Celebrity Exes
What Happened to Taylor Frankie Paul & Husband Tate Paul? Inside Her Divorce
Before Taylor Frankie Paul was cast as the lead for Season 22 of The Bachelorette, she went through a painful divorce from her first husband, Tate Paul. The exes tied the knot in 2016 and divorced in 2022.
While Taylor was not yet a reality star at the time of the split, she was already making waves in the MomTok community, and she announced the news of her divorce on TikTok live. But what happened between Taylor and Tate? Scroll down for everything we know.
What happened between Taylor Frankie Paul and Tate Paul?
When Taylor shared the news about the end of her marriage, she referenced “soft-swinging” as part of the reason for the split. She explained that she and Tate had an agreement that allowed them to swap sexual partners with other couples, but clarified that they weren’t supposed to sleep with anyone else. Taylor admitted she did “step out of that agreement,” leading to the divorce.
“[Tate] was my partner/best friend for six years, and I do miss that part of him and us,” Taylor admitted. She also explained that the “soft-swinging” scandal was simply the “tip of the iceberg” after she and Tate dealt with “a lot of other issues.”
Taylor added, “I was friends with these people, and we spent a lot of time together. We were intimate on several occasions. Tate has made out with several girls and [done] other things, and I’ve made out with all of the husbands and [done] other things. … We had an agreement, like all of us, and I did step out of that agreement. That’s where I messed up, and I, obviously, am losing everything that I have.”
Who was Taylor Frankie Paul swinging with?
The “soft-swinging” scandal made waves in the Mormon community when speculation began about what other couples were involved. “No one was innocent,” Taylor insisted in her 2022 TikTok Live. “Everyone has hooked up with everyone in this situation. So, yes, I’m getting shunned for doing that, but it wasn’t like I was going around hooking up with my friend’s husband.”
Exes Brayden Rowley and McKenna Gibbons have admitted to being involved, although he did not use the term “swinging” to describe the situation. In now-deleted TikToks, McKenna confirmed, “We did switch partners and soft-swinging happened.” She also claimed that Taylor and Brayden had sex, which she said she learned from Taylor’s friends.
More notably, though, were Taylor’s former friend Miranda McWhorter and her ex-husband Chase McWhorter. The ladies had a falling out when Taylor went public with the “soft-swinging” scandal, and Miranda wanted to distance herself from the fiasco, initially denying her involvement.
Chase later told Us Weekly that he and Miranda were part of the swinging group. However, he clarified that they “participated in some of the party games,” but said they never “predetermined that we were going to be doing, like, swinging. That’s what we always thought was a little bit misrepresented in Taylor’s story, as she presents it.”
When Miranda joined the cast of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 2, Taylor shared, “She was one of the girls participating in the swinging scandal. Her husband was the one [who] had feelings for me. That’s where the story gets confusing. Because I ‘stole my best friend’s husband’ but that’s never been the case.”
Throughout the season, Miranda and Taylor disagreed on how involved Miranda was in the “soft-swinging,” with Miranda insisting she never did more than kissing, and Taylor noting, “This is downplaying what actually happened.”
Do Taylor Frankie Paul and Tate Paul have kids?
Yes, Taylor and Tate have two children. Their daughter, Indy, was born in 2017, followed by son Ocean in 2020.
Taylor also shares a son, Ever, with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen. Taylor and Dakota went public with their relationship in September 2022 and welcomed Ever in March 2024. She later revealed that she and Dakota followed each other for years, but they didn’t start talking until he slid into her DMs after the swinging scandal.
After splitting in September 2024, Taylor and Dakota were together on-and-off until spring 2025. Their relationship ended because he was not truthful with Taylor about his relationship with another woman.
Is Tate Paul married again?
In a September 2024 interview with Distractify, Taylor revealed that her ex-husband was engaged. Since then, he seems to have married his now-wife Bailey, as she has taken his last name on Instagram.
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Bailey works as an esthetician in Utah. She specializes in “lash lifts/ brows/waxing. Message for booking,” according to her business bio.
In 2023, Tate confirmed that he and Bailey had welcomed a daughter together. He showed love to the mother of his child on Mother’s Day 2024, writing, “Happy Mother’s Day to the love of my life! You are an incredible mother and partner. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Me, our baby, and my kids. I’m impressed daily with how selfless and nurturing you are. I love you.”
“I’m buddies with his partner,” Taylor said on the Today show in 2024. “I don’t know if that makes anyone uncomfortable, but that’s OK, because I think it’s part of my story. It’s authentic.”
The Bachelorette, Season 22, 2026, ABC
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Season 3, Thursday, November 13, Hulu
