A March 5 audio message. A court hearing. A roommate who hinted it was coming. And a woman who says she was under a spell she has since broken free from.
On May 1, 2026, TMZ published a voice memo that “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Jessi Draper sent to Dakota Mortensen on March 5 — two months before it dropped publicly and amid a situation that has since moved from Instagram comments to a Utah courtroom. The memo is three minutes long. The fallout is still unfolding.
Here is the complete breakdown of everything that happened, in order.
The Background
To understand why the voice memo matters, the timeline needs to be clear.
In February 2026, Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen were involved in a new domestic violence incident, prompting production on SLOMW Season 5 to pause.
In mid-March, TMZ published a video from 2023 showing Taylor throwing a barstool at Dakota while one of her children was heard crying in the background — a video that had never previously been public.
Days after the video dropped, ABC pulled Taylor’s season of “The Bachelorette” just before its planned March 22 premiere.
Taylor had previously pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault in connection with the 2023 incident, with other charges dropped. The Salt Lake County DA’s office later declined to file charges related to the 2026 incident.
By April 30, Taylor and Dakota were in a Utah courtroom for a hearing over clashing protective orders and custody of their son. The judge issued mutual protective orders requiring both to stay 100 feet apart, left supervision orders in place pending further review, and told them directly: “I’m hoping that you’re not people who just thrive on the drama and the conflict. You’ve got to put your child first.”
Jessi Draper had filed a declaration in support of Taylor ahead of that hearing. Then, the night of May 1, TMZ dropped the audio that showed a very different Jessi Draper two months earlier.
What Jessi Draper’s Voice Memo Says
The memo was sent March 5 — the same day, according to court filings, that Dakota filed his amended request for a protective order. It was sent to Dakota Mortensen and obtained by TMZ, which published it on May 1.
In the audio, Jessi tells Dakota that the cast is aligned in not publicly supporting Taylor during the “Bachelorette” situation. She says they all feel “uneasy” about it coming out given that they know the “truth” about Taylor. She accuses production and management of “gaslighting the f—k out of us” — telling the cast things like Taylor is “the victim” and Dakota is lying, while the cast is not buying it.
She says the group, as parents, collectively believes the situation is “dangerous” and that a lack of accountability from Taylor would be harmful. She singles out Mikayla Matthews as being “the most vocal” about wanting to see footage of Taylor being violent — and asks Dakota to share videos with the cast so they can defend him on camera. She says she thinks production is trying to “spin a story” to protect Taylor and the show, and that she doesn’t think the cast is falling for it.
Then the memo ends with a pivot that makes the whole thing genuinely complicated. “I love Taylor, and I’m just sad it’s gotten to this point. But I think something has to happen for her to learn some lessons. And I hope this is helping you too. I know it’s probably really hard. At the end of the day, no one wins. Everyone is in pain, everyone is hurting and the kids are hurting.” She closes with “no one wins.”
The Cru Eaton Moment
Before TMZ published the audio, something interesting happened. Dakota’s roommate Cru Eaton — the same person who appears in Jessi’s court declaration — dropped a hint on social media that “interesting” voice notes existed. The implication was clear enough that Jessi responded before the audio was even public.
Her initial reaction was flat denial: “I have never sent Dakota or Cru a voice memo about this situation so if they have anything, it’s them recording me without knowing, which seems to be the go-to move.” Then, in a follow-up comment, she walked it back slightly — suggesting she had been on Dakota’s side at some point but had since changed: “These men will do anything to take women down. Taylor knows full well I was under Dakota and Jordan’s spell for a while before I finally broke free and saw the truth.”
The sequence is notable. Jessi denied sending a memo. Cru hinted one existed. TMZ published it. The denial became untenable and the explanation shifted.
Jessi’s Full Explanation
After the audio dropped, Jessi posted a video to Instagram Stories explaining the context. Her explanation had several distinct components that most coverage has not fully connected.
First, she said the memo was sent at the beginning of filming Season 5, when she and Taylor were not on good terms.
