Soft swinging Mormon influencer reveals she is battling depression

Mormon influencer Taylor Frankie Paul has revealed that she is struggling with depression and is ‘almost down to 90 pounds’ after her husband left her and her best friends turned on her following her ‘soft swinging’ cheating scandal. 

The 28-year-old blew up #MomTok — a group of TikTok content creators who are mostly Mormon — in May when she claimed her husband, Tate Paul, was divorcing her after she crossed the line while swapping partners with their friends in Utah. 

Since the fallout, Taylor has documented everything from her impending divorce to her custody arrangement in a series of cheeky lip-syncing and dancing videos — including an introduction to her new beau, Dakota Mortensen. 

However, when a commenter speculated that Taylor is likely ‘so depressed and tries to stay happy’ behind the scenes, the TikTok star candidly opened up about how her life is ‘falling apart’ and she has a ‘mental breakdown’ every day.  

‘I will tell you how I’m doing. I’m f**king sad,’ she said in a video last week. ‘Sorry to say it that way, but that’s just how I want to emphasize how I’m feeling. 

‘I actually texted one of my doctors today asking if I can go on some anti-anxiety, depression meds because I am really, really struggling,’ she added. ‘I’m actually almost down to 90 pounds, which is extremely unhealthy for my height and age.’

Taylor, who has a four-year-old daughter, Indy, and a two-year-old son, Ocean, with her soon-to-be ex-husband, shared that she is having a hard time keeping it together for her loved ones. 

‘I’m obviously struggling to be a good mom, a good friend, a good person right now, because I’m so in my head and lost, to be honest. I feel like a lost soul,’ she said. ‘I cry every single day.’ 

Taylor noted that she allows herself one ‘mental breakdown’ a day and planned on having one after she was done filming the video. 

‘I give myself an hour to mentally break down, cry, laugh, whatever it is that’s going to make me feel the feelings because I just want to feel it so I can move on,’ she explained. 

Taylor isn’t just mourning the end of her marriage. She also lost most of her friends and the man she cheated on her husband with in the wake of the drama. 

‘I don’t know if this is just the process of it, the process of divorce, major loss, loss of my best friends,’ she said. I got betrayed. I betrayed someone. There’s just so much in the mix and behind the scenes that people don’t know, won’t ever know, didn’t see. And, so yeah, I am struggling.’

The influencer also addressed why she was still on social media during this difficult time, saying she has no plans to step away from her day job.  

‘I can’t take a break off social media because I have some big opportunities coming, and I am contracted in certain things, so I am just not doing that right now,’ she explained. 

‘This is my outlet. I choose to stay on. As you can see, I am an emotional wreck on here, and that’s why I think it’s so entertaining because these are my raw emotions. This is my real life falling apart.’

She concluded: ‘I’m struggling to say the very least, and that’s how I’m feeling. So I’m gonna have my mental breakdown here soon, and I hope you have a great day.’

Just one day before, Taylor hinted that her new relationship with Dakota has already begun to fall apart because he wants to continue to see other people. 

‘Hope it’s cool if I talk to other girls,’ she wrote in the on-screen text of a recent video, presumably referring to Dakota. 

‘No worries, I’ll talk to your whole friend group,’ she responded. ‘I’m good at sharing. Stay toxic.’

Taylor featured Dakota in a video in late July after a fan asked her: ‘Where’s the guy you cheated with…’ 

The TikTok star used the lyrics of rapper Young M.A.’s Beatbox Freestyle to explain that she and the other guy — whose name has never been confirmed — are done, and she is now seeing someone new. 

‘I wear that red until I’m dead / I know that he watching (R.I.P) / Left my ex b***h cause she toxic (Goddamn) / Got this new b**h now we toxic,’ she lip-synced right before Dakota slid into the camera frame. 

In the caption, Taylor poked fun at her swinging scandal, writing: ‘I will not be sharing this one.’

Dakota works as a real estate agent and is the owner of Basin Tiling, according to his Instagram profile. He is also a content creator and has more than 160,000 followers on TikTok, where he opens up about his life as a recovering addict and alcoholic. 

While he and Taylor are technically ‘TikTok official,’ she has yet to make an appearance on his social media pages. 

Taylor’s announcement of her whirlwind romance came just a few weeks after she shared in one of her videos that she is ‘single and ready to mingle.’ But then, just days later, she hinted that she was seeing someone new. 

