Mikayla Matthews Announces She’s Donating a Portion of Her The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Salary After Sudden Departure
Matthews announced that she was departing the hit reality series on Sept. 14
NEED TO KNOW
- Mikayla Matthews announced her exit from season 6 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Sept. 14
- Matthews later clarified in an Instagram Stories post that she was leaving because Taylor Frankie Paul would resume filming with the cast
- Sources previously told PEOPLE that Paul was invited back for season 6, which has reportedly already begun filming
Mikayla Matthews is doing what feels right to her.
After announcing her shocking departure from season 6 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives earlier this week, the 26-year-old mom of four shared her intention to make a charitable donation using money she made working on the reality series.
Matthews posted two photos of herself as a child to Instagram on Thursday, Sept. 17, elaborating on her decision in the caption. She wrote, “This little girl is a huge part of why this whole situation has mattered so much to me and why I haven’t been able to stay silent about it and will never stop talking about it❤️🩹.”
“When I said there’s no amount of money worth changing my stance on all of this, I meant it. So I will be donating the money I would have made from the rest of the season to the National Children’s Alliance, which supports children and families affected by multiple forms of child abuse,” Matthews announced.
“It’s more for me personally than leaving something I didn’t feel right being a part of. It’s about using the money I’m willing to lose to support something I deeply care about and has affected every part of my life to this day,” she continued. “I meant what I said, and I want my actions to reflect it and continue to reflect it❤️.”
Costar Layla Taylor commented with a clapping emoji, while stars of the upcoming spinoff series, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County, also showed support for Matthews.
“Love this so much ❤️,” McCall DaPron wrote. “So powerful 💕,” Chandler Higginson added.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE about the donation, Laura Turner, Director of Development and Strategic Initiatives for the National Children’s Alliance, said, “We are so grateful to Mikayla for using her platform to support our mission of helping children recover from abuse. Her support helps the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers across the country, but her message also inspired fans to do the same. Its remarkable what people can do when they point their goodwill in the same direction.”
Matthews’ journey coming to terms with and recovering from her own childhood abuse trauma has been central to her storyline throughout The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. She first came forward as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse in the show’s second season. In a May 2025 appearance on The Squeeze podcast, Matthews claimed that there were “three different people” who abused her at different times. She said the abuse started when she was six and continued until she was 15.
The MomToker announced her exit from the series on Monday, Sept. 14. The following day, she made it clear that “The ONLY reason I’m leaving the show is because I was told a certain person was coming back,” seemingly referring to costar Taylor Frankie Paul.
In an Instagram Stories post, she explained, “I told [production] before agreeing to do [season] 6 that I wasn’t going to film if that certain someone came back. Because it’s UNETHICAL and kids are involved.”
Matthews went on to say she had “seen and heard” things that “I don’t agree with” beyond “the barstool video everyone else saw”—an apparent reference to a clip that leaked in March of Paul throwing a chair at her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, with a child nearby from 2023.
“I filmed [season] 6 cause that person was not there… Then we were told she was coming back,” Matthews continued in her post. “I said great, then I will not be participating, god bless and goodbye, haven’t filmed a day since.”
Matthews shared her intentions to fulfill her “contractual obligations,” but said she will not participate beyond that. Hulu has not commented to PEOPLE on Matthews’s departure.
A rep for Paul did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. An exclusive source close to Paul told PEOPLE, “She’s focused on continuing to move forward. Coming back will allow her to do that. She can’t control the choices other people make.”
The most recent season of Mormon Wives featured footage from the days and weeks leading up to a domestic violence investigation involving Paul and Mortensen. In March 2026, Hulu halted production amid the police investigations, though the cast later returned to tape confessionals for the 5-episode season.
