems too. Leavitt, who is now 31 years old and expecting her third child, deals with the fallout from finding her husband on Tinder. She also talks about a controversial dance video she made while she and her sick baby were in the hospital.
The youngest actress, Layla Taylor, 23, said she hopes that the docuseries will help the MomTokers show more people that Mormon society can be open to different ways of life, even though it can also be cruel.
Taylor, a mother of two who split her husband before the show filmed, said, “So many people are in so many different stages of life, and maybe they’re doing things that you don’t agree with or resonate with.” “But our faith and relationship with God are each taking us on our own unique paths.”