The “soft-swinging” scandal that went on to launch Hulu’s ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ is back in the news this week, despite the infamous incident going public more than four years ago, thanks to Taylor Frankie Paul‘s mom’s online feud with Taylor’s ex-husband Tate Paul!
As you may know, controversial ‘Mormon Wives’ star and OG member of “MomTok” Taylor announced her divorce from Tate in 2022. After rumors began circulating at the time that Taylor had cheated on Tate– the father of her two eldest children– Taylor revealed on TikTok Live that she and Tate had been “soft swinging” with their friends, who were “all intimate with each other.”
Taylor explained that she and Tate, along with the other soft swingers, would not hookup with other people unless their spouse was present, though she admitted that she “did step out of that agreement” on one occasion with a man in the group whom she’d begun to have feelings for. The soft-swinging situation exploded on social media and ultimately ended several marriages, including Taylor and Tate’s.
Another union that came to an end as a direct result of the soft-swinging arrangement was Taylor’s (now former) friend McKenna “Kenna” Gibbons’ marriage to Brayden Rowley. While Kenna previously opened up about Brayden and Taylor’s inappropriate connection back in 2024, she took to TikTok over the weekend to share more about the scandal, while also accusing Taylor and Brayden of engaging in a “full-blown affair” behind her back.
After catching wind of Kenna’s version of the soft-swinging scandal, Taylor’s mom, Liann May, took to Instagram to fire off a response, which she began by asking Kenna what she expected to happen when she and the others involved (including Taylor) “decided to swing with each other.”
“ALL of you cheated!” Liann wrote. “You were ALL to blame! NONE of you were innocent in this.”
Although Taylor’s mom Liann insisted that all parties were to blame for what happened, she went on to single out Kenna’s ex-husband Brayden, as well as Taylor’s ex-husband Tate, citing a specific incident that allegedly happened during a night of drinking.
“As for Brayden, he totally took advantage of Taylor, she was blacked out drunk, and didn’t remember even consenting to having sex, regardless of them talking & liking each other before,” she wrote. “That’s a sex crime in its self [sic]. As for Tate knowing she was so intoxicated and letting his wife and mother of his kids go off with a man that she wasn’t capable of making any kind of decisions regardless if she wanted to or not is irrelevant and so irresponsible, but then again any man that has the ‘IDEA of swinging,’ that’s to be expected.”
Liann then argued that, just because Kenna and Tate didn’t engage in an emotional affair while soft-swinging, they still “participated [in] inappropriate acts.” She added that the only “truly innocent” people in the situation are the kids of those who participated, who’ve “paid the price” for their parents’ “bad decisions.”
On Sunday, Tate posted (and later deleted) a response to Liann’s comment, while reminding followers that he has mostly stayed quiet on this topic “out of protection of [his] children.” While addressing Liann directly, Tate insisted that, on the night that Taylor and Brayden’s affair was discovered, he called Taylor multiple times, but she refused to come home as she was “venting to her friend” at the time. Tate argued that he “had no choice but to respect her request.” While he was at home with his and Taylor’s kids that night, Tate received a call around midnight from Kenna, who informed him that she could not get in contact with Brayden or Taylor.
“I had no idea [Taylor] invited [Brayden] over to her friend’s house btw,” Tate told his former mother-in-law. “I had to bring my sleepy kids to McKenna’s house so I could find your daughter.”
Tate claimed that by the time he and Kenna located Brayden and Taylor, Taylor “had sobered up,” but didn’t want to discuss what had happened that night. He went on to claim that while Taylor ended up “confessing to the affair” the following day, she only did so because Kenna discovered Taylor and Brayden’s text history on Brayden’s laptop, which “confirmed everything these two were up to.”
“The night I learned about the affair I was in the kitchen sobbing while Taylor sat on the stairs stoically staring at me,” Tate claimed. “I was expressing my feelings of anger and betrayal. She looked at me while I was crying and grinned and said, ‘Do you want me to tell you more?’”
Tate said that Taylor proceeded to give “very hurtful graphic details” of what went on between her and Brayden, which she allegedly revealed to him “with excitement.”
As for Liann accusing him of being the one who presented the idea of swinging to Taylor, Tate insisted that he and Taylor “weren’t swingers,” and that Taylor was actually the one who wanted an “open relationship.”
“It wasn’t planned or my idea to do that,” Tate claimed. “In fact I pretended to be sick the first time your daughter asked to do it.”
While Tate acknowledged that he “could have been a better husband and family leader,” he reminded Liann that he has already addressed and learned from his mistakes. He also criticized Liann for publicly speaking about something in which she wasn’t involved.
“Get your facts straight before you publicly claim nefarious dishonest accusations to excuse your daughter’s mistakes,” he wrote. “Maybe plow your energy and time towards the health of your family and marriage rather than spreading misinformation online to protect your daughter’s image at the expense of others.”
Liann went on to fire back at Tate’s remarks, accusing him of downplaying his role in the swinging scandal and denying that she was “making excuses for Taylor’s mistakes.”
“She was totally in the wrong, and she’s still paying the price for it,” Liann wrote, as reported by People. “But all of you played a part in it too.”
In the comments, ‘Mormon Wives’ star Miranda Hope and her ex-husband Chase McWhorter– who were also involved in the soft-swinging scandal– commended Tate for “speaking up and sharing what really happened.”
“Prayers up for Taylor who has to deal with Liann on top of everything else,” Chase added.
On Monday, Taylor seemingly chimed in on the soft-swinging squabble by posting an AI-generated image of herself standing in front of a burning city.
“My life the last 6 months not enough soldiers I guess,” the image read. “Anything else from anyone? I know I’m still standing and that’s bothersome.”
In the caption of her post, Taylor wrote, “it never ends.”
“Everyday is someone new coming through,” she continued. “I’m shocked I haven’t fallen honestly.”
As you may know, while Taylor and Tate maintained a seemingly civil co-parenting relationship following their divorce, things have since taken a turn. In July, Tate and Dakota Mortensen– Taylor’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her youngest child– criticized Taylor for allegedly downplaying a series of concerns raised in a petition filed by Utah’s Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
You can watch Kenna’s TikTok below.
@kenna.gibbons Here’s the thing, I definitely recognize that the decisions that were being made by myself and by the group weren’t great. However, I will forever stand by that I didn’t deserve to be cheated on. I didn’t deserve to have a friend and my husband going behind my back. I also didn’t deserve to be made the issue in the situation. In the end I am grateful for where I am at NOW so I wouldn’t change anything, but that doesn’t mean it was easy to get through or that I wish it upon anyone else. If you have been cheated on, just know it is not your fault and it is their issue to work through with themselves.
RELATED STORY: Taylor Frankie Paul Defends Herself After Baby Daddies Criticize Her for Not Taking DCFS’ “Abused/Neglected Children” Filing Seriously
(Photos: Instagram; Hulu; TikTok)
