Lisa Vanderpump Addresses Cutting Dakota Mortensen From Hulu Series
Dakota Mortensen gained reality TV fame as part of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. His toxic on-and-off relationship with Taylor Frankie Paul was a major plot point on the show’s four seasons. They split in 2025 and Taylor Frankie Paul was named the next Bachelorette.
However, ABC yanked the season after footage leaked from a domestic violence incident involving the former couple in 2023. Taylor Frankie Paul was charged in the incident. While the case was resolved years ago, the violent video brought it back into the conversation. Dakota Mortensen had a few other projects in the works. But he’s been dropped from a Hulu series that stars former Real Housewives Lisa Vanderpump. Keep reading for her explanation for the surprising decision.
Dakota Mortensen Cut From Hulu Series
Season 4 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives aired in March. But whether the show continues for another season is in doubt. Hulu paused production on the reality series after news broke that police were investigating another alleged domestic violence incident between Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen. The latest incident allegedly happened in February of this year.
Despite SLOMW not filming, Dakota Mortensen was supposed to be back on Hulu in April. He had already filmed a guest appearance on Vanderpump Villa for its upcoming third season. However, in light of the domestic violence investigation, his appearance has been edited out, Variety reported.
Dakota Mortensen filmed at the Villa last fall, along with Jordan Ngatikaura, Chase McWhorter, Mason McWhorter, Zac Affleck and Jacob Neeley. Despite being edited out of Vanderpump Villa, viewers can see Dakota Mortensen on the upcoming reality series Unwell Winter Games on YouTube starting on April 6.
Lisa Vanderpump Addresses Decision
Vanderpump Villa documents the professional and personal lives of Lisa Vanderpump’s staff at a lavish estate in France. Dakota Mortensen revealed on Season 4 of SLOMW that he slept with a female staff member while there as a guest. However, viewers won’t get to see it.
Lisa Vanderpump addressed why they chose to remove Dakota Mortensen from the Hulu series. She told PEOPLE magazine that his storyline on Vanderpump Villa was “brief” and wasn’t necessary for the season.
Vanderpump villa s3! pic.twitter.com/qwECJBYCzf
— The Reality TV Guru (@Realitytvguru13) March 19, 2026
We don’t want to shine a spotlight on something that’s been so controversial when we have so much great content,” she added about why he was edited out. Hulu didn’t want to bring negative attention to Lisa Vanderpump’s reality series.
Lisa Vanderpump added that they already have a great Season 3 ready to go without Dakota Mortensen’s appearance. “The visuals are beautiful, the stories are complicated. There’s a lot of humor in it, there’s a lot of funny, sexy time and it’s a great show. It’s great entertainment,” she said about the upcoming season.
Vanderpump Villa returns to Hulu on Thursday, April 16.
