[PREVIEW] The New Taylor Frankie Paul Allegations & 'Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives' S4 E6-10

Season 4 of "Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" is a dark one, but its darkest moments arrive in the second half of the season. Most of them involve star Taylor Frankie Paul, whose toxic cycle with her ex Dakota Mortensen is fully reignited as the season progresses, even as she's gearing up to star on "The Bachelorette." By the end of episode 10, it's abundantly clear that Taylor is in no way prepared to cut off Dakota, responding with coy ambivalence when he asks her to save him a rose. And she's in no way prepared to take on this role. As we were preparing our coverage for the second half of this season, more news broke: Taylor and Dakota were involved in a domestic dispute last month, and both have alleged physical violence by the other. The police were called, though no arrests were made. Dakota has also reportedly accused Taylor of other assaults, and of abusing their young son. There is an ongoing investigation with DCFS, as well as with the local police, regarding these allegations. (Note: We will be discussing these allegations in some, though not excessive, detail in this episode. Please listen with care.)Taylor has said very little publicly about these reports, and ABC and "The Bachelorette" production have said even less. It appears that the show will air as scheduled; the network clearly hopes to weather the storm. But the backlash to ABC's decision to cast Taylor, who already had a documented history of domestic violence (she was still on probation for the prior incident while filming the show) has been intense. In this episode, we discuss what we see unfold between Taylor and Dakota in the last five episodes of "SLOMW," as well as the current allegations and the implications for "The Bachelorette" and the reality TV genre as a whole. Then we turn to the other women's storylines for this batch of episodes, notably Whitney and Jen's falling out, Layla opening up about her struggles with an eating disorder, Jessi and Jordan's functionally defunct marriage, and Jace and Mikayla's separation. Related Reading and Resources:National Domestic Violence Hotline"Taylor Frankie Paul’s Turn on ‘The Bachelorette’ Is Coming Under Fire," by Shivani Gonzalez, NYT"‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ filming on pause amid Taylor Frankie Paul investigation, sources say," by Rebecca Cohen, NBC"Cinnabon Cuts Ties With ‘The Bachelorette’ and ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Amid Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen Domestic Violence Investigation," Jack Dunn, Variety"Taylor Frankie Paul Breaks Silence After Domestic Violence Investigation News: 'It's a Heavy Time,'" by Liza Esquibias and Benjamin VanHoose, People"Taylor Frankie Paul Says Domestic Violence Headlines Feel 'Like the End of the World' in First Televised Interview Since Scandal," by Rachel McRady, People"Taylor Frankie Paul's ex Dakota speaks out amid domestic violence investigation," by Sarah Hearon and Ryan Coleman, EW"The Price of Perfection: Layla Taylor on Mormonism and the weight of belonging," by Shaquille Heath, The CutShare Rich TextIf you liked reading this, click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Patreon!Give us feedback or suggest a topic for the pod • Subscribe • Request a free subscription