‘Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives’ Star Taylor Frankie Paul Wants To Be There For Whitney Leavitt: “She’s Getting Torn To Shreds On The Internet”

From the start of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, it was clear that there would be two opposing camps: Team Taylor Frankie Paul and Team Whitney Leavitt. By the end of the end of the season, Leavitt was crowned the tried and true villain of the series, though some could argue that Jen Affleck‘s husband Zac Affleck was right up there with her. But despite Leavitt’s attempt to take down Paul as #MomTok’s queen bee, Paul will not hang her frenemy out to dry as she gets “torn to shreds” online.

“She was the first one that helped me in a very dark place when I was getting basically bullied on the internet,” Paul told DECIDER, referring to the aftermath of her swinging scandal. “And she was the one person that reached out to make sure I was okay and that she was there for me.”

Therefore, the content creator wants to be the same kind of friend for Leavitt — even if the backlash she’s currently facing has been “self-inflicted.”

“I’ve been there too, and you have feelings and you’re getting hurt, too,” she added. “So it’s like, I just want to be there for her at this time, regardless of how she feels about me.”

Mayci Neely, for her part, was feeling “really irritated” with Leavitt, who had just posted a screenshot of their text chain seemingly attempting to make Neely look like a “liar” for claiming in the show that she never received a message from Leavitt on the day she skipped her launch party.

With calls for a second season, both Paul and Neely said they’d be “on board” to film again. However, Neely — who stood by Leavitt’s side even when the other women went against her — explained how she would do things differently.

“I’ll probably be more opinionated and assertive, like, with certain situations that I think I held back on for sure,” she admitted. “But, you know, you just learn a lot.”

When the two women stopped by DECIDER’s offices last week, they dished on the misconceptions about themselves, the feedback they’ve gotten from fellow Mormons, and their policy on “posting and ghosting.” Check out the full interview below.

DECIDER: The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is officially out. What did you guys think of the show when you first watched it? Was there anything that surprised you?

MAYCI NEELY: She hasn’t seen it yet.

TAYLOR FRANKIE PAUL: I know I’m late to the game.

MAYCI: I watched it. I feel like seeing it, to me, it felt like a highlight reel of what we filmed because, like, you film so much. So to see it put together in only eight episodes, I was like, whoa, this is so fast. Like, there were so many things that were cut for story purposes. And so it was really cool to see how it all was put together and how the story was told. But yeah, I thought it was great.

Members of the church were very critical of the show before it came out. Have you gotten any feedback from friends and/or family members who are devout Mormons since it premiered?

MAYCI: I feel like it’s only been more positive since it premiered because people were judging a book by its cover and they realized once they saw it, “Oh it’s not exactly what it looks like.” It’s better, I think. I haven’t heard anything negative about it from the church since it came out. 

TAYLOR: And in person, I feel like it’s been great. We’ve only gotten compliments saying, “We loved your show.” I had a driver [and] he was just like, “I loved your show.” And it was just shocking that he had seen it already and he liked it. And it’s cool to see the different age groups that also watch because I thought it would be a fun girl mom show. And a lot of men have watched and liked it. And I was kind of shocked by that too. It’s just kind of, like, drama. It’s cool to see that they like it too. 

The internet loves to talk. Do either of you see any misconceptions about yourself or your families that you would like to clarify now? 

TAYLOR: More just for Dakota’s sake. I mean, I haven’t seen the show, but he binged it the first night it came out because he was anxious of how it all was put together. And I think he feels like it shows a different version of who he is. And so I don’t know. He just said they didn’t show any of the sweet parts of him, like, how he is really good and sweet to me as well as the hard, too. So he was like, “I just hope that I eventually get the chance to show that side of me as well.” 

I think I saw a TikTok he made and he was like, “Oh well, Season 2, maybe.”

TAYLOR: Yeah. He’s not too butt-hurt, which is good. But I feel like, yeah, he wants his time to also show like his good side as well.

Let’s get into some of the drama. Taylor, where do you stand with Whitney now? And would you be willing to welcome her back into #MomTok if she decides to come back?

TAYLOR: I feel like for me, with Whitney, I’m good with her. And I feel like I thought we were on the same page. I can’t say, you know, as of today, but I’ve said this earlier today that she was the first one that helped me in a very dark place when I was getting basically bullied on the internet. And she was the one person that reached out to make sure I was okay and that she was there for me. So I feel like I just want to do that for her as well. So right now she’s getting torn to shreds on the internet. And even if it’s self-inflicted, I’ve been there too, and you have feelings and you’re getting hurt, too. So it’s like, I just want to be there for her at this time, regardless of how she feels about me.

Mayci, you are still close with Whitney. How did you feel about her posting your text chain on TikTok?

