As Taylor Frankie Paul faces a new wave of domestic violence allegations, the 31-year-old “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star’s turbulent past has resurfaced following ABC’s decision to scrap her upcoming season of “The Bachelorette.”
On March 15, production for Season 5 of “Mormon Wives” came to a halt due to an alleged physical altercation between Paul and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, that occurred in 2023, according to TMZ.
On Thursday, TMZ was first to publish video of the altercation that shows Paul choking and attempting to kick Mortensen, as well as throwing steel bar stools towards him — one of which allegedly struck her daughter.
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Paul shares two children with ex-husband Tate Paul: Indy, 8, and son, Ocean, 5. Additionally, she and Mortensen share a 1-year-old son, Ever.
“This is called physical abuse,” Mortensen can be heard saying in the video, as Paul attempts to put him in a chokehold. “See Taylor, this is all you do. It’s the only thing you know how to do is hurt me. Do you think this is OK? It’s not OK.”
After Mortensen asked Paul to leave him alone, the mom of three threw a steel bar stool toward Mortensen while her daughter allegedly sat on the couch.
“Your daughter is right here,” Mortensen said, while trying to avoid getting hit.
As Paul hauled another stool, a child could be heard crying in the background, screaming, “Mommy.”
“Help your daughter, stop screaming at me,” he said.
“You did this,” Paul kept screaming, as the child continued to cry.
As Mortensen begged Paul to stop multiple times, he said, “I’m sorry, Indy.”
“Your daughter just got hit in the head with a metal chair,” he told Paul.
“Get away from my daughter,” Paul screamed.
As tensions escalated, the doorbell rang. “What’s going on?” a male voice, presumably law enforcement, can be heard asking.
“She’s hammered,” Mortensen answers.
“How about we just separate?” the man asked before the video’s conclusion.
A spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department told People magazine that both Paul and Mortensen are part of an open “domestic assault investigation.”
The spokesperson added that “allegations have been made in both directions” and “contact was made with involved parties on [Feb.] 24th and 25th.”
Paul’s past controversies have ignited online backlash from fans of the ABC show.
“WHY DID WE CAST A LEAD WITH MULTIPLE DV CHARGES,” one user commented on a promo video posted to the official “Bachelorette” Instagram account.
“I have watched EVERY season of this show. I refuse to watch this and support it,” another wrote. “I even watched ‘SLOMW’ up to this point. But her latest act is horrendous and cannot be supported. Her season needs to be pulled. She needs to learn and heal and move on. This is not her first aggrievance and cannot be glossed over. I expect better from you, ABC.”
One fan simply wrote, “Cancel it!”
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In a statement to Fox News Digital on Thursday, a spokesperson for Disney Entertainment Television said, “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.”
A spokesperson for Paul told Page Six, “Taylor is very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security. 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.”
Paul first found fame as the creator of MomTok, a group of Mormon, Utah-based wives and mothers who rose to fame on TikTok for their viral dancing and lip-sync videos.
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But her life exploded in 2022, after detailing her “soft-swinging” lifestyle with then-husband, Tate Paul, and other married Mormon couples during a TikTok livestream.
Paul said the group had an agreement that they “wouldn’t go all the way” with their other partners. However, Paul admitted that she “did step out of the agreement” with one of the other husbands in the group.
“That’s where I messed up, and I, obviously, am losing everything that I have,” Paul said during the livestream.
Paul claimed that “no one was innocent” within the swingers group and that “everyone had hooked up with everyone.”
One year later, Paul was arrested and charged with domestic violence in February 2023.
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“That one was super difficult,” Paul told Fox News Digital in 2024. “That was the worst thing that I’ve gone through.”
She continued, “I did go more into depth on the show with that very emotional topic. But I felt like I have learned from it.”
“It was a regret,” Paul added. “Hitting rock bottom, there’s only one way to go, and it helped me to go up. So honestly, as bad as that night was — I think it was also like a blessing in disguise and maybe could have saved my life in a weird way, like, where I was just drowning in misery. So, you’ll see more of that on the show.”
After her arrest, Paul was charged with aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury and criminal mischief, according to Herriman police in Salt Lake County.
A complaint filed in Salt Lake County in March 2023 alleged that Paul threw a phone, a wooden play set and “heavy metal chairs” at her boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. One of the chairs allegedly hit one of her children who was sitting next to Mortensen on the couch during their argument, an affidavit stated.
She pleaded guilty in August of that year to aggravated assault, while the other four charges were dismissed with prejudice.
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During an appearance on “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, Paul addressed the latest allegations and admitted it’s been a “heavy” time.
“Honestly, it’s been a heavy time to see the headlines, especially during this time of ‘The Bachelorette’ being released, and it’s supposed to be a really exciting time,” Paul said.
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“I’m a person that will always speak my truth, and that’s what I’m known for. And, so, when the time is right, I will be. But right now, just trying to be in the present moment and focus on this.
“My kids do come first,” the mom-of-three continued. “My kids come first, and so it’s been like just a back-and-forth process trying to be here in the present moment, you know, worrying about home and headlines. It’s been stressful to be honest.”
Paul told Entertainment Weekly that she and Mortensen are using a “third-party” to communicate with one another regarding their 1-year-old son.
A rep for Mortensen told the outlet that “his number one priority here is protecting [their son], Ever.”
