Production is getting back on track! Jeff Jenkins wants Taylor back because she's a 'natural' who 'doesn't edit herself.' The Orange County spinoff offers a fresh, more devout cast that's 90 degrees different from the mothership. Everything's moving forward positively.
The stay-away orders mean Dakota and Taylor can NEVER be filmed together again — Jenkins confirmed this himself. Meanwhile, Jessi Draper is dating Marciano Brunette, who has an active lawsuit against JJP and Demi Engemann alleging defamation of character as a 'sexual predator.' Jenkins wants to film it anyway; his lawyers probably don't.
Production paused for nearly TWO MONTHS due to Taylor Frankie Paul's legal troubles. Both Paul and Dakota Mortensen now have official stay-away orders from court, meaning they cannot appear on camera together ever again or 'for a very long time,' per Jenkins. Marciano Brunette filed his complaint in Utah federal court.
Jenkins is walking a tightrope here — he wants to capture every messy storyline while his legal team scrambles behind him. Good luck getting insurance for that cast.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is officially crawling back from the dead. Executive producer Jeff Jenkins confirmed in a new Variety interview that production on Season 5 is 'very close' to resuming after an almost two-month shutdown triggered by star Taylor Frankie Paul's legal nightmare. But here's where things get spicy — and complicated as hell: both Paul and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen now have official stay-away orders from the judge's courtroom live feed, which means they will NEVER appear on camera together again.
'Fortunately or unfortunately, whatever your perspective, we won't be able to shoot with them together, ever again, or at least for a very long time,' Jenkins admitted. Translation: the show's central drama couple has been legally severed, and the producers are just going to have to spin that narrative somehow. Jenkins says he's talked to Taylor and she wants back in — and he's hopeful Dakota will also return separately — but the days of capturing their relationship on camera are officially over.
'She doesn't edit herself,' Jenkins said, comparing Paul favorably to his previous nightmare projects like Paris Hilton's leaked sex tape scandal and Kim Kardashian's traumatic Paris robbery. 'She's really built for this type of lane.' So basically, Taylor gets a pass because she's good TV, legal troubles be damned. Meanwhile, the Orange County spinoff is charging full steam ahead with an entirely different energy — Jenkins claims it's actually MORE devout than the Utah mothership, which has 'only got one or two Mormons left' among its cast.
New cast member Aspyn Ovard brings her throuple situation to the table, because apparently regular polygamy wasn't complicated enough for this franchise. But here's where Jenkins might be playing with fire: Jessi Draper is currently dating Marciano Brunette — the same Marciano who filed a lawsuit against Jeff Jenkins Productions and 'Mormon Wives' star Demi Engemann in Utah federal court. His complaint alleges that Engemann and the production company destroyed his reputation by branding him a 'sexual predator' and accusing him of sexual assault.
'I would like to have the ability to cover it, despite what I think or what my company might be going through with Marciano,' Jenkins said. 'It's part of the story.' His own attorneys disagree? Probably.
Disney's legal team? Almost certainly. But Jenkins is holding out hope that if Jessi is spending time with him, they'll somehow get the 'blessing' to film it.
'If you wrote this as a screenplay, no one would believe it,' Jenkins admitted. 'That's how I feel with these Mormon ladies. I just can't believe the zigs and sags of their lives.' And in case you thought he was slowing down on expansion: Jenkins also revealed new projects including a Tori Spelling and Randy Spelling road-trip reconciliation series, plus 'The Bold and the Unscripted' — a reality competition where contestants compete for actual roles on 'The Bold and the Beautiful.' Because why not throw your lawsuit defendant on television while you're at it?
