The Mormon women behind the #MomTok phenomenon revolutionized the world of social media when a scandal revealed that the content creators were also a group of swingers.
Taylor Frankie Paul sent shockwaves through the TikTok world in 2022 when she announced her divorce from her now ex-husband Tate Paul and shared more of her “soft and swinging” lifestyle, which included some of the friends featured in her videos.
A new Hulu series, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” follows the fallout from the sex scandal that rocked TikTok and turned some dancing influencers into high-earning mothers.
'MORMON MOMTOK' INFLUENCER ACCUSED OF DOMESTIC ALTERNATIVES ACCEPTS PLEA: 'A LOT OF JUDGMENT'
A group of Mormon TikTok influencers turned out to be swingers in a sex scandal that broke the Internet. (Natalie Cass/Disney)
“I want people to understand more about who I am,” Taylor told People magazine. “I wanted to be vulnerable and show people that when you hit rock bottom, there is hope.”
Taylor and her ex had agreed to live a life that included having multiple partners, though Taylor and her ex decided as a couple that they “wouldn't go all the way.” When the scandal broke, she admitted that she “went outside the agreement” and cheated on her ex with Dakota Mortensen, whom she now calls her boyfriend and with whom she recently had a child.
While Taylor's world changed almost overnight, so did the lives of several women featured in her videos and on her own platforms.
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“The scandalous world of a group of influential Mormon moms comes crashing down when they become embroiled in a sex scandal that makes international headlines,” the show's description read. “Now, their sisterhood is shaken to its foundations. Faith, friendship, and reputation are at stake. Can #MomTok survive and continue to defy the rules, or will this group fall from grace?”
Taylor Frankie Paul said she created the “MomTok” world. (Pamela Litkey/Disney)
“I love the Mormon church, but there are a lot of rules we have to follow,” Mikayla Matthews said during a confessional interview. “We were raised to be housewives to men, catering to their every desire.”
“Have children when you are 21, or in my case, 16.”
“I love the Mormon Church, but there are a lot of rules we have to follow.”
“Well, I'm sticking with this,” Taylor said before a video montage played clips from her TikTok days. “I created MomTok. It's a group of Mormon moms who make TikToks. It started with Whitney, Mayci, Mikayla and me.”
“We're breaking a norm,” Whitney said. “We're trying to change the stigma of gender roles in Mormon culture.”
Mikayla Matthews found fame as a MomTok influencer. (Pamela Litkey/Disney)
Mayci Neeley stars in “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” (Pamela Litkey/Disney)
Jennifer Affleck is married to Ben Affleck's cousin, Zac Affleck. (Pamela Litkey/Disney)
“That's what scares me,” said one husband in the trailer. “In the church we have rules for a reason.”
In another clip, Taylor explained, “Mayci, I need you to move your ass,” before breaking into another dance routine. “My goal was just to be able to provide for my family,” one mother said.
The women “blew up” overnight, going from a few million followers to nine million in a short amount of time, simply because of their group dance routines and relatable comedy skits.
“Then it became a whole group that was swinging together,” Mikayla said.
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“Nobody is innocent. Everybody has slept with everybody,” Taylor said in a TikTok video shared with the trailer.
“It was like switching positions, facing each other, standing next to each other,” one mother explained to the group.
“There's a fight over MomTok now,” another mother explained in a confessional before cutting to a husband heaving a stressed sigh. “The drama is now with the husbands.”
Demi Engemann shares her story as one of the Mormon TikTok influencers. (Pamela Litkey/Disney)
Layla Taylor has over 300,000 followers on TikTok. (Pamela Litkey/Disney)
Jessi Ngatikaura joins the cast of women on the show. (Pamela Litkey/Disney)
Jennifer Affleck explained to her husband, Zac, that “the group is important to me” during a tense conversation. Zac, whose famous cousins include Ben and Casey Affleck, responded that “being divorced and taking care of two kids would be hard, so you make the decision.”
Jennifer told People magazine: “It feels like we've had 10 years of marriage counseling in this one season of filming.”
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Worlds begin to collide offline while friendships break apart behind the scenes.
“Online it seems like we're best friends, but we're not,” Whitney said.
At one point, the topic of alcohol is brought up, something Mormons abstain from as part of their religion. The drama reached a tipping point when body camera footage showed the night Taylor was arrested in February 2023 on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence charges.
“The scandalous world of a group of influential Mormon mothers implodes when they are caught in the middle of a sex scandal that makes international headlines,” Hulu said in a description of the series. (Fred Hayes/Disney)
He was charged with aggravated assault (third-degree felony), two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child (third-degree felony), child abuse (class A misdemeanor), and criminal damage (class B misdemeanor).
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In August, Taylor pleaded guilty to aggravated assault (a third-degree felony) and the other charges were dismissed.
