Taylor Frankie Paul apparently slept with Dakota Mortensen the night before she left to film The Bachelorette and almost didn't do the show.

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On the Season 4 finale of Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Taylor, the 31-year-old #MomTok founder, felt "completely f-cked" and "empty" after finding out Dakota had hooked up with Miranda Hope's close friend, Shinia Powell.

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"This is not the headspace I wanted to be walking into The Bachelorette. I think it was very deliberate," Taylor said in a confessional.

"I mean, Dakota knew what this would do. He's not f-cking stupid. It sucks... There's a part of me that even wonders if I'm capable of doing this, given the recent events. And then there's another part of me that's like, 'Well, you already said you're going to do it, so you need to do it. So pull through.'"

After Taylor was shown packing clothes for her The Bachelorette journey, Dakota stopped by her house in Salt Lake City, UT, with their son, Ever True, who was born in March 2024.

(Taylor is also mom to daughter, Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, with her ex-husband Tate Paul.)

"This is Taylor's last night before she flies out to do The Bachelorette, and I'm just dropping Ever off. This is kind of the last... time we're seeing each other before she goes away. And yeah, it kind of feels surreal," Dakota said in a confessional.

"There's part of me that obviously, I want to go over there because she's leaving and I'm not going to talk to her for, I think, two months. So yeah, I'd be lying if I didn't think there was a piece of me that just kind of wanted to go, I don't know, see her, be with her, like, possibly for the last time. I don't know."

The next morning, Dakota was filmed walking out of Taylor's house only four hours before her flight to Los Angeles, CA, was scheduled to depart.

When producers asked Dakota what happened with Taylor the previous night, Dakota paused, smiled, and said, "umm."

Dakota awkwardly laughed as he drove off, and then two hours later, Taylor seemed to be frazzled and running late.

Taylor's mother Liann and sister Aspen went to Taylor's house to pick her up, but she wasn't ready.

"She is still in bed and she is not feeling well," Liann explained to the cameras, adding how Taylor was still sleeping when they were supposed to be leaving in a couple of minutes.

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Taylor's Aunt Tara then walked outside to inform Liann and Aspen that Taylor felt sick.

"She said she can't get on a plane and that you guys can go and she'll just have to meet you there," Tara revealed. "She said, 'There's no way I can get up right now and go.'"

Liann, who was admittedly frustrated and called the situation "ridiculous," feared Taylor was going to skip The Bachelorette opportunity entirely.

"I don't want her to blow this opportunity to find possibly find love and also to get on with her life," Liann told the cameras.

Liann and Aspen therefore left Taylor's house with her kids, and they hoped to see Taylor in California that evening.

Meanwhile, a group of #MomTok stars  had assembled at the airport to give Taylor a sweet sendoff. Jessi Ngatikaura and Mayci Neeley, for example, were cheering for Taylor with big signs in their hands.

While the women were excited for Taylor, Jessi heard through the grapevine that Dakota and Taylor had slept together the night prior.

"Was she with Dakota last night again?" Mikayla Matthews asked.

"Yes, 100 percent," Jessi replied. "She was with Dakota last night, and so I'm genuinely stressed she told him, like, 'I'll stay for you!'"

Jessi proceeded to tell the cameras, "This morning, Jordan heard from Dakota that Taylor slept with Dakota again last night."

Mayci then shares, "Jessi tells us that Jordan told her that Dakota slept with Taylor last night."

Mikayla admitted she was so disappointed in Taylor, adding, "Just when we're like, 'Yes, she sees it. She sees her worth. She's going to The Bachelorette. She's ready to start this new journey. We're so excited for her,' she's back sleeping with Dakota again."

And Layla Taylor pointed out how it was not "a smart move" for Taylor to do right before The Bachelorette.

"To be frank, if I was one of these guys and I found out that she F'd her baby daddy the day before meeting me, I would be extremely upset and pissed," Layla confessed.

Mayci then accused of Dakota of being "desperate" and trying to pull out all the stops to keep Taylor home with him.

"I'm shocked, but I'm not shocked at the same time. I'm just tired. I'm so over this," Mayci lamented.

