As the entire internet has heard recently, Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette has been cancelled among ongoing claims of domestic violence made against her. Taylor is the leader of “MomTok,” and has amassed millions of followers across various social media platforms.
But beyond her curated persona on social media, viewers of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Hulu see another side of Taylor. In this version, she is messy, unfiltered, and captured throwing bar stools at her boyfriend, Dakota, in heated arguments.
One of the leading plot points throughout the four released seasons of the show is Taylor and Dakota’s on-again off-again relationship, having the two break up and get back together many times since airing, sometimes multiple times in each season.
Taylor frequently swears that she’s done with him, yet, after much deliberation with her friends (many of whom are in similarly broken relationships), and a few blowout arguments with her mom, Taylor finds herself returning to Dakota time and time again. Despite the physical and emotional abuse he claims he inflicts upon her, and their evidently toxic relationship, Taylor keeps coming back because she is in love with him and thinks that she can make it work.
“I’ve seen all the stuff online about Taylor and the domestic abuse claims,” said Uma Kartha, a sophomore and reality TV fan. “She seems like a mess, but also like she needs serious psychological help that she does not get in the show.”
Although this may seem like simple reality TV drama, the implications spread further than the entertainment gained by some viewers. These types of relationships being broadcasted to the world as a form of entertainment can easily dilute their true nature, which is especially dangerous considering how large of an audience they reach.
This promoted ideal is also not just specific to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. It appears on some level in nearly every reality TV show, such as the Real Housewives franchise and Love Island.
“Love Island was so popular last year, and especially with high schoolers,” said sophomore Edem Kuadey. “Seeing relationships begin and end so fast, and in such a dramatic way has to have impacted the young girls watching it.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives as well as most reality TV shows like Love Island are especially popular with young viewers in their teens or early twenties, which is also a time when many young people are unsure of what it means to be in a healthy relationship.
A viewer who sees these unhealthy relationships all over social media and their televisions may not realize the severity of it, and may instead internalize it in a way that would be damaging to their personal relationships and mental health later on.
This shows a systemic issue in the entertainment industry, where toxic and failing relationships are dragged out for the public eye in order to generate money and drama.
“People are so influenced by the things they watch, even if they don’t realize it,” said sophomore Julianna Lisica. “I don’t really watch much reality TV because of that. I don’t want to see myself turning into one of those people.”
