In a never-before-heard voice note to Dakota Mortensen, Jessi Draper claimed that the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives team tried to paint his ex Taylor Frankie Paul as a “victim.”
“I don’t know how much Jordan [Ngatikaura] has told you on production’s end, but pretty much everyone is in alignment as far as the cast goes about not really wanting to publicly support Taylor at the moment with the Bachelorette stuff,” Draper, 33, claimed in March 5 audio obtained by TMZ on Friday, May 1. “Just because we all feel so uneasy about if this comes out.”
Draper continued, “And honestly, morally, none of us can just sit by and be like, ‘Oh, my gosh, we’re so excited for her’ when we know the truth. And we all feel that way, but we are having, like, production and management gaslight the f**k out of us.”
Draper alleged that some production staff had been telling the cast “crazy things” like Paul is “the victim” in her situation with Mortensen. (Paul and Mortensen, who dated on and off from 2022 to 2024 and share 2-year-old son Ever, have been involved in multiple domestic violence incidents.)
“They’re definitely trying to spin that narrative to protect her and the show,” Draper claimed. “I think we’re all, as parents, like, ‘This isn’t OK.’ We know this situation is dangerous, and it needs to change. If she gets away with this with no consequences, then it’s not good for anyone, especially the kids.”
Draper added that she thought it would be a good idea to show some of the cast the video footage of Paul, 31, and Mortensen, 33, fighting to have a better understanding of the exes’ situation beyond what was shown on Mormon Wives. (A 2023 video of Paul physically assaulting Mortensen leaked on March 19, leading ABC to pull her season of The Bachelorette.)
“I think they’re trying to spin a story like, ‘You guys don’t really know what’s going on, and Dakota is lying.’ I just feel like it would be helpful if some of them saw,” she said. “I don’t know how many are interested in seeing them.”
Draper ended her message to Mortensen by wishing him well and acknowledging that his and Paul’s issues were hard to manage.
“I hope you’re doing OK. I know this is freaking hard right now, and I’m sure both you and Taylor are struggling, and that’s what freaking sucks about this. No one wins,” she said. “At the end of the day, no one wins, everyone is in pain, everyone is hurting and the kids are hurting. I love Taylor, and I’m just sad it’s gotten to this point. But I think something has to happen for her to learn some lessons. And I hope this is helping you too. I know it’s probably really hard.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Hulu for comment.
After the audio leaked, Draper addressed her comments in a social media video. She shared that she had sent the message to Mortensen when season 5 of Mormon Wives was in production and she wasn’t on good terms with Paul. She claimed that Mortensen had shown her and the cast videos of him and Paul’s disputes.
“Yes, at the time, me and the girls were frustrated with Taylor’s behavior,” Draper said in a Friday video uploaded via her Instagram Story. “We were concerned because of these videos — you guys have seen one of them — and the things we heard that you have now heard discussed in court were worrisome. So yes, I was under that spell. I did believe it all.”
Draper has since changed her mind about Paul. Ahead of Paul and Mortensen’s custody hearing on Thursday, April 30, Us confirmed that Draper wrote a letter of support for Paul. The judge ultimately issued protective orders to both of the exes, stating that they have to stay 100 feet away from each other for three years.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