Second, she said Dakota had shown her and the rest of the cast videos of his and Taylor’s disputes — and that the cast was genuinely concerned based on what they saw and heard. “Yes, at the time, me and the girls were frustrated with Taylor’s behavior,” she said. “We were concerned because of these videos — you guys have seen one of them — and the things we heard that you have now heard discussed in court were worrisome. So yes, I was under that spell. I did believe it all.”
Third, she said she does not remember sending the memo but that it does not reflect how she feels now. Fourth, and most significantly for the larger story: she explicitly connected her position at the time to her relationship with Jordan Ngatikaura — her now-estranged husband, who was best friends with Dakota and whom she has since described as abusive. She said she always felt pressured to take Dakota’s side because of Jordan.
Since breaking free from that dynamic, she says, she has seen the truth. She and Taylor have become best friends. Season 5 of “SLOMW” will provide necessary context for how everyone was feeling when she sent the memo — though fans will not hear that side of the story until the next season drops.
Taylor responded publicly, praising Jessi for “speaking truth even when difficult.”
What Jessi Told the Court
Here’s the detail that separates this story from a simple “she said one thing and now says another” narrative — and the reason the voice memo dropping the same day as the court hearing is not a coincidence.
In her declaration filed ahead of the April 30 hearing, Jessi said she came home one day in March to find Dakota in the basement of her own home, speaking with her husband Jordan and Dakota’s roommate Cru. She said Dakota was “very animated,” venting about how the police were not doing anything. According to Taylor’s attorney Eric Swinyard, who cited Jessi’s declaration in court: “He told Jessi that he was going to take matters into his own hands to embarrass Taylor.
He specifically told Ms. Draper that he planned on leaking embarrassing videos of Taylor to the press, starting with the barstool video. Dakota specifically named TMZ as the outlet. And a few days later, that exact video was released by TMZ.”
Swinyard used this to argue that Dakota’s behavior in the lead-up to the video leak “contradicts how he is attempting to portray himself today.” He said Dakota was not just seeking custody or a protective order — he wanted to “literally destroy” Taylor. “He wants to subject her and her family to a new round of torment.”
Dakota’s attorney denied Jessi’s claims about the alleged conversation in the basement.
The Layers Nobody Is Fully Connecting
Most coverage has treated the voice memo and the court declaration as two separate stories. They are not.
Jessi sent a voice memo to Dakota on March 5 telling him the cast would not publicly support Taylor and asking him to share violent footage. Days later, she allegedly walked in on Dakota, Cru, and Jordan in her own basement planning to leak the barstool video to TMZ. The video dropped. The Bachelorette got canceled. Production paused. By the time the court hearing arrived on April 30, Jessi had filed a declaration against Dakota. Then Cru hinted at the voice memo. Then TMZ dropped it. Then Jessi had to explain the memo the same day her declaration was being cited in court.
The “Jordan’s spell” framing Jessi uses in her explanation is directly relevant here — Jordan was in that basement with Dakota and Cru on the day she alleges the TMZ leak was being planned. The abusive ex and the roommate who hinted at the voice notes are connected to each other and to the same moment Jessi says changed everything for her.
Where Things Stand
The judge issued mutual protective orders. The supervision order over Dakota’s time with their son remains in place pending further review. Dakota’s attorney has denied the claims about leaking the video. Taylor has publicly thanked Jessi. Jessi has said Season 5 will explain the full picture. Mikayla Matthews has not commented publicly on being named in the audio as the cast member “most vocal” about wanting to see footage. Production has not commented on the gaslighting allegations.
The voice memo is real. The court declaration is real. The connection between the two is the part of this story that is still being fully told — and Jessi says the show will eventually tell it.
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” Season 5 does not yet have a premiere date on Hulu.
Read next:
- The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 5 Resumes Filming
- Domestic Violence Charges Dropped Against Taylor Frankie Paul
- Dakota Mortensen Speaks Out After Charges Dropped
- Taylor Frankie Paul Reveals PTSD Diagnosis
- Did Marciano Just Confirm He & Jessi Draper Are Dating?
For more Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, click here.
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