The cast of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives just wants the best for everyone.
Production on the fifth season of the Hulu show has been put on pause amid reports of trouble between exes Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen. What initially sounded like a report about a typical fight between the pair has ballooned into very serious allegations of domestic assault from both parties. There’s an active investigation, and DCF is even involved.
Innerestingly, according to previous TMZ reports, the SLOMW producers have been eager to get cameras rolling again. They’ve reportedly been holding off because Dakota’s been MIA, and because he’s a big storyline, they want him involved. But last the outlet heard, they were prepping to get rolling again soon, despite uncertainty about the #DadTok star’s involvement. However, now they have another problem on their hands — the entire cast is refusing to film!
Related: Dakota Allegedly Warned ABC About Taylor’s Past Alleged Abuse
Sources told TMZ on Wednesday that the rest of the cast doesn’t want to start filming again — until they know Taylor is OK. The confidants argued they’re not distancing themselves from Taylor (despite claims they’re “terrified” to work with her). Instead, they’re said to be super concerned about her well-being and are trying to put her needs first.
The new source insisted they’re still rooting for the mother of three, but they want to see her get better before continuing on. The insider revealed that the whole cast thought Taylor was finally in a better place mentally… until all this drama broke out. Now, they’d like to see her get some help before they get back in front of cameras.
The reality stars are drawing a hard line in the sand because they’ve been left disappointed by the production team and Hulu’s reaction to this scandal — as they’ve constantly been pushing the alleged abuse issues under the rug and not doing enough to encourage Taylor to seek help.
Taking a stand now is their way of being on Taylor’s side. And it’s putting their TV futures at risk. There’s no indication when the show will return to filming — or if they’ll even finish the season — despite only having 2-3 weeks left of production before the shut down. As for more, that’s in the air, too. Contracts for a sixth season have not yet been negotiated, per the sources.
Mormon Wives is one of the most popular reality series on air so it’s hard to imagine they’d be canceled, but this kind of controversy is sure to stir things up! It’s hard to know what’ll happen next!
That said, the hope is that the show will go on. The insiders added that the cast doesn’t want Taylor to get fired either, and they don’t think that’s what’s happening now. They just all think a break and time to focus on herself and her healing wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
These ladies have been documenting their lives pretty much 24/7 for years now. Some time away to focus on these very serious matters doesn’t sound like such a bad thing. It’s unfortunate to hear the TV producers are supposedly more focused on capturing the drama than doing what’s right for their cast.
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[Image via Hulu]
