Taylor Frankie Paul, Inset: Jessi Ngatikaura, Jennifer Affleck, Mayci Neeley, Taylor Frankie Paul, Mikayla Matthews, Layla Taylor, Demi Engemann Taylor Hill/WireImage ; Inset: Disney/Fred Hayes
Taylor Frankie Paul stirred the pot when she called out her Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast members for their alleged lack of support at her CMAs appearance — and now they are clapping back.
Days after appearing at the awards show, which took place November 20 in Nashville, Taylor, 30, took to her Instagram Story on Saturday, November 23, to throw shade at her cast members.
“Not a single one of my girls from Momtok said anything on my CMA post, such a big night for me,” she wrote, alongside a selfie of her in a car. “Awkward.”
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives costar Jessi Ngatikaura was surprised by the post, and took to her Instagram Story to share a screenshot of her response to Taylor.
Taylor Frankie Paul Courtesy of Taylor Frankie Paul/Instagram
“Tay I literally posted you on my story. Are you for real?” Jessi, 32, wrote via Instagram DM before adding, “Also reposted your CMA TikTok and texted you the whole day you were there to support you. This is such a weird thing to post instead of coming to us first.” Jessi captioned the exchange, “Weird flex but OK.”
Jessi explained how she had supported her pal in the comments section of Taylor’s Instagram post from the awards show.
“Repost the cma’s TikTok of you ✔️. Post you on my story ✔️. Text you all day to congratulate and hype you up ✔️. Like this post ✔️. Free clip ins for filming and events like this ✔️. Free hair for your mom ✔️,” Jessi commented. “S— I forgot to comment even though I’m on vacation with my family and trying not to scroll too much 🤭 I’m the worst friend!! Forgive me queen Taylor, I’ll bow down now.”
After one user replied to Jessi’s comment suggesting that the drama was “fake” in order to get viewers for the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, she fired back at the idea.
“One thing about me, I’m not playing into anything online or a storyline,” she wrote via her Instagram Story, alongside a screenshot of the comment. “What you see is what you get. If only you guys knew what’s really going on behind the scenes. We don’t need to make things up — our group just has things happen. Case in point — today.”
Demi Engemann also seemingly hit back with a series of cryptic quotes via her Instagram Story. “Projection is so funny when you’re self aware cause people really can’t see outside of their *own* perspective and experiences. Like honey nothing you said has s— to do with me. Sounds like this is actually about you,” the quote read, which Demi, 30, captioned, “IYKYK.” Demi posted another quote, which read, “Being called sensitive for reacting to disrespect is manipulation at its finest.”
While poking fun at the situation, Mikayla Matthews admitted in a TikTok with costar Mayci Neeley that she didn’t comment on Taylor’s Instagram.
“Since we were all called out publicly, there’s one more secret I feel l have to share with you. I missed Taylor’s post yesterday,” Mikayla, 24, wrote, while lip syncing to a viral Family Guy audio. “What?” Mayci, 29, replied, to which Mikayla continued, “I didn’t comment either.” Mikayla captioned the post, “Hope this clears things up.”
After her initial post, Taylor took to her Instagram Story to explain her point of view. “Just as WHOLE made me feel off,” she wrote over the first video, while she added in another slide, “I don’t think I’m queen, just felt pettiness so I came back petty per usual.”
“I guess I ruffled some feathers, a little too much. But first off, we are not allowed to talk about any storyline, so this is not made up by any means. That little concoction I made myself, I guess. I thought it was awkward that every single one of my friends was silent. That’s all I meant by that,” Taylor claimed in the video. “I have a lot of supportive girls in this group, and I never said anyone specifically is not supportive because they are. Not a single one. I just felt off by it, so I made a petty post, and are we shocked?”
“Since Demi is the most triggered by it, it’s interesting because she phone called me the other day saying, ‘I feel like you don’t really support me on social media.’ So it’s weird that it matters when it comes to her, but when it comes to me, it shouldn’t be a big deal, and they don’t have to bow down to me,” Taylor continued.
“Sure you don’t have to like my stuff. That’s fine. Again, nowadays, it’s your message without saying a message, and we can, I think, all agree. For all the girls telling me I should have handled this differently and offline as they’re literally eating me alive online right now, maybe they feel justified but don’t come at me if you’re going to do the exact same thing.”
Taylor rose to fame after her 2022 claims that she and her husband had been “soft swinging” with fellow Mormon couples. Two years later, Taylor and her “MomTok” friends starred in the Hulu series — which centered around the aftermath of the claims. The cast included Taylor, Demi, Mikayla, Mayci, Jessi, Jen Affleck, Whitney Leavitt and Layla Taylor.
News broke in October that the hit show had been renewed for season 2.
