The reality star offered a cryptic response as both Paul and fellow “SLOMW” castmate Jessi Draper weather considerable offscreen drama.

Whitney Leavitt addresses future on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives amid Broadway run and Taylor Frankie Paul scandal

The reality star offered a cryptic response as both Paul and fellow "SLOMW" castmate Jessi Draper weather considerable offscreen drama.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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April 8, 2026 8:40 p.m. ET

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Whitney Leavitt and Taylor Frankie Paul backstage at 'Chicago' on Broadway. Credit:

Bruce Glikas/Getty

Whitney Leavitt began her screen career as a Mormon wife, but might she be turning the page on that chapter?

The *Secret Lives of Mormon Wives* star first appeared on the series in September 2024. Over the course of two short years, much has changed for Leavitt. And since the series dropped its fourth season in March, even more has changed for cast members Taylor Frankie Paul and Jessi Draper, who are respectively battling fallout from a series of alleged domestic violence incidents and a divorce.

Leavitt, meanwhile, has been living her best life, competing on season 34 of *Dancing With the Stars* and joining the cast of *Chicago* on Broadway in February. When asked during a recent interview with *Good Morning America** *what that means for *Mormon Wives*, Leavitt was both cryptic and suggestive.

"We're figuring it out in real time. I don't really know," Leavitt said of her thoughts on whether to return for season 5 of the Hulu reality series. "I feel sometimes that it's time to venture out. Like, this is what I'm passionate about," she said, gesturing to the Ambassador Theatre's *Chicago *set around her and Mark Ballas, her *DWTS *partner who joined her in *Chicago* last month.

Leavitt joked that that MomTok, the group of Mormon housewife influencers who became viral sensations before being cast on *Mormon Wives*, is "100 percent" more dramatic than the cast of an actual Broadway drama. Perhaps hinting at the scandals that have beset some of her *Mormon Wives* costars, she said, "Do you see what's going on in the world right now?"

The cast of 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' in Los Angeles.

Disney/Stewart Cook

It was revelations about central *Mormon Wives* star Paul and her relationship with ex Dakota Mortensen, with whom she shares 2-year-old son Ever, that knocked down the first domino in the latest bout of cast drama.

Paul has been implicated in several alleged instances of domestic violence involving Mortensen, including one shocking 2023 incident in the presence of Paul's child. Video of the incident was surfaced in March, leading ABC to make the unprecedented decision to shelve Paul's season of *The Bachelorette* days before its premiere.

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Paul pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault in connection with the 2023 incident, with other charges being dropped as part of an agreement with prosecutors. After the now-infamous video emerged and ABC pulled *The Bachelorette*, Paul spokesperson's claimed in a statement that the reality star had endured "years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation" and was focused on ensuring "that she and her children are protected from any further harm."

Mortensen subsequently said in a statement, "As anyone who has seen the video will understand, this is a deeply upsetting situation. I am, unfortunately, used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny. I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same."

Whitney Leavitt and Sophie Carmen-Jones during the curtain call for 'Chicago' on Broadway.

Bruce Glikas/Getty

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Meanwhile, fellow MomTok-er and *Mormon Wives* star Jessi Draper's husband, Jordan Ngatikaura, filed for divorce amid the Paul fallout. Ngatikaura also requested a restraining order, which Draper formally opposed the same day.

In a tell-all interview on the *Call Her Daddy* podcast shortly thereafter, Draper said she was "blindsided" by the filing and described being "beaten down emotionally" and "deeply unhappy" in the relationship.

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