The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives resumes filming after domestic-violence probe pauses production

Hulu said production on season five of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives will resume, ending a pause that had lasted more than a month and put one of Disney’s most visible unscripted franchises on hold. The streamer did not say when filming would restart, but the decision signals that the company still sees enough audience demand to keep the Utah-based series moving after a bruising legal and reputational detour.

Filming stopped after March 17 reports that the show had been halted amid a domestic-violence-related investigation involving Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. The incident that triggered the inquiry did not happen on camera, but it still hit the center of the series, which premiered in 2024 and follows Utah #MomTok creators who turned social-media notoriety into mainstream reality TV.

The legal picture shifted in April. On April 14, the Salt Lake County District Attorney declined to file charges against Paul, citing a lack of evidence and saying some alleged misdemeanor offenses were outside the statute of limitations. On April 17, Draper City said its prosecutor also declined to charge either Paul or Mortensen over the domestic-assault claims. That sequence cleared a path for the show to come back to work, even as the underlying allegations continued to reverberate through the franchise.

The fallout spread beyond Hulu. ABC pulled the planned new season of The Bachelorette, which had been set to feature Paul as the lead, showing how quickly one reality-TV controversy can contaminate a broader corporate slate. On March 25, Jessi Draper said the cast was on a “film pause” and trying to handle the situation “as people first,” a reminder that unscripted productions often depend on access to cast members whose personal lives can become part of the business risk.

For Disney, the restart reflects a familiar calculation in reality television: profitable franchises are worth protecting, but they also carry reputational exposure that scripted series rarely do. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives became a notable Hulu hit because it delivered built-in audience interest, strong social-media identity and a steady pipeline of conversation. Pausing production limited immediate damage; resuming it suggests the company is willing to absorb short-term turbulence to preserve a franchise that still has commercial momentum.