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In the middle of March, The Secret Wives of Mormon Wives halted filming, just before all hell broke loose.
Now, the show is gearing up to start filming again.
Taylor Frankie Paul will be returning when she’s ready.
Her ex, Dakota Mortensen, will not.
The hiatus is (nearly) over!
TMZ reports that Hulu is finally mobilizing to resume production on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
(Can you believe that it’s only been, like, a month and some change since they paused filming? That was an entire canceled season of The Bachelorette ago.)
Taylor plans to return to the series when she is ready.
Her life has been completely turned upside down over the past five weeks. She’s recovering from a lot right now.
However, even when she returns, the cast of the reality series won’t quite be the same.
As it turns out, Dakota will not be returning to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives to film when production resumes.
He and Taylor share a lot of history.
(As has become abundantly clear in recent weeks, plenty of that history is ugly, with allegations of domestic violence on both sides.)
Additionally, they also share a two-year-old, Ever.
However, production cameras and editors alike may have to do some fast footwork to keep her story uncoupled from her ex.
Is it possible to tell someone’s story while excluding an ex?
Believe it or not, Taylor’s situation is not unprecedented in the world of reality television.
Across many networks and reality series, certain things have had to be excluded from shows in ways that producers hope won’t feel conspicuous to audiences.
Sometimes, it’s a little thing. Editors for 90 Day Fiance and Mama June: Family Crisis have scrubbed out racist hate symbols that would otherwise be on casual display.
(Advertisers don’t like their commercials to air right after a swastika tattoo was on screen!)
But there are more dramatic examples. Exes in bitter divorces, exes who don’t allow their children to film on the spouse’s show, exes who are accused of terrible crimes and will no longer appear on camera.
Though Taylor’s situation is not unique, that does not make it less painful for everyone involved.
At the moment, she’s focused upon healing, her mental health, and upon being a mom.
It’s unclear how much of a deep dive the show plans to do on what’s gone on in her life.
(She’s not facing prosecution, but there’s always a chance that topics like this could end up in court — so talking about them on camera is tricky!)
But still, after such a massive scandal, it would be weird if they didn’t talk about it when she returns.
It’s just a huge mess
Even without weighing in on either abuse allegation, critics have suggested that Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette — which remained shelved, perhaps indefinitely — was what prompted all of this.
There is a widespread belief that Dakota, who had previously been hooking up with Taylor at times despite their divorce, felt jealous that she filmed for the show.
(And that she may have found a new man.)
Some believe that this jealousy is why a video from three years ago suddenly became public, in an attempt to sabotage Taylor’s whole life.
For about a month, it worked. As for what happens in the future … we’ll see, we suppose.
Dakota Mortensen NOT Returning to ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ when … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.