Society

Leila Taylor Reveals She Attempted to Bleach Her Skin at Age 10

Name: Leila Taylor Reveals She Attempted to Bleach Her Skin at Age 10
Uploaded: 2026-06-29T07:21:00+00:00
Description: Taylor disclosed a traumatic childhood experience of attempting to bleach her skin at age 10 while growing up as one of the few Black children in a predominantly white Mormon area in Utah. She described internalizing white beauty standards and believing she needed to lighten her skin to be accepted by peers.

On Purpose with Jay Shetty · Layla Taylor EXCLUSIVE: The Truth She's Finally Ready To Share · June 29, 2026

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Layla Taylor EXCLUSIVE: The Truth She's Finally Ready To Share

"I remember one of my like worst experiences in high school is one night I actually attempted to bleach my skin, which is so sad. That I even did that, but I just thought I had to do all these extremes just to fit in."

Taylor disclosed a traumatic childhood experience of attempting to bleach her skin at age 10 while growing up as one of the few Black children in a predominantly white Mormon area in Utah. She described internalizing white beauty standards and believing she needed to lighten her skin to be accepted by peers.

About this episode

On this episode of On Purpose, host Jay Shetty interviewed Leila Taylor from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives in a groundbreaking conversation where Taylor publicly came out as bisexual for the first time. Taylor revealed she has been dating both men and women, and is currently in a relationship with a woman who initially reached out via Instagram DM. The 25-year-old reality star discussed her journey suppressing her sexuality for years due to lack of queer representation in her predominantly white, Mormon community in Utah. Beyond her coming out, Taylor disclosed harrowing details about her childhood and early adulthood, including attempting to bleach her skin at age 10 to fit in with white peers, converting to Mormonism at 16 seeking family stability, getting pregnant at 19, and entering a toxic marriage she described as manipulative. Following her divorce, Taylor faced severe financial hardship including eviction notices and food insecurity, surviving on $30 weekly grocery budgets while filming the reality show and hiding her struggles from castmates. She also opened up about her ongoing battle with an eating disorder that resurfaced a year ago and is currently in remission. Throughout the conversation, Taylor emphasized using her platform to represent single mothers, Black women, and now openly bisexual women, drawing strength from her two sons to finally live authentically. She expressed hope that her story would help others struggling with similar experiences feel safe to come out.

Key takeaways

Taylor publicly came out as bisexual for the first time, revealing she is currently dating a woman who reached out via DM.
She disclosed attempting to bleach her skin at age 10 due to internalized racism from growing up in a predominantly white Mormon community.
After her divorce, Taylor faced eviction notices and severe food insecurity, buying only $30 in groceries weekly and eating her children's scraps.
Taylor revealed she hid her financial struggles from Secret Lives castmates during filming out of shame and embarrassment.
She converted to Mormonism at 16 seeking family stability and got pregnant at 19, entering what became a manipulative marriage.
Taylor described how Mormon culture teaches sex is primarily for procreation, and she never received sex education in Utah schools.
She emphasized using her platform to represent single mothers, Black women, and bisexual women, hoping to help others feel safe coming out.