Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen are speaking out about the ongoing domestic assault investigation they’re involved in, just days before Taylor is set to make her debut as the Season 22 Bachelorette.
As The Ashley told you earlier this week, production on Season 5 of ‘Mormon Wives’ has been halted in response to an alleged incident that occurred in February between Taylor and Dakota, who are parents to (almost) two-year-old son Ever. (Taylor also shares two children with her ex-husband, Tate Paul.)
The Draper City Police Department in Utah noted this week that while a “domestic assault investigation” is open, “allegations have been made in both directions.”
While promoting Season 22 of ‘The Bachelorette’ on Wednesday, Taylor told Good Morning America that the recent headlines about the alleged incident between her and her ex have been difficult to see.
“It’s hard to see past this, I’m not gonna lie,” Taylor said. “In this moment, it’s just so heavy. When your life is broadcasted out there in these headlines, it’s like the end of the world, that’s what it feels like, I’m not going to lie.”
Taylor also told the outlet that while she wanted to keep her and Dakota’s legal issues out of the public eye, Dakota didn’t want the same. (Taylor claimed that she “took action” a few weeks ago and a third-party is currently facilitating all pick-ups/drop-offs and communication between her and Dakota regarding their son.)
“ … I didn’t want to bring anything to the public eye, making it a bigger deal for the sake of my son, and just everything about to come out,” Taylor said. “But that wasn’t the plan for [Dakota].”
Meanwhile, Dakota broke his silence on the alleged incident Wednesday, with a rep for the ‘Mormon Wives’ dad telling Entertainment Weekly that Dakota’s priority is protecting his and Taylor’s son. The rep also insisted that Dakota was not responsible for the situation with his ex going public.
“He knew there was a possibility it could come out, but he was not going to be the one to proactively do that because he has always wanted a decent relationship with Taylor,” they claimed. “It’s been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to co-parent well.
“He was just hoping that if he says nothing, as he usually does, it would go away,” the rep continued. “He’s never done any kind of sit-down interview about his side, he just kind of lets it all happen to him, and I think he realizes with the severity of everything now that he can’t just do that.”
In addition to Taylor and Dakota speaking out about the alleged incident this week, it was reported that, during filming on the ‘Mormon Wives’ Season 3 reunion, Dakota accused Taylor of being abusive towards him, though his allegations were ultimately cut from the episode. A source connected to the Hulu series recalled the exchange to TMZ, while a separate production source allegedly told the outlet that both Taylor and Dakota launched physical abuse allegations against each other at the time.
The production source also claimed that the unaired exchange between the exes occurred on-stage in the presence of production, as well as Disney and Hulu executives. (As you know, Taylor was previously arrested in 2023 for alleged domestic violence following an argument between herself and Dakota; she pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault, while the other charges she was facing have been dismissed.)
While the alleged reunion confrontation was never seen by viewers, two of Taylor’s ‘Mormon Wives’ castmates, Mikayla Matthews and Mayci Neeley, acknowledged Taylor and Dakota’s toxic track record on a recent episode of the Comments by Celebs podcast.
Despite the episode being recorded prior to the latest Taylor/Dakota news breaking, Mikayla blamed some of Taylor’s Season 4 behavior on the fact that “she’s not healed.” Mikayla also insisted that she and other cast members supported Taylor’s ‘Bachelorette’ stint, as they hoped it would help her move on from her ex.
“ … Like, have this opportunity, get your healing, be happy,” Mikayla said. “And for her, it’s like she’s still stuck in this toxic cycle with Dakota.”
Season 4 of ‘Mormon Wives’ is currently streaming on Hulu. Season 22 of ‘The Bachelorette’ premieres Monday on ABC.
Watch a clip from Taylor’s ‘GMA’ interview below.
(Photos: Hulu; Instagram; YouTube)
