Taylor Frankie Paul Says ‘Nothing Sounds Worse’ Than Dating for the 1st Time Since She Was 20

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul is getting back into dating for the first time since she was 20 — and she has some concerns.

Paul, 30, took to Instagram on Monday, February 3, to reflect on her split from Dakota Mortensen. “When I realized I haven’t been in the dating scene since I was 20 and eventually will have to go back to that,” she captioned the clip before noting that “nothing sounds worse” than dating again.

The reality star answered questions about the next chapter in her life, saying, “The more you resist the pain coming through, the longer the suffering, learned this the hard way.” In response to a question about coping with the breakup, Paul admitted she would “cry every day.”

Paul also addressed coparenting with Mortensen — and the challenges that come with it. “The quiet after the chaos, missing out [on] time with your kids and inconsistency,” she noted. (Taylor and Mortensen, 32, share 10-month old son Ever. She is also mom to daughter Indy, 7, and son Ocean, 4, with ex-husband Tate Paul.)

While Taylor and Mortensen haven’t publicly discussed their split in detail as they film season 2 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, they have hinted at the difficult decision to part ways. Season 1 of the hit Hulu series highlighted their ups and downs in the aftermath of Taylor’s divorce from Tate.

Taylor became the center of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives following her “soft swinging” sex scandal. She started the season off in a good place with Mortensen but was ultimately charged with aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury and criminal mischief after a heated fight in February 2023. Taylor pleaded guilty six months later to aggravated assault, while the other four charges were dismissed with prejudice. She reached a plea deal in March 2023.

“I feel like I might’ve vented to my mom and been a little harsh — and he’s very sensitive — so I feel like it could be a lot harder for him,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2024 about having to watch the drama back. “Also it could be triggering, too, to bring up these conversations. Especially, I think I’ve heard the [season] cliffhanger, so that in itself stirs up some stuff. We are doing good today, we’re going through work, so I really hope that not too much comes out.”

Taylor told Us she wasn’t in a rush to get engaged to Mortensen, adding, “I just want to take my time with this time around, this is my second marriage. It is going to be very important to me, and I don’t want to end up in another situation of being divorced.”

She continued: “So, I really just want everything to be really solid and have a foundation of trust. And so I feel like that takes time. I would love for that to be the end goal. But right now, I think building it up to that is where I’m at.”

Since the show premiered, Taylor and Mortensen have dealt with their fair share of ups and downs.

“I would say we’re working on things and I actually have no idea where it goes with us from here. We are not fully together, but not fully done. I don’t know where the future holds with him and I,” she admitted to Us at the time. “It’s just a lot. So I’m coping and trying to cope. But I don’t want to watch the show.”

By the end of the year, the duo sparked split rumors. Mortensen has moved into his own place after not celebrating Christmas with Taylor. The MomTok star hinted on social media that the drama would play out on the second season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which she expects to be released in May.