Whitney Leavittbegan her screen career as a Mormon wife, but might she be turning the page on that chapter?
TheSecret Lives of Mormon Wivesstar first appeared on the series in September 2024. Over the course of two short years, much has changed for Leavitt. And since the series dropped its fourth season in March, even more has changed for cast membersTaylor Frankie Pauland Jessi Draper, who are respectively battling fallout from a series of allegeddomestic violence incidentsand adivorce.
Leavitt, meanwhile, has been living her best life, competing on season 34 ofDancing With the Starsandjoining the cast ofChicagoon Broadwayin February. When asked during a recent interview withGood Morning Americawhat that means forMormon Wives, Leavitt was both cryptic and suggestive.
"We're figuring it out in real time. I don't really know," Leavitt said of her thoughts on whether to return for season 5 of the Hulu reality series. "I feel sometimes that it's time to venture out. Like, this is what I'm passionate about," she said, gesturing to the Ambassador Theatre'sChicagoset around her and Mark Ballas, herDWTSpartner whojoined her inChicagolast month.
Leavitt joked that that MomTok, the group of Mormon housewife influencers who became viral sensations before being cast onMormon Wives, is "100 percent" more dramatic than the cast of an actual Broadway drama. Perhaps hinting at the scandals that have beset some of herMormon Wivescostars, she said, "Do you see what's going on in the world right now?"
It was revelations about centralMormon Wivesstar Paul and her relationship with ex Dakota Mortensen, with whom she shares 2-year-old son Ever, that knocked down the first domino in the latest bout of cast drama.
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Paul has been implicated in severalalleged instances of domestic violenceinvolving Mortensen, including one shocking 2023 incident in the presence of Paul's child.Video of the incidentwas surfaced in March, leading ABC to make the unprecedented decision toshelve Paul's season ofThe Bachelorettedays before its premiere.
Paulpleaded guiltyin abeyance to aggravated assault in connection with the 2023 incident, with other charges being dropped as part of an agreement with prosecutors. After the now-infamous video emerged and ABC pulledThe Bachelorette, Paul spokesperson'sclaimed in a statementthat the reality star had endured "years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation" and was focused on ensuring "that she and her children are protected from any further harm."
Mortensen subsequentlysaid in a statement, "As anyone who has seen the video will understand, this is a deeply upsetting situation. I am, unfortunately, used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny. I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same."
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Meanwhile, fellow MomTok-er andMormon Wivesstar Jessi Draper's husband, Jordan Ngatikaura, filed for divorce amid the Paul fallout. Ngatikaura alsorequested a restraining order, which Draper formally opposed the same day.
In atell-all interviewon theCall Her Daddypodcast shortly thereafter, Draper said she was "blindsided" by the filing and described being "beaten down emotionally" and "deeply unhappy" in the relationship.
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