‘Been heartbroken twice this summer and this cute sweet mf comes out of nowhere,’ she wrote in the on-screen text of a follow-up clip. 

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In the comments, Taylor claimed her soon-to-be ex-husband, Tate, was also seeing other people after someone noted that her ‘divorce ain’t even final.’  

‘Yup not stopping Tate nor me,’ she clapped back. 

Taylor later addressed concerns that she was moving too fast, sharing how someone allegedly told her: ‘You just got divorced maybe just stay single and take things slow.’ 

‘I think I’ll do whatever tf I want,’ she wrote in the clip. 

Dakota responded to the video, writing: ‘I like ur glasses.’

‘I like you,’ Taylor replied.   

The mom also recently got flack for answering a fan’s question about their custody arrangement while taking on the Time X Kashy dance challenge in a now-viral video.

Taylor bared her stomach in a crop top and shorts as she sexily danced for the camera while the written details of their agreement popped up on the screen. 

According to the mom, she and her ex have 50-50 custody, and they do three days on, three days off with their kids. 

Back in May, Taylor stunned #MomTok when she announced that she and Tate were getting a divorce. Three days later, she alluded to there being more to the story when she posted footage of herself lying in bed and packing moving boxes. 

‘My entire life is falling apart,’ she wrote in the on-screen text. ‘And I can’t even speak on why… without bringing them down with me.’

She later painted a rosier picture of their separation in a follow-up video, saying she is ‘excited to co-parent with my best friend.’ 

However, Tate didn’t appear to feel the same way, and he deleted all photos and videos of Taylor from his social media pages. 

As rumors swirled that Taylor had been unfaithful, other moms in their content-creation group allegedly unfollowed her and liked comments that suggested she had cheated on her husband, according to Rolling Stone. 

Then, in a bombshell TikTok Live, Taylor opened up about her divorce, claiming that she and Tate were soft swinging with their friends. 

According to Taylor’s account, their friend group had an agreement that they would switch partners but not ‘go all the way,’ which is known as a ‘soft swap.’ 

‘We had an agreement, like all of us, and I did step out of that agreement,’ she admitted. ‘That’s where I messed up, and I, obviously, am losing everything that I have, so that is true.’

Taylor alleged that she and the other wives in the group would make out with each other and each other’s husbands when they were drinking 

‘No one was innocent. Everyone has hooked up with everyone in this situation,’ she claimed. ‘So, yes, I’m getting shunned for doing that, but it wasn’t like I was going around hooking up with my friend’s husband. 

‘We were at a party, I got belligerent, and we went and messed [around] by ourselves rather than with the whole group,’ she explained, insisting it was a ‘one-time thing.’ 

However, she said there were some feelings involved, which complicated the situation. 

‘I was friends with these people, and we spent a lot of time together. We were intimate on several occasions, she said. ‘It sucks that I have to admit this because…no one really wants to admit they’re involved in something like that.’

Taylor noted that she and Tate had other issues in their marriage before they separated, but ‘this was like the tip of the iceberg.’ 

‘Tate has made out with several girls and [done] other things, and I’ve made out with all of the husbands and [done] other things,’ she added. 

She refused to name names, but she stressed that fans could easily figure out which couples she was referring to in the TikTok Live. 

Sam and Camille Munday; Brayden and Mckenna Rowley; Chase and Miranda Hope McWhorter; Selver and Victoria Zalic; and Conner and Whitney Leavitt are among the couples that have been mentioned in regards to the alleged swinging, though many of them have denied the claims. 

Taylor made it clear she has nothing to lose at this point, saying she and Tate had told their families everything that had happened. She admitted her parents were ‘disgusted’ by the revelation.

She insisted that she has proof of her swinging claims in the form of videos and texts if she ever needs it. 

Taylor also alleged that there are ‘three divorces in the friend group,’ but one of the breakups is not related to the swinging situation. 

‘They’re going to deny it, and that’s fine,’ she said. ‘I’m speaking my truth, and they can speak theirs.’ 

Former Bachelor star Nick Viall dished about the drama on his podcast The Viall Files in June, saying he had called Taylor, who told him that two other couples were involved but only one of them are influencers. 

He was admittedly skeptical of Taylor’s story because of the speculation that she is making this up for clout, but he said she ‘sounded sad’ and ‘frustrated with the situation.’

Nick also noted that she made it seem like her husband, Tate, was divorcing her out of principle because she broke their agreement and not because he wanted to.