The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jessi Draper won’t turn her back against imperfect costar Taylor Frankie Paul.
“The thing with this is I don’t condone everything Taylor does. I see some of the actions and the behavior, and I’m like, ‘That’s not OK,’” Jessi, 34, shared on the Monday, September 21, episode of the “CHEERS!” podcast with host Avery Woods. “She’s posted things at times where I’m like, ‘Delete that.’ I’m able to be honest with her, and I do not agree with everything.”
The Hulu reality star continued, “But at the same time, I understand she’s going through a lot. She’s in a lot of pain. I’m coming out of a relationship where I went through a lot, and we can kind of relate on certain things. So it was almost like we bonded in a way over our exes doing similar things to us and having those shared experiences.”
The SLOMW returned for its long-awaited fifth season on September 10 after production was paused earlier this year amid legal issues involving Taylor, 32, and her ex Dakota Mortensen.
While Taylor faced her own relationship struggles, Jessi was trying to move on after her public split from ex-husband Jordan Ngatikaura. (The former couple finalized their divorce earlier this month.)
“She’s really been there for me through my divorce, checked in on me and I’ve wanted to be there for her too,” Jessi said about Taylor’s actions on and off camera. “I just feel like as a friend, you can be there for someone without fully cosigning everything they do.”
Jessi admitted her connection to Taylor has “caused contention” within the group.
In a new Instagram post on Monday, Taylor seemingly teased her exit from the show after not receiving support from several cast members.
Mikayla Matthews, Layla Taylor and Miranda McWhorter are some of the stars who have feuded with Taylor. Mikayla, 26, for one, said that she did not want to be a part of the show anymore due to Taylor’s involvement, and stated that she would be donating the money she would have made from the rest of season 6 of SLOMW to the National Children’s Alliance following her sudden departure.
“Some of the girls know what I’ve been through and then to turn and collectively pile on with their ‘statements’ knowing there has been ongoing abuse through the system the last 8 months on top of what I’ve endured,” Taylor claimed via Instagram on Monday. “Almost the entire cast plus some, going at me.”
While Jessi’s podcast appearance was taped before the social post, she wanted to share her own experience working with Taylor.
“I’m going through so much, I don’t need to turn on someone that’s also going through a hard time,” she shared. “But I also understand the girls’ frustrations and feelings. It’s really hard to be in the middle when you get what they’re feeling, but also don’t want to abandon someone who’s really low right now. It’s definitely been probably one of the hardest parts of all this for me.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is streaming now on Hulu.
