Dakota Mortensen and Taylor Frankie Paul. Courtesy of Taylor Frankie Paul/Instagram
Season 2 of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has seemingly paved the way for Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen to reunite after their offscreen split.
Taylor took to TikTok earlier this month to share a video of Dakota doing chores around their home and giving her flowers.
“At least he be tryin,” Taylor captioned the post. Her costar Layla Taylor poked fun at Dakota in the comments section, replying, “GIRL IM TIREDDDDDD.”
Fans of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives also weighed in via the comments section, sharing their thoughts on Taylor and Dakota’s potential reconciliation. “May a love like this never find me,” wrote one follower, while another called Dakota’s efforts the “bare minimum.”
Others questioned Dakota’s skills at wiping the floor and cleaning the house. “Him cleaning the toilet with the toilet seat down is all I need to know,” replied another social media user.
Taylor and Dakota didn’t just receive criticism though — several people showed their support for the couple and their apparent reconciliation.
“Honestly if anyone acts like their relationship is perfect they are lying. Kudos to you both for trying to work things out and do your best. Only the best vibes going forward ❤️,” read one response. Another person added, “ANND he started #dadtok just to impress you girl like whaaaaat 😂🥰.”
Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen. Courtesy of Taylor Frankie Paul/Instagram
Season 1 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which premiered in September, followed Taylor and Dakota’s relationship ups and downs. The season started with the couple finding out they were expecting their first baby together before Taylor subsequently suffered an ectopic pregnancy. The season premiere ended with footage from Taylor’s February 2023 arrest for alleged? domestic violence.
Taylor was ultimately charged with aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury and criminal mischief after the incident. She pleaded guilty in August 2023 to aggravated assault, while the other four charges were dismissed with prejudice, reaching a plea deal the following month.
“The first few days [when the show came out], I was actually really busy that I couldn’t just binge it. I had my kids and for some reason I do feel uncomfortable with my kids watching it,” Taylor, who shares daughter Indy, 7, and son Ocean, 4, with ex-husband Tate Paul and 7-month-old son Ever with Dakota, exclusively told Us Weekly one month later. “It makes me feel uncomfortable. And then it gives me anxiety.”
Some couples just need a break every now and then! Click through to see which of your favorites couples — like Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake — couldn’t help splitting and rekindling year after year.
Months later, cameras once again started following Taylor, this time when she was pregnant with Ever.
“It’s really hard for me to watch [the ups and downs with me and Dakota] because it’s all such true feelings. None of it is fabricated or acting or nothing. It’s all real,” she noted. “So it’s really hard for me to watch that back to that. That’s probably one of the hardest moments.”
Taylor admitted at the time that she wasn’t sure about her relationship status with Dakota. Hulu has since renewed the show for a second season and filming has already begun.
Dakota Mortensen. Courtesy of Taylor Frankie Paul/Instagram
“I would say we’re working on things and I actually have no idea where it goes with us from here. We are not fully together, but not fully done. I don’t know where the future holds with him and I,” she admitted. “It’s just a lot. So I’m coping and trying to cope. But I don’t want to watch the show.”
Taylor went on to say how she wished viewers saw more of Dakota’s “good soft side,” adding, “I feel like for him, that wasn’t shown on the show. It did show just defense. So he’s like, ‘I look like this asshole to you while you’re pregnant — when that’s just not the case of how I treated you the whole time. Yes, I did defend myself in cases, but that’s not how I am to you.’ … I can’t speak for him, but I am sure he wants to tell his side as well [on season 2].”
