The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul and the father of her two-year-old son were ordered on Thursday to stay 30 metres (100 feet) away from each other for the next three years as a Utah court commissioner continues to assess custody plans for the child.
Both Paul, 31, and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, whose on-and-off relationship has been a major storyline on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, asked a Utah court to turn short-term protective orders into long-term arrangements as the two have accused each other of domestic violence.
Third District Court Commissioner Russell Minas described the former couple’s dynamic as “very toxic” before granting Paul and Mortensen’s duelling requests for protective orders against each other.
Minas found that “there’s been violence that occurred both ways between these parties” during the livestreamed court hearing on Thursday.
He urged Paul and Mortensen, 33, to figure out how to function as co-parents for their two-year-old son, Ever.
“I’m hoping that you’re not people who just thrive on the drama and the conflict,” Minas said. “You’ve got to put your child first and shield the child from this conflict.”
“There seems to be a continuing attraction that they have for each other. Whether it’s physical, whether it’s the thrill of the two of them being a part of making themselves celebrities, there seems to be this attraction,” Minas said. “The problem is that the two of them can’t be together in the same place at the same time before it starts to turn violent.”
Violations of the protective orders could result in criminal charges, the hearing revealed.
“You have to figure out how to function as co-parents. This has been dysfunctional. This is a lifelong proposition between the two of you. You’re linked together for the remainder of your lives,” Minas added.
In a statement to Global News following the court hearing, Paul’s lawyer Eric M. Swinyard said, “Today’s hearing was a significant step forward as the Court entered protective orders requiring that Taylor’s ex-partner stays far away from her.”
“Taylor was incredibly candid with the Court that she is not perfect and owned her faults, which is in direct contrast to how the other party presented their argument, despite evidence and input from law enforcement that showed otherwise,” Swinyard continued. “Taylor feels solidarity with the many survivors who have endured similar hardships behind closed doors and shared only part of their stories, and she remains grateful for the outpouring of support she continues to receive.
“She looks forward to continuing to cooperate with the Court to make progress in the custody case.”
Global News has reached out to Mortensen’s representative for comment, but has not received a response.
Leaked video of fight between Paul and Mortensen
Eleven fights between the exes were under examination in their protective order requests. A recently leaked video of one fight from 2023 prompted ABC to shelve an already-filmed season of The Bachelorette starring Paul.
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Paul was previously arrested for domestic violence in 2023. Footage of the alleged 2023 incident between Paul and Mortensen was leaked to TMZ on Thursday, which appears to show her kicking and hitting her ex-boyfriend and throwing chairs at him.
Paul was previously arrested for domestic violence charges following the incident in 2023. She faced misdemeanour charges of assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child after she was accused of throwing a chair at Mortensen that reportedly hit her daughter.
Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in August 2023, while the other charges were dismissed, according to ABC4 Utah.
In the leaked video, Paul appeared to punch, kick and throw chairs at Mortensen while her daughter from another relationship watched and cried.
“Your daughter is right here,” Mortensen says in the video before Paul throws a chair in his direction.
Paul’s lawyer, Swinyard, alleged in court Thursday that Mortensen leaked that video to the press to ruin Paul’s reality TV career just before her season of The Bachelorette was supposed to air.
“Our point with the video is he’s not just trying to come after her for custody. He’s not just trying to seek a protective order. He wants to literally destroy her,” Swinyard said.
Mortensen’s lawyer, Brent Salazar-Hall, said Mortensen denies leaking the video.
Paul’s Secret Lives of Mormon Wives co-star Jessi Draper filed a private statement in Utah’s 3rd District Court this week, according to the livestreamed hearing.
Swinyard said the statement details a conversation Mortensen had with Draper, her now-estranged husband Jordan Ngatikaura and Mortensen’s roommate just days before TMZ published the video that led to ABC pulling Season 22 of The Bachelorette.
According to Draper’s affidavit, she says Mortensen was in her basement in March with Ngatikaura and another man. Draper said Mortensen was “very animated” and venting frustrations about police “not doing anything” regarding the reports he made of domestic violence against Paul.
