“I like to see people’s love story. Here is mine,” he wrote in a 30-second video, urging his followers to change their attitude to “the new way.” TikTok shines from the images of her husband Tate shaking, taking the pregnant belly, shooting photos of their two children, Indy and Ocean, as Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Favorite Crime” plays.
Focusing on his other content, such as tongue-in-cheek sex jokes and dance videos with other Mormon moms, the candid clip of Paul’s new family struck a chord with fans. His: It has more than 420,000 people.
Less than three years later, Paul’s life seems very different. For once, Tate is now her ex-husband. She has a new boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, and they welcomed a child together in March 2024. She is also the star of a new reality TV series.
Paul, 30 years old, did not continue to satisfy himself with his family with beautiful pictures but by talking about it. In May 2022, a few months after her love story video, she surprised the TikTok corner by announcing that she and Tate were getting divorced. Not only that, but they were divorcing because he overstepped the boundaries of a “soft fling” arrangement they had with an unnamed couple said to be part of their circle of friends when she was developing feelings for her friend’s husband. The revelation that some of the TikTokers were rowing people open the lid on MomTok – a group of Mormon Moms connected to each other on TikTok – attracting media attention and controversy.
Scandal would be embarrassing for the content creators who depend on online deals for a living, but they well kind of scandal would be good. Paul’s decision to go public with the end of his marriage and the messy details of his friends’ love lives turned out to be his best business move – both for himself and for the friends who came along for the ride. reality TV producers come knocking. .
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” which premiered on September 6, broke Hulu’s records, becoming its highest-grossing primetime show of 2024 so far. That has already translated into more fans for Paul and some of the show’s producers. In the week since the start of the series, Paul has gained hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram, according to Social Blade data; His TikTok following is now 4.5 million.
The decision to do the show after his divorce and embarrassment was easy for Paul. “Back in 2022, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to do it,'” Paul tells me in September over the sodas at Cool Sips, a beverage company that delivers “dirty sodas” of sorts. Utah – think Dr. Pepper with sweetness. syrup and cream – to New York City. “It was an opportunity to tell my story more, and at that time, I also had nothing to lose. I had almost everything to lose.” one.”
However, juggling a series of realities is a drain, even compared to the demands of managing a demanding career as a mother. It’s not just filming – “Mormon Wives” actors were filmed for most of the eight-week season, and Paul and his friend and partner Mayci Neeley said they were often on the hook for days. five a week during that time – but there are journalistic obligations like this, too.
Both Paul and Neeley, 29, who are on a press tour in New York for the show, hope that finding the cameras that don’t belong to them will pay off for their jobs when time is running out.
“Exposure, it’s a different level,” Paul says of reality TV fame. “It’s just that: use your name for any business you want to start.”
‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Women’ began with a more controversial debate
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” was born out of controversy: first, Paul’s “soft swinging” scandal, and then, his arrest in February 2023 after a reported incident of domestic violence involving a boyfriend his, Dakota Mortensen. He took a plea deal in August of that year, which included three years of probation.
Paul’s arrest contributed to the production, which was set to begin filming in 2022. When the offer approached Paul about continuing to film the series after his arrest, he had to weigh the effect the show would have on his relationship with Mortensen – a particularly noticeable one. since she was pregnant at the time with their son Ever True – with business opportunities. the show can provide.
“I was like, ‘I feel like I want to do it, and you can support me, or you don’t have to do it,'” she tells BI. “It was completely up to him, and I think he wanted to do that to support me.”
Dakota Mortensen and Taylor Frankie Paul. Fred Hayes / Disney
But reality TV isn’t one of Paul’s TikToks, meaning he had no control over his arrest – which he described as the “worst night” of his life – would be displayed on the screen.
The first show put Paul in something other than the flash of a ring light when it used an image of an arrested person’s body to tell Paul’s story, before taking over 11 months later to discuss the outcome. .
For Neeley, exchanging control over her image for more exposure was more liberating than anxiety. Indeed, he sometimes worried that small creative decisions, like the blue coats in the play’s opening sequence, would make them look “silly” (or for that matter, he says, ” polygamy”), but in general, it was a net. good.
“I loved it, because I feel like I can show my personality. Just be me, and forget the cameras were there,” he says about filming the series. “With social media, I feel like it’s hard to share my true personality, because it’s like, you’re setting up your phone. It’s just not like that.”
Mayci Neeley in “The Secret Life of Mormon Women.” Disney / Natalie Cass
Submitting to reality TV editors can be risky – but if it works, it’s good for business
Before “Mormon Woman,” Neeley already had her own business: Babymama, a line of natural nutrition gummies. Even though he has been developing the business for several years, he says that he put things into high gear when he knew that the program was a project to take advantage of the opportunity it would bring. Is there something he didn’t think of? Whether the pictures showing his business will make the final changes.
He says: “When I heard how many things were being cut, I said, ‘Oh my God, thank God.’ “I was so scared, but it went away.”
It didn’t hurt that his business ended up being the backdrop for some of the show’s key storylines: first, a photo shoot where Paul and Neeley discuss Neeley’s suspicions about Mortensen, and second, a party of starting there in the absence of Whitney Leavitt, who plays. resident frenemy, serves as the final nail in the coffin of his relationship with the rest of the team.
Despite the drama, the show has been a boon for business, Neeley says. Now, he’s already thinking about how he’ll come up with ways to keep Babymama’s exposure on the show during season two.
“If I do an event, how do I keep it interesting enough to keep it organized?” he says. “That’s what I’m thinking now, when I see certain things that are cut. I’m like, ‘Okay, well, if I’m going to throw something, I’ve got to do it right.’
Meanwhile, Paul, Neeley, and the rest have millions of followers to compete with on social media — many of whom have just finished the first season and are eager to find out. where do the important team relationships, friendships and beefs stand today.
Being a group of influencers, they rely on drama by posting other content. Neeley and Mortensen have beef during the series, but on TikTok, both they and Paul make funny videos in his defense. Other cast members continue the drama surrounding Leavitt, while Paul makes embarrassing videos about how his “questionable life decisions” got his friends a TV series.
“I think it’s a win-win for both of us, for us and for Hulu, because we’re promoting and we’re also getting views and attention,” says Neeley.
“At the end of the day, that’s how you get paid. So for our business, I feel like it’s how it helps us work and get our online deals,” Paul adds.
After the success of the season, Paul and Neeley are already making smart plans for the future in many ways. Content creation isn’t forever, after all – Paul is thinking of getting into real estate and having more property.
“We don’t want to be doing MomTok videos for 40 years, do we?” Neeley says. “We want to make sure we have businesses in our area so we don’t feel like we have to be constantly on social media.”
As we drink our dirty sodas, thousands of miles from Salt Lake City, Paul puts it plainly.
“At the end of the day, you’re only worth so much.”