The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jace Terry is finally addressing his and wife Mikayla Matthews‘ age gap — by throwing shade at Taylor Frankie Paul‘s arrest.
Jace, 30, took to TikTok on Monday, March 23, to reply to a comment which read, “I’m sorry but did you not get a 16 year old pregnant when you were 21 and is that not child ab*se.”
The social media user followed up with another response calling the “context” of Jace and Mikayla’s relationship “worse,” adding, “Because he also knew her for like a month at that point.”
Jace, for his part, replied: “Yeah I had met her like 3 times over the span of a month. Barely knew her, and still didn’t hit her over the head with a metal chair. But still what I did was absolutely wrong.”
The couple, who share four kids, started dating after Mikayla, now 25, left home at 15 years old. She got pregnant at 16 when Jace was 21 years old. Since joining the cast of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Jace and Mikayla have largely chosen not to address the details surrounding the early days of their relationship.
Earlier this month, season 4 of the hit Hulu series surprised viewers when Mikayla confirmed she is currently separated from Jace.
“I mean, we’re filming now, obviously, so I can’t give too much away,” Mikayla exclusively told Us Weekly about the state of her marriage. “I’m having to figure out, is it my house that’s making me sick? Is it Utah that’s making me sick? And so I feel like there’s a lot of that frustration that’s weighing on me right now, like, a lot of anxiety and stress that way of, ‘OK, do I have to remove myself from my home, from my marriage, from the state? Like, what do I have to do to heal myself?’ I think that’s still something that I’m still very much in the thick of.”
Jace’s comment, however, didn’t just address his and Mikayla’s relationship. His mention of a thrown chair is seemingly a reference to Taylor’s 2023 arrest. Newly leaked footage shows her throwing metal barstools at ex Dakota Mortensen before one seemingly hits her and ex-husband Tate Paul‘s daughter. The arrest originally made headlines in 2023 when Taylor, 31, was charged with aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury and criminal mischief after the incident.
Taylor pleaded guilty in August 2023 to aggravated assault, while the other four charges were dismissed with prejudice. She reached a plea deal the following month. In the aftermath of the resurfaced footage, ABC ultimately canceled season 22 of The Bachelorette, which was set to follow Taylor’s quest for love.
A Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson told Us on Thursday, March 19, “In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.”
Taylor also released a statement addressing the scandal.
“Taylor is very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security,” a rep for Taylor said on Thursday. “After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm.”
The statement continued, “There are too many women who are suffering in silence as they survive aggressive, jealous ex-partners who refuse to let them move on with their lives. Taylor has remained silent out of fear of further abuse, retaliation and public shaming. She is currently exploring all of her options, seeking support and preparing to own and share her story.”
In the aftermath of the resurfaced footage, Dakota filed a temporary restraining order against Taylor and requested sole custody of their 2-year-old son, Ever. He was granted both until their new court hearing in April.
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