Credit: Faye’s Vision/Cover Images
Mikayla Matthews will not be returning to Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, despite Taylor Frankie Paul‘s apparent exit from the series.
After Taylor, 32, shared a statement on Instagram, seemingly revealing that she would not be back due to the “cyberbullying” she received from certain castmates and their alleged “[piling] on” amid her custody battles with ex-husband Tate Paul, 34, and ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, 33, Mikayla responded to fans’ inquiries about her possible comeback.
“To answer your question … No, I will not be coming back,” Mikayla, 26, confirmed with a selfie shared on her Instagram Story on September 21. “Everyone has to do what’s best for them, and I was the only one who chose to leave the show due to MANY reasons and of course the recent news a couple weeks ago.”
Although Mikayla didn’t say exactly which news she was referring to, many have speculated that it was Taylor’s reported failure of numerous drug tests. According to TMZ, Taylor failed more than one drug test in the last 60 days, which resulted in her being limited to just eight hours a week with her three kids, including nine-year-old Indy, six-year-old Ocean, and two-year-old Ever.
“I feel like I took my concerns to the right people and went out of my way over and over again to try to address them. There are so many things wrong with this situation. Because of one person’s actions but also because of the way everything was handled after,” Mikayla continued. “Those concerns haven’t changed and neither has my decision right now … [I] don’t know what the future holds, but I think we can collectively agree that a lot of changes need to be made.”
When Mikayla initially announced her exit from SLOMW last week, she also signaled “some news” she’d heard.
“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,” Mikayla explained. “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. And for me personally, continuing to directly profit from this behavior feels wrong and unethical. It feels like a disservice to the children, everyone’s healing and the millions of people watching.”
Days later, in her own statement, Taylor said she was willing to be removed from the show so that the others would continue.
“Some of the girls know what I’ve been through and then to turn and collectively pile on with their ‘statements’ knowing there has been ongoing abuse through the system the last [eight] months on top of what I’ve endured. Almost the entire cast plus some, going at me….laughing about my kids is disgusting,” she declared. “It’s to the point of bullying … [And] it’s a pleasure to remove myself so they can continue, because I’ve almost convinced myself I’m deserving of all this pain.”