Draper claims that Mortensen said he was going to “take matters into his own hands to embarrass Taylor,” according to Swinyard.
Draper’s affidavit says Mortensen “specifically told Ms. Draper that he planned on leaking embarrassing videos of Taylor to the press, starting with the barstool video,” Swinyard said.
“He specifically named TMZ as the outlet and a few days later, that exact video was released by TMZ,” Swinyard added.
“Our point with the video is that he’s not just trying to come after her for custody,” Swinyard continued. “He’s not just trying to seek a protective order; he wants to literally destroy her. He wants to subject her and her family to a new round of torment.”
Swinyard said his client’s “big objection” to Mortensen’s conduct was “this additional harm and embarrassment and shame that he inflicted on [Paul] as well as her children.”
“This was a step too far and shows his true nature,” Swinyard added.
Custody of their child is at stake
Minas said he would make custody recommendations by May 11. Mortensen has custody in the meantime.
Paul had majority custody of their son before the April 7 hearing. Paul and Mortensen’s son had a court-appointed lawyer present at Thursday’s hearing to help the commissioner determine the safest arrangement for the boy.
Minas previously granted Paul supervised visits with her two-year-old son during a hearing on April 7.
She had temporarily lost custody of their son when temporary custody was awarded to Mortensen in March. Minas decided on supervised visitation after Paul’s legal team shared concern over Mortensen’s alleged lack of credibility, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Paul was granted up to eight hours a week of visitation, which can be broken into multiple-hour periods until their protective hearing, which took place on Thursday.
“I have concerns going both ways, quite frankly,” Minas said at the time, adding Mortensen’s alleged “pushing of buttons to get reaction.”
Paul filed for a temporary restraining order against Mortensen less than an hour before the hearing on April 7. Paul’s representative confirmed to Global News that the protective order was filed.
In Paul’s April 7 filing, the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star included multiple allegations of physical violence committed by Mortensen alongside photos of bruises on Paul’s arms, legs and face. It also included text messages between Paul and Mortensen in which she mentions one of her injuries.
No charges filed against Paul or Mortensen following domestic violence investigation
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Mortensen would not be charged following a domestic violence investigation, the Utah city of Draper said.
“The Draper City Prosecutor reviewed the DA’s findings and, upon further review of the Draper Police case, has declined to file any charges against Taylor Frankie Paul or Dakota Mortensen related to an investigation of domestic assault claims,” the city said in a statement.
“After a thorough investigation by Draper Police, the City Prosecutor has determined that there is insufficient corroborating evidence to support filing criminal charges against either party.”
Police in the Salt Lake City suburbs of Draper City and West Jordan have been investigating claims of domestic violence in 2024 and this February from Mortensen.
The news that Mortensen would not be charged came two days after the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against Paul.
“After reviewing reports and evidence submitted to the Draper Police Department and West Jordan Police Department, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office has declined to file charges against Taylor Frankie Paul,” Breanne Miller, a lawyer in the district attorney’s family protection unit, wrote in a memo provided to Global News.
“Several incidents that were submitted do not rise to the level of criminal offenses. The remaining incidents lack sufficient evidence to support filing criminal charges.”
Miller noted that some reported incidents occurred more than three years ago and fell outside the legal time frame for review.
“Such incidents lack specificity as to when and what actually occurred or corroboration,” Miller wrote. “Based on the evidence submitted for screening by the Draper Police Department and West Jordan Police Department, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office declines to file any charges.”
The declining of charges does not have a direct effect on Mortensen’s protective order against Paul, which had been temporarily granted ahead of the April 30 hearing. But the lack of prosecution could help Paul and her lawyers make her case to a court commissioner who, at an earlier hearing, ordered that she could have visits with her son only if they were supervised.
Mortensen said in his request for a protective order that Paul threw a drink at him as they argued in a truck so as not to wake the children who were sleeping inside Paul’s home. But Swinyard said Mortensen slammed Paul’s head into the dashboard and punched her in the leg, and provided photos she took of her bruises.
Any new charges against Paul would have violated her probation, which stemmed from a 2023 assault on Mortensen.
— with files from The Associated Press
