The drama in Draper is heating up again as cameras officially begin to roll for Season 5 of Hulu’s breakout hit, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. On Tuesday, April 21, 2026, production sources confirmed that the series is resuming filming following a sudden and high-stakes hiatus that began in mid-March. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 5 production resume April 2026 news comes after a month of legal uncertainty surrounding the show’s central figure, Taylor Frankie Paul.
Production was abruptly halted last month following a “heated blowup” between Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. The situation escalated when Mortensen approached police in West Jordan, Utah, with allegations of domestic violence. The cast reportedly held an emergency meeting with executives, expressing discomfort with filming while the legal situation remained unresolved.
• The Bachelorette: ABC officially canceled Taylor Frankie Paul’s upcoming season of The Bachelorette just hours after leaked footage surfaced from a 2023 incident.
• Vanderpump Villa: Mortensen was largely edited out of the third season of Vanderpump Villa following the allegations.
The path for production to resume was cleared last week after the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against Paul. The DA noted that many of the reported incidents fell outside the statute of limitations, and current allegations lacked the evidence necessary for prosecution. With Paul’s legal slate officially cleared by authorities, Hulu and the production team have decided to move forward with capturing the “Mormon Mom” group’s ongoing saga.
While the show is back in business, the cast dynamic will look a little different as filming restarts:
• Taylor & Dakota: According to People, both Taylor and Dakota will not be filming when production initially picks back up. Taylor is reportedly focusing on her family and resolving custody matters regarding her son, Ever, though TMZ reports she is expected to return to the screen “at some point” when she is ready.
• The Draper Divorce: Production will reportedly shift focus to Jessi Draper, whose husband, Jordan Ngatikaura, recently filed for divorce.
• The Main Group: Remaining cast members Jen Affleck, Layla Taylor, Mayci Neeley, Mikayla Matthews, Miranda Hope, and Whitney Leavitt are all set to return, with their roles elevated to executive producers as of last season.
Hulu has not yet announced a release date for Season 5, but with cameras now active, fans can expect the “DadTok” fallout to be a major theme of the upcoming episodes.
