Mikayla Matthews has left “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
The MomTok influencer, in a lengthy statement posted to Instagram on Monday, announced that she “will not be continuing” on Hulu’s reality TV series “at this moment” because of recent news that went “against [her] morals.” .
“I made my decision over a week ago, after hearing some news, that I will not be continuing the show at this moment,” Matthews wrote in her post. “I’ve said from the beginning of this that I’m not comfortable being a part of something that continues to platform behavior I don’t agree [with] especially given my own experience growing up in a home with multiple forms of abuse. There’s no amount of money worth going against my morals or changing the stance I’ve had since I first saw and heard the things that made me feel this strongly.”
While she did not elaborate on the exact news that led to her decision, Matthews did add that it felt “wrong and unethical” for her to continue to “directly profit from this behavior” and that it is “a disservice to the children, everyone’s healing and the millions of people watching.”
Matthews’ announcement comes just days after the fifth season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” was released. Premiering in 2024, the series follows Taylor Frankie Paul and her cohort of Mormon moms who create and post content about their lives on social media.
From the start, Paul’s unconventional and volatile romantic relationships were central to the series. But in March, reports surfaced that Paul was facing multiple allegations of domestic violence involving her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.
“Supporting an ADULT doesn’t mean constantly making excuses for toxic behavior while giving unconditional sympathy and grace with zero accountability or change,” Matthews wrote in her Instagram post. “I was in that enabling cycle for years, and I’m not going to be a part of that again!”
Matthews’ exit follows fellow “Mormon Wives” cast member Whitney Leavitt’s announcement in May that Season 5 would be her last. Jen Affleck, another original cast member of the flagship series, is also reportedly leaving the show and joining the cast of its first spinoff, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County.”
