“Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Jessi Draper is speaking out for the first time since ABC pulled co-star Taylor Frankie Paul’s upcoming season of “The Bachelorette” amid allegations of domestic violence.
Paul is under investigation in connection with allegations of at least three domestic violence incidents since 2023, according to Utah authorities. Last week, ABC canceled her upcoming season of “The Bachelorette,” hours after TMZ published a video showing Paul attacking her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen in front of her daughter in 2023.
In a “Call Her Daddy” interview with Alex Cooper recorded Friday and released Wednesday, Draper said she would not judge Paul in her “darkest moment” but admitted the newly released video was “so hard” to watch.
“It’s just ... there’s so much pain underneath the surface for Taylor. And I tell her this all the time, it’s not who Taylor is,” Draper said through tears.
“She got caught in a really bad cycle, and just seeing that video —yes, the child being involved is awful — and everyone involved is really hard,” Draper added. “But Taylor is such a good person, and she’s made some mistakes, and so is Dakota, and I’m not saying any of it is right. ... I want this to be a wake-up call for them.”
The video that surfaced last week stemmed from a February 2023 incident in which Paul was charged with assault, criminal mischief and domestic violence in the presence of a child. Court records indicate that Paul pleaded guilty in abeyance to an aggravated assault charge in August 2023, and the four other charges were dismissed with prejudice.
In the video of the incident, which appears to have been recorded by Mortensen and does not capture what led up to the moment it began, Paul is seen throwing three barstools at her ex. Shortly after a stool is thrown, her daughter, who is nearby on the sofa during the fight, can be heard crying.
NBC News has not independently verified the TMZ video or viewed the original full video.
It was published days after reports emerged of allegations of a separate domestic violence incident this year involving both Paul and Mortensen that were called in last month, which spurred a pause in filming for the fifth season of “Mormon Wives.”
NBC News reported Tuesday that Paul is under investigation in connection with allegations of a third domestic violence incident involving the former couple, who share a young son, in 2024. Police did not share the exact date of or details about the alleged 2024 incident, citing an ongoing investigation.
Representatives for Paul and Mortensen declined to comment Tuesday. In a brief phone call with NBC News last week, Paul said, “I will have my truth.”
On the podcast, Draper told Cooper she spoke with Paul shortly before the interview Friday.
“She seemed pretty positive today, and I think she knows that this is going to be a long and scary journey,” Draper said. “And the thing about Taylor, she always tells the truth. You know, she’s known for that, and I think she’s going to handle this in the best way possible, and I think she’s taking a beat to figure that out. She’s not just running to TMZ and leaking stories.”
Throughout the nearly 90-minute interview, Draper also addressed her ongoing divorce from her husband, Jordan Ngatikaura. Draper said she asked for the divorce but was “blindsided” when he filed last week. She said she found out he had filed a report via a TMZ article.
Asked whether she thinks “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” will return for a fifth season, Draper said: “Let’s get them healthy and happy and move forward, and I believe people can come back from things like this.”
She added that now that “the world knows” about the domestic violence allegations, the cast can film “in a real way, rather than before we were, like, we don’t even know if this is going to get out.”
“I feel like all of us right now are just trying to, like, be like, ‘Hey, we’re human beings first’ and figure that out and then we’ll get back to filming the show,’” Draper added. “Clearly there’s no shortage of drama in our lives, so if we get another season, it’s gonna be good.”