MAYCI: Well, so yeah, I was obviously really irritated that she did that because it’s a trust thing. There’s nothing bad said in those messages. But those are private messages that are between us and like if you were going to share that, you probably should ask my permission first. And I honestly didn’t understand what she was doing with the messages because she blocked out the top date. And I’m like, That’s what mattered. It still shows that you didn’t text me on the night of my event. It almost seemed like she was doing that to try to call me a liar. But again, it proved my point that she didn’t text on the night of my event. So, I mean, I don’t know where we stand right now. I thought we were good. I reached out to her the night of the premiere and I said, “I hope you’re doing okay.” Because I already started to see her getting heat. And I knew she had already watched probably the whole show. She didn’t respond. So, I mean, I don’t know. I thought we were good, but I guess not. I don’t know. 

Taylor, it seems like a lot of people are empathizing with you after watching the show – which is a stark contrast to the public opinion after the swinging scandal. Were you surprised that so many people were on your side? 

TAYLOR: Yes. This time around is different. I was actually just talking to her about this in the car. I feel for Whitney, again, just because I was the villain for so long. And so it is new to me to not be the villain. And I do love it as well. Again, I haven’t seen how I am portrayed in it, like, at all. But I do feel like I learned lessons and I was, you know, really sad and just kind of owning everything I did. So I didn’t know how that would even come off as a villain in the show either, because at that point, I’m just like, I give up. Like, I’m just honestly so sad of where I brought myself. So yes, it was amazing to at least have like that side of my story and kind of where I came from and how I got to those places, you know? It wasn’t just like a snap of the fingers [and] I was that way. I feel like there’s build up to reasons why people act the way they do. 

I think it made you very relatable too, because you went through something, you took accountability, you grew from it, and that’s human.

TAYLOR: Yeah. And I’m glad we got to show that because honestly, if the show hadn’t [happened], no one would have seen that and they would probably just still have their idea of me, like, either the scandal or … [that I’m] a bad mother. Those are like the ideas, those are my headlines. And so it was so amazing to get this opportunity to show that there’s more to me than those headlines.

More than you can fit in a TikTok!

TAYLOR: Yeah. Really good for my sake. I feel like it was a good opportunity for me.

How did you guys feel about Jen caving to the New York move? And do you think she’ll continue to be a part of #MomTok from the East Coast?

MAYCI: Yeah. So they ended up going to Arizona, actually. I think they pivoted last minute and went to Arizona. 

TAYLOR: And I mean, we don’t want to give it away, but there’s like movement as well.

MAYCI: There’s stuff going on behind the scenes … We can’t really say anything else. It’s gonna have to wait for Season 2, for sure.

TAYLOR: Yeah, I guess just to answer your question, I don’t really know because I don’t know if they’re ending up in New York, so we’ll see.

Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City Season 5 premieres next week, Have any of the women reached out to you to welcome #MomTok to the world of reality TV?

MAYCI: Well, we just met Meredith [Marks] in the hallway. So I guess now we were asking her for advice.

TAYLOR: Yeah. We were like, “How do you keep up with all of, like, press and traveling and whatnot?” And she’s like, “You just eventually get used to it.” Which was good advice. And also don’t take things so seriously, I guess she was trying to say, which was good because you’re anxious your first time, you’re putting everything out there and you don’t know. That was the only one we’ve met. I don’t know any of them.

MAYCI: Me either.

I’m sure you’ll all meet in due time.

MAYCI: Crossover, that’d be fun.

What’s your policy on the comment sections of your #MomTok videos? Do you read them all or do you “post and ghost”? 

TAYLOR: A little bit of both. I get like I get on, I post and I kind of interact for a little bit. And I just thank people for the support. Obviously it gets to a point where that’s just too much so I eventually just get off and let it go. So I feel like the first little while is when I interact.

MAYCI: I feel like if it starts going viral it gets too overwhelming where you can’t. It’s just not possible.

TAYLOR: I always get on and say thank you for the support like very openly because at the end of the day, like, yeah, you do need to put that phone down and spend time with your family and touch some grass. 

MAYCI: And for your mental health, it’s bad to be looking at screens all day. There’s a lot of negative comments as well as positive. And I feel like if you see that much negativity, it’s just not good for you. 

TAYLOR: But I also don’t like the post and ghost. I mean to each their own. But I feel like those people are the reason why you’re thriving — because they’re supporting you, they’re there for you, for your story. And it’s like, I feel like those people should also be appreciative of just sticking by your side.

Have you heard any updates about a second season yet? And if you are green-lit, what’s something that you would like to see play out in Season 2?

TAYLOR: We don’t know if there will be one. I mean, that’s up to Rob Mills. We would obviously love it and I think both of us would be on board. What would we bring to the table with that? That’s a good question.

MAYCI: You learn a lot, I would say, Season 1. And like how everything works. And so like, I feel like for me, I’ll probably be more opinionated and assertive, like, with certain situations that I think I held back on for sure. But, you know, you just learn a lot. 

TAYLOR: Yeah, I feel like that. But also for me it’s a whole different version because I was just so tired during filming. I’m like, so pregnant, literally about to give birth. I gave birth. So it was hard for me, I feel like, to enjoy the moments and actually be present with everything. So I feel like for me, I’ve been saying all day, but like my third person’s going to come out. 

MAYCI: Her third personality.

TAYLOR: My third personality! Because I feel like you saw two. And so my third will come out to play.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is currently streaming on Hulu.