Timing is everything, and that video of Taylor Frankie Paul’s 2023 domestic violence incident with Dakota Mortensen couldn’t have come at a worse moment. The disturbing clip of The Secret Lies of Mormon Wives stars went public just days before Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette premiered, forcing ABC to pull it from their schedule.
While the network scrambles to manage the fallout, one big question remains: How did TMZ get the video in the first place? Apparently, Jessi Draper has some theories.
Jessi Draper spoke on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast
Jessi recently sat down with Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast, and she unleashed a ton of explosive claims. Most of the conversation centered around her estranged husband, Jordan Ngatikaura, who she says hired escorts and attended sex parties during their marriage.
However, Jessi also had to talk about the big elephant in the room, which is Taylor and her screwed-up Bachelorette season. Jessi said she spoke with Taylor right before the interview, and she seemed to be in “positive” spirits.
“The thing about Taylor is she always tells the truth. She’s known for that,” Jessi said. “I think she’s going to handle this in the best way possible. I think she’s taking a beat to figure it out. She’s not just running to TMZ and leaking stories.”
Someone is leaking stories, though, and Jessi suspects it’s Dakota. When Alex asked Jessi if she thought he “sold the video” to TMZ, she had a pretty direct answer.
Jessi replied, “Yeah.”
Jessi went on to speculate that Dakota kept the video for years and could have been holding it over Taylor. Did he sell it to TMZ at just the right time to derail The Bachelorette? Perhaps.
“Everyone’s speculating about the timing. Could be it. I definitely think that has something to do with it,” she added. “I don’t know if he was holding it over her head for that long. Maybe they were doing it to each other. I have no clue the ins and outs. But I just think the timing is a little crazy.”
Before the video dropped, we learned that Dakota and Taylor were both under investigation for a February domestic violence incident. We’ve since learned that Dakota went to the police with a third accusation stemming back to 2024. They’ve both been ordered to undergo psychological evaluations, and the future of the SLOMW remains uncertain.
On Call Her Daddy, Alex asked Jessi the age-old question: Will MomTok survive this?
“I actually don’t know, Jessi admitted. “We’re falling apart over here.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and The Bachelorette are both streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
TELL US – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON JESSI’S CLAIMS? DO YOU THINK DAKOTA SOLD THE VIDEO TO TMZ?
This story originally appeared on Realitytea
