Taylor Frankie Paul says she is single and celibate, weeks after admitting on camera that she cheated on former fiance Doug Mason with her ex, Dakota Mortensen. Paul, star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, shared the update over a photo of herself on Instagram on September 12.
"Sorry to those that thought they were going to see my redemption arc," she wrote. "That has slowly just begun. I've stayed in, single and celibate this entire time and nobody will have intimate access to me again unless he's my person and that's a promise to myself."
The 32-year-old, who has a son with Mortensen and two children with ex-husband Tate Paul, said the fallout had ultimately worked in her favor. "We got to see me breaking then shortly after I was sought to be destroyed and instead it ricocheted," she wrote. "Maybe my prayers are heard after all. Such a long way to go but baby steps."
How the Cheating Admission Came Out
Paul revealed the affair during the season five premiere of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, in conversation with costars Jessi Draper, Mikayla Matthews and Mayci Neeley. She told them Doug Mason proposed to her during the finale of her unaired season of The Bachelorette, and that she said yes. That season was ultimately canceled after a 2023 video of a domestic violence incident between Paul and Mortensen surfaced.
Paul said that once filming on The Bachelorette wrapped, she reconnected with Mortensen. "Obviously we're texting," she said. "'When are you coming home? When are you going to be home?' I don't know how it led to it, but he came over."
Neeley then said plainly what had happened: "You slept with Dakota." Paul confirmed, "Yes." When Neeley noted, "So you cheated," Paul replied, "I don't like the word cheating." E! News reached out to a representative for Mortensen for comment but did not hear back.
Doug and Dakota Comparisons
Paul's castmates have pointed out how similar Mason and Mortensen appear. In a clip shared on Hulu's Get Real podcast on September 3, Draper asked Paul, "Was there a part of you that was like, 'He looks like Dakota?'" Paul said no, explaining, "I didn't start thinking that until people said it around me. I actually did not see it the night I met him at all."
Draper also noted that Mason and Mortensen share the same initials and are both from Idaho. Paul responded, "See I didn't learn all that until later."
Taylor and Dakota's Rocky History
Paul began dating Mortensen, a real estate agent, in July 2022, and the pair welcomed son Ever in 2024. Their relationship ended over what Paul said was his infidelity. "Right after Ever was born, Dakota and I were living together and in bliss with our new baby, and I was even considering engagement," she said during the season two premiere. "And then I learned that he was lying this entire time."
Paul said a woman named Jenna told her that she and Mortensen had been intimate and that he had spent the night more than once. Mortensen denied the claims in a September 2024 TikTok, writing that he never cheated. On the show, Paul said Mortensen accused Jenna of instigating the affair. "No, it was him," she said. "He said he had just kissed her on the couch. No, he went on the couch, they hooked up on the couch, and then they went to the room and they hooked up."
Bachelorette Season Canceled
After the split, Paul was set to look for love again on season 22 of The Bachelorette. But in March 2026, news broke of an alleged confrontation between Paul and Mortensen weeks earlier. A spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department confirmed to People that there was an open domestic assault investigation, saying "allegations have been made in both directions."
Days later, footage of a 2023 physical altercation between the two surfaced online, prompting ABC to cancel Paul's season of the franchise. Mortensen has since started a relationship with show guest star Shinia Powell, though he previously apologized to Paul for hooking up with her during a season four episode.
Other Mormon Wives Couples
Paul's cast mates have had their own upheavals. Whitney Leavitt, who wed Connor Leavitt in 2016 and announced in May 2026 she was leaving the show, once had to deny rumors about her husband's sexuality, saying on the Off the Vine podcast, "We're good. Everything's fine," while noting he had struggled with a porn addiction. The couple renewed their vows in February 2026.
Jen Affleck and Zac Affleck, married since 2019, have weathered repeated breakup rumors since season one. Jen told E! News in November 2025 that "people will always talk," and in June 2026 announced she was pregnant with their fourth child.
Jessi Draper filed for divorce from Jordan Ngatikaura in March 2026 after admitting to an emotional affair with Vanderpump Villa's Marciano Brunette, though she said she was blindsided by the timing of his filing.
Mayci Neeley married Jacob Neeley in 2018 after meeting him in 2016 while raising her son Hudson alone following the death of her boyfriend Arik Mack. They have since had two more daughters together.
Demi Engemann married Bret Engemann in 2021, and their unconventional sex life became a running storyline after Jessi Draper revealed on Instagram in November 2025 details of their bedroom habits, which Demi later told Entertainment Tonight the couple decided to "own" and joke about.
Mikayla Matthews and Jace Terry, married since 2018 with four children, confirmed in the show's fourth season that they were taking time apart amid intimacy struggles tied to Mikayla's past trauma and chronic illness.
Layla Taylor divorced Clayton Wessel in 2023, later dated Mason McWhorter before splitting in February 2026, and came out as bisexual in June 2026 before appearing to confirm a relationship with content creator Kelsie Chesser.
Miranda McWhorter, who divorced Chase McWhorter in 2024, said the show's soft-swinging scandal was not behind their split, telling the Weekly Trash podcast that issues predated the drama and that the pair have maintained a strong co-parenting relationship.
