Taylor Frankie Paul is defending herself after her baby daddies– ex-husband Tate Paul and ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen— criticized her for allegedly downplaying a series of concerns raised in a recent petition filed by Utah’s Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
On Sunday, Taylor took to social media to address some of the claims made in the filing, while alleging that there is “a lot of false information out there.” While she admitted that she hadn’t read the documents in full, Taylor insisted that she didn’t need to, as she lived through the events personally.
As The Ashley previously reported, Utah’s Attorney General filed a petition last week on behalf of the state’s DCFS to find that ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star’s three children meet the criteria to be declared “abused, neglected or dependent.” DCFS also requested that the court order protective supervision over the children and appoint them a guardian ad litem, with the Attorney General asking for an expedited hearing.
The petition also claims that Dakota– the father of Taylor’s two-year-old son Ever– and Taylor agreed to work together with DCFS in March as part of ongoing domestic violence investigations. Both Dakota and Taylor have had home visits and been interviewed, along with Taylor’s oldest two kids– eight-year-old Indy and five-year-old Ocean, whom she shares with Tate.
After Taylor’s legal team initially played off juvenile court as something that is “a common step for families engaged in highly contentious, complex custody matters,” Dakota and Tate’s lawyer, Chuck Shattuck, argued that the petition filed by DCFS “is not a routine transition to juvenile court or an opportunity for personal growth.”
The dads’ attorney also slammed Taylor and her team for seemingly downplaying the fact that DCFS filed a petition asking a juvenile court take jurisdiction over her kids. Tate and Dakota’s lawyer told TMZ that the two fathers “are deeply concerned that Taylor’s statement minimizes the gravity of the action filed by DCFS and her many underlying actions that prompted such.”
“DCFS has asked the Court to find that the children are abused and has requested an expedited hearing concerning their immediate protection,” the lawyer stated, while noting that both fathers “are grateful that DCFS has taken these concerns seriously and is stepping in to protect the children.”
“They share the serious concern that the family court system, law enforcement, prosecutors, and child-welfare agencies need meaningful coordination necessary to understand the situation and act in a manner most likely to protect the children,” the lawyer’s statement continued. “Serious warning signs went largely unaddressed for far too long, even after the passage of Om’s Law.”
(According to ABC4, Om’s Law is named for Om Moses Gandhi, a 16-year-old boy from Utah who was murdered by his father on Mother’s Day weekend in 2023, during court-ordered, unsupervised parent time.)
In her post from Sunday, Taylor insisted that she knows the truth about the claims made by DCFS, given that she “lived it.”
“Honestly, this is a much [sic] serious matter, so if there’s something way off or misconstrued, that is something I’m taking up with my attorneys, and that will be handled in the courtroom,” Taylor stated.
Taylor then discussed “some facts” regarding the situation, including that she allegedly tried to keep the case “sealed” from the public for her children’s protection, but “was denied from the beginning.”
Taylor also acknowledged that “everything that’s been leaked [in the filing] is a very serious matter” and “it’s very private,” adding that her attorneys are also “taking it seriously” and “looking into it.” (As The Ashley told you last week, a source close to Taylor told TMZ that a lot of what was inside the leaked DCFS filing was left out, including DCFS’s documented concerns about the kids’ fathers, which “are on-record in district court and with law enforcement.”)
Taylor went on to fire back Sunday at those claiming that she hasn’t made much progress throughout the legal proceedings, insisting that she’s actually “made a lot of progress in the courtroom,” as she’s been awarded more time with her Ever.
Taylor told fans that she currently had Ever in her care “for the longest period” of time since Dakota was awarded full custody of the toddler earlier this year, before going on to imply that the timing of the leaked documents was suspicious.
“What are the odds [that] more things were leaked on the very day that I get [Ever] back for five days,” she stated.
As the video continued, Taylor addressed specific allegations in the filing, including her alleged “lack of investment in therapy.” In response, Taylor argued that she’s “a huge advocate for mental health” and claimed that she currently has a certified therapist and a life coach, both of whom help her “immensely.” She also explained that when she previously requested a new therapist, it was because the one she had “simply wasn’t a fit.”
Taylor went on in her video to deny placing parental responsibilities on her daughter Indy, stating that she never “forced or made [her] daughter change diapers,” as the filing alleged.
“If she ever wanted to, I let her,” Taylor claimed. “[She] likes to help, she’s in the phase of, like, mommy’s helper, or wanting to do, like, the diaper bags [and] changing. If that is bad on me, then so be it.”
As for the “outburst” that allegedly occurred while DCFS was performing an at-home visit, Taylor explained that she was emotional at the time and decided to “step outside,” which she believed was the correct thing to do in order to “de-escalate emotions.” She also refuted the claim that she had “stormed out” of her home during the visit, leaving DCFS to “lock up” afterwards.
“I would never leave someone in my home unattended or ask someone to ‘lock up’ if my house locks up itself,” she stated.
Taylor concluded by telling fans that she wasn’t trying to “sway anyone” with her video, but has a “right to stick up for [herself].”
“ … I can confidently say, if you were to put any of my children up on a stand, they are choosing mom and mom’s house every time,” Taylor said. “And I say that with full confidence, because I love my children, they know that I love them.”
Taylor added that she was “at a loss of words” over this experience, calling it “the most difficult thing [she’s] ever, ever been through.” Despite that, she vowed to continue posting content on social media as the process plays out.
“Some people think the best thing is getting offline, but my decision is to show this process and how ugly it is … ,” she said.
Meanwhile, Tate and Dakota’s lawyer claimed that, “despite the myriad of false accusations published online and on social media about them by Taylor and others, Tate and Dakota have chosen not to participate in the often misconstrued social media and other online activity surrounding their cases.”
“They have remained silent to protect their children, not because they have nothing to say,” he continued. “When the time is right, they will tell their story in their own words in the appropriate forum.”
You can watch Taylor’s full video addressing the recent DCFS filing below.
RELATED STORY: Leaked Report: Utah DCFS Urges Juvenile Court to Declare Taylor Frankie Paul’s Kids Abused or Neglected
(Photos: Hulu; Instagram)
5 Responses
Someone needs to take that mess of a woman’s internet away, she can’t be trusted with it. Does she not see how embarrassing it is to be acting like that? A grown arse woman behaving like a tantruming toddler. Pathetic
Only Taylor would think it was wise to do a lame get ready with me video while taking zero accountability and making a mockery of her children and their safety. Pretty stupid to give a big FU to the courts and DCF which is exactly what she is doing.
I forgot to add that Taylor likes to pretend she is the victim. That she is facing false allegations and bravely carrying on as she is suffering.🙄Taylor causes her own suffering and destruction and she continues to do so. If she really wants to see where the blame lies she can just look in the mirror at herself. God knows she is obsessed with staring at herself anyway.
This is mental illness.
even if she’s telling the truth in those two parts of the report, notice how she still didn’t even acknowledge the other more serious parts of the reports regarding her children’s feelings and the fact that they have to comfort her when she’s crashing out, she definitely knows those parts really are bad on her part