The Taylor Frankie Paul of It All

About this episode

Kate discusses the implications of reality TV on personal trauma with guest Sam Dalton.

This week, Kate is breaking her hiatus for a special report recorded before Thursday's news that ABC was scrapping TFP's season of The Bachelorette. Ultimately, she decided this episode was still a relevant conversation to have, given that she and her guest (Sam Dalton, LCSW @sam.the.therapistt) talked through the systems and cycles that made this week's fallout unsurprising long before the video leaked. Together, they unpack the rose colored glass ceiling of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, where women perform rebellion without ever actually leaving the structures that constrain them. They discuss how ABC and Hulu built a cross-platform content pipeline on top of a woman's unresolved trauma, why the show's premise was always rooted in Taylor's reactivity, the pattern of Dakota's strategic sabotage, what it means when healing requires the opposite of what reality TV rewards, and the uncomfortable question of why so many of us, Kate included, glossed over a 2023 aggravated assault charge that was packaged as the starting point of a redemption arc. Content note: this episode discusses domestic violence, child abuse allegations, and toxic relationship dynamics. SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS…

People in this episode

Host: Kate Kennedy

Guest: Sam Dalton

Topics covered

• domestic violence
• reality TV
• Mormon culture
• trauma
• redemption arcs
• toxic relationships

Keywords

• Taylor Frankie Paul
• domestic violence
• reality TV
• Mormon Wives
• redemption
• trauma
• Bachelorette
• toxic dynamics

Sponsors

Liquid I.V.

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ABC, Hulu

Products: One in a Millennial

Books & works: Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, The Bachelorette

More episodes of Be There in Five

• 1998 (feat. Caroline Moss) · May 8, 2026 · 2h 6m
• DZ: Discovery Zone (BTI5 Live Practice) · April 26, 2026 · 1h 8m
• Yesteryear with Caro Claire Burke | Trad Wives, Secret Lives & Twist Ending (Spoilers) · April 9, 2026 · 2h 7m
• Taylor Swift Lyrics that Scratch Your Brain (Reprise) · March 8, 2026 · 1h 31m
• Mama's Back at the Lake (Director's Cut feat. Caroline Moss) · February 22, 2026 · 1h 58m
• Mother, Son, and the Aioli Spirit (Director's Cut) · February 9, 2026 · 1h 53m