The Anticivil: The Divide of MomTok in the Wake of Taylor Frankie Paul's Domestic Abuse

The images I chose to focus on are screenshots from Layla Taylor and Miranda Hope’s Instagram stories–fellow cast members of Taylor Frankie Paul’s on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives–displaying their thoughts on the recent controversy surrounding Paul. While Taylor's is black cursive-like text on a white background, Hope's is white block text against a black background. Both, however, display chunks of text in the center of each screen. Nonetheless, it is clear how simple these posts are; there are no colors, pictures, or funny emojis. In the top right-hand corner of each image, the women’s handles are displayed alongside the blue check mark that notifies viewers of their verified status–of their online popularity and large following. Taylor’s reads, “My personal history as a survivor makes it impossible for me to stay silent. I stand firmly against domestic violence in any form. I am keeping her children in my thoughts, hoping for their safety above all else”, while Hope’s says, “I’ve honestly been a little at a loss for words trying to process this all. Everything has been really heavy to see. Domestic violence and abuse of any kind is something I take very seriously. As a human, and especially a mother, I cannot support that kind of behavior. My heart is with the children in this, and I hope they’re safe, supported, and surrounded by love.” Each story gives the personal opinions of the women without addressing Paul by name. Of course, amid all of the chatter on social media, it is quite obvious who each is referring to, and yet the women distance themselves so much from Paul that they refuse to blatantly address her.

These two Instagram stories follow the recent controversies surrounding Taylor Frankie Paul. A video of Paul committing acts of domestic violence against her boyfriend at the time from 2023 has recently surfaced online, followed by the cancellation of Paul's season of The Bachelorette and the suspension of the newest season of the Mormon wives' popular reality show. Each picture was posted to the two women’s main, verified, Instagram accounts–those that amass a combined 2.4 million followers. That being said, however, they are easily accessed by anyone on the popular app, not just their followers. Paul, Hope, and Taylor have an extensive history with each other from their creation of MomTok, a group of Mormon moms/wives on TikTok that is the focus of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. However, now with the recent media attention on Paul, production has been suspended for the newest season of their collective show. It’s obvious that Hope and Taylor are finding ways to save themselves from public backlash or disapproval for continuing to associate with Paul. These two stories stand as proof of the MomTok divide: those that disavow Paul’s actions in the hope of gaining public approval and those that stand with her. 

The reading from last week, which I chose to focus on, was the excerpts from The Civil Sphere, specifically chapters four and eight, by Jeffrey Alexander. In focusing on chapter four, Alexander focuses on the civil sphere, sharing the binary codes that differentiate those who are ‘civil’ from those deemed ‘anticivil’. It is with these codes that people are organized within society, as the anticivil are labeled as outsiders and distanced from the broader community of the civil sphere. He emphasizes the difference in terminology surrounding these groups, providing a distinction between civil and anticivil relations, motivations, and institutions. He chooses words such as “irrational”, “distorted”, “secretive”, and “hierarchy” to describe the anticivil, while labeling the civil as “autonomous”, “calm”, “critical”, and “rule-regulated”. Alexander argues that the civil “do not wish to include them [the anticivil], protect them, or offer them rights, for they conceive them as being unworthy and amoral, as in some sense ‘uncivilized’” (Alexander, 55). He then goes a step further to suggest that the anticivil is a pollution, a threat to the center of civil society. Alexander argues that the civil sphere is defined by binaries, by a construction of what is correct and what is incorrect, further placing people and institutions into one or the other.

It is clear in these Instagram stories how meticulously Hope and Taylor thought of their approach and terminology. Both clearly distance themselves from Paul, while reinforcing their difference from her as mothers. These two women show their care for Paul’s children, posting phrases such as “my heart is with the children…” and “I am keeping her children in my thoughts…”. They reinforce Paul’s sudden anticivil behavior, saying they ‘stand firmly against’ her actions and the domestic violence. Taylor and Hope both repress Paul from their social group; they publicly disavow her behavior while showing how dissimilar she has become from their pack, labeling her as an outsider. Just as Alexander argues of the civil toward the anticivil, through these stories, Taylor and Hope distance themselves from that which they, and society, have deemed anticivil. It is within the actions of these two women that we see civil tendencies as words like “critical”, “truthful”, and “reasonable” (all civil terminology) come to mind. Instead of defending the woman they have become so close to, Taylor and Hope act truthfully, reasonably, and critically of her actions. Just as Alexander discusses of the anticivil, Paul poses a threat to her friends and co-stars, as the show has already been delayed due to the publicity surrounding the domestic violence. The public statements made by these two women in disapproval of Paul’s actions help to ensure their livelihoods with the public, allowing their careers and popularity to remain unaffected by their co-star’s scandal while pushing Paul farther from their society and group. 

Bibliography

Alexander, Jeffery C. 2006. The Civil Sphere, Capitalized. New York: Oxford University Press.

Layla, Taylor. March 20, 2026. From TODAY.com. Retrieved March 28, 2026 (https://www.today.com/popculture/news/mormon-wives-react-taylor-frankie-paul-controversy-rcna264498). 

Miranda, Hope. March 21, 2026. From TODAY.com. Retrieved March 30, 2026 (https://www.today.com/popculture/news/mormon-wives-react-taylor-frankie-paul-controversy-rcna264498).