Entertainment
What Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Taylor Revealed About Soft Swinging
Taylor Frankie Paul is done keeping secrets.
After The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered on Hulu in September 2024, viewers received an inside look into the scandalous world of a group of Mormon mom influencers — but where was the promised tea about swinging?
Years before the show premiered, many cast members were caught in the midst of a “soft swinging” sex scandal that made international news after Taylor went public with her experience.
While the controversy led to Taylor divorcing her ex-husband, Tate Paul, she isn’t done sharing her side of the story.
“For the show, I really wanted them to see me and more of me and my personality and a deeper level,” she exclusively told Us Weekly. “I feel like I come off so different online than I actually am in a conversation. I felt like this was my chance to tell my story and get a deeper look into who I am.”
While other cast members make it clear that everyone on the show does not engage in swinging, Taylor — who is now dating boyfriend Dakota Mortensen — continues to share new information about her past.
Keep reading to learn more about her swinging experiences that didn’t make Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ first season:
How Did Taylor Frankie Paul’s Experience With Soft Swinging Begin?
In a September 2024 episode of “The Viall Files” podcast, Taylor revealed that she and her then-husband began exploring other partners and couples in a very casual way.
“It wasn’t even a conversation,” she told host Nick Viall. “I think we were all drinking and partying and the guys were like, ‘You girls should make out,’ and that’s that. It wasn’t a big deal to me.”
Overtime, things began to escalate with another couple during cabin parties. “Making out in the same bed, intercourse in the same bed next to each other, the girls kissing and the husbands touching the other’s wife,” she described. “It just starts to escalate.”
When Did Taylor Frankie Paul and Tate Paul Reevaluate Swinging?
In the same “Viall Files” podcast, Taylor recalled a moment when a third couple entered the equation with her and Tate.
“I’m with this other man completely naked and we’re about to go full force and he’s with the wife and [Tate’s] super drunk and he comes to this realization, ‘We can’t do this. What if one of you gets pregnant? We don’t know who’s the dad. This is not OK,’” Taylor recalled. “My husband was like, ‘Maybe we should stop doing it with our friends. Maybe we can do this with strangers?’ You could kind of see people are creating feelings at this point. People are getting jealous and weird.”
Taylor admitted she ended up catching feelings for one of the men in the group leading to what she calls an “emotional affair.”
In May 2022, Tate and Taylor announced they were getting a divorce. He has not publicly commented on the scandal.
What Was Swinging After Hours Like?
Oftentimes, Taylor and Tate’s closest couple friends would stay late at parties and participate in various games.
“We’d get blindfolds and play spin the bottle and everyone would make out with everyone,” Taylor shared. “All of the husbands would have to kiss me to guess and vice versa.”
When asked if the activities were similar to what viewers saw on Love Island USA, Taylor confirmed, adding there were “lots of games.”
Where Were Taylor Frankie Paul’s Kids During Her Swinging Parties?
During her marriage to Tate, Taylor welcomed daughter Indy and son Ocean. While partaking in soft-swinging, the reality star said her children would often be at her mom’s house. There were some occasions, however, when her kids were in another part of the home.
“They’d be upstairs, out, with their white noise machine on,” she shared on “The Viall Files” show. “I know, it’s really bad to admit but it was that. I think that’s where the guilt still sticks.”
Were Other Women Involved in Taylor Frankie Paul’s Swinging Invited to Join the Show?
Miranda McWhorter and Camille Mundy were two women swept up in the #MomTok sex scandal. Despite their possible involvement, both are not expected to appear on season 1 of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
“Camille and I had multiple interviews, or calls, with [Hulu,]” Miranda said during an August 2024 appearance on “The Weekly Trash” podcast. “She and I agreed that it just [gave us,] like, a pit in our stomach, every time. For our lives, it just didn’t feel right at all. I already got exploited on the internet without my consent. You think I’m gonna ask for that?”
In a separate TiKTok video, Taylor alleged that Miranda and Camille were open to doing the show if she wasn’t involved.
Miranda and her now-estranged husband, Chase McWhorter, later denied ever participating in “soft swinging” in a TikTok Live.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is streaming now on Hulu.