Once Liann and Aspen arrived at the airport in Salt Lake City, they came across Taylor's supportive friends.

"She's not coming!" Aspen shouted of Taylor.

"You're joking! I've heard about this! Is it because of Dakota?" Jessi asked.

Liann apparently had no idea what Jessi was talking about.

When the group informed Liann that Taylor had slept with Dakota the night before, Liann appeared disgusted and flabbergasted.

"No sir, you guys are freaking kidding me!" Liann said, before adding, "It makes me actually sick that she would put this whole deal in jeopardy."

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Jessi said Taylor couldn't be extremely mad at Shinia and then give Dakota a pass.

After the ladies joked about ABC needing a backup plan for The Bachelorette, Liann and Aspen checked in for their flight.

"Taylor not showing up at the airport is not only a bad sign for her and her journey on The Bachelorette, but also for MomTok, if she's going to choose Dakota, who's been kind of ruining her life the last three years over something that is a fresh start," Mayci said.

"All of us in MomTok, we've all tried so hard to help her, and we've all been there for her, but I think it backfired for her."

The group of #MomTok women then headed over to Taylor's house to drag her to the airport. Jessi admitted Taylor was addicted to Dakota and their toxic cycle had to come to an end.

Once the women reunited with Taylor, Taylor -- who was only "half-packed" for her trip -- said she felt "so sick" and no one would leave her alone.

When asked why she wasn't on the plane, Taylor replied, "I'm so sick! Why won't anyone leave me alone?!"

Taylor's friends said she never should've said "yes" to The Bachelorette if she was unwell.

"I'm feeling definitely sick, exhausted, drained," Taylor noted. "My friends want the best for me, and they're in my house, trying to get me to go. And I really appreciate it. I'm just to a point that's so low that I don't even want them to help me."

Jessi complained about how the girls had woken up at 6AM to be there for her and it wasn't cool how she had sent her family and kids to L.A. without her.

Taylor, however, eventually left for L.A. and hopped on a later flight.

"I think if I don't take this step, I do stay stagnant in where I'm at. This is not only an opportunity for finding someone. This is an opportunity to get away from the toxicity I am in here, and I want out of it," Taylor explained in a confessional.

Once Taylor landed in California, Dakota FaceTimed with her and apologized for hooking up with Shinia. He also mentioned how she knew they still loved each other.

Taylor said The Bachelorette was going to be "the best break for them" to heal and stop their toxic cycle.

"I'm happy for you, and if you do find somebody, that's great. But all I'm going to say is, 'Save a rose for me,' okay?" Dakota asked.

"Aww," Taylor replied.

Dakota asked Taylor to admit that she still loved him, and she replied, "I love you and I hate you."

Taylor told the cameras that she needed to move on and The Bachelorette would be an opportunity to get away from Dakota.

"Save me a rose!" Dakota reiterated.

"Hmm," Taylor murmured with a smile before hanging up the phone.

The episode concluded with Dakota talking to Jessi and Jordan at Jessi's annual Halloween party, hinting that Taylor might be pregnant with his child.

"It's been kind of freaking me out a little bit, but Taylor told me the last time that we did it, that she was like ovulating," Dakota began.

"Taylor, randomly in bed, she goes, 'I haven't had my period yet,' and I'm like, 'What, from when?' And then she told me, and I was like, 'Whoa, hang on. Okay!'"

Earlier in the season, Taylor and Dakota had hooked up during a trip to Los Angeles.

"Is she going to be a pregnant Bachelorette?!" Jessi asked.

"[Producers] took her damn phone before I could ask her and say, 'Hey, have you started your period or what's going on here?'" Dakota revealed.

Dakota then recalled how Taylor had been acting emotional and feeling sick off and on.

"Dakota, this is so bad!" Jessi said.

"But I just don't know anything," Dakota confirmed.

Jessi said if ABC found out Taylor was pregnant, they probably wouldn't let her lead the season.

"I'm scared she's pregnant," Dakota concluded.

The episode ended with a producer asking Taylor if there was a possibility she could be pregnant.

Taylor pressed her lips together and didn't say a word.

The Bachelorette's 22nd season premieres Sunday, March 22 at 8PM ET/PT.

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