Taylor Frankie Paul, star of “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” and the upcoming “Bachelorette,” is addressing her involvement in a reported domestic dispute.
Taylor Frankie Paul, Dakota Mortensen investigation in Utah underway
Authorities are reportedly investigating an alleged domestic incident involving “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” stars Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen.
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul is addressing her involvement in a reported domestic violence incident that has halted production.
The reality star, who is set to lead the upcoming season of “The Bachelorette,” told People at the premiere for Season 22 of the series that her “heart hurts to see it, to go through it, especially at this time.”
“Just the timing is hard, and it’s a big deal,” Paul added, per the outlet. “I feel like every premiere that I’ve experienced, I’ve never enjoyed fully, so this is another one … it’s extremely hard, and it took everything to get me here today.”
Police are reportedly investigating an alleged domestic incident involving Paul, 31, and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen. The Draper City Police Department in Northern Utah confirmed to People that there is an ongoing “domestic assault investigation” involving Paul and Mortensen, who have both reportedly leveled allegations. TMZ was first to report the news of an incident involving Paul and Mortensen, which multiple outlets report has halted production on Season 5 of “Mormon Wives.”
Law enforcement made contact with the parties on Feb. 24 and 25, the spokesperson told the outlet. When reached by USA TODAY, the Draper Police Department issued a statement saying it “respects the rights and privacy of all citizens.”
It continued, “Without an immediate impact to public safety, it is the practice of the department not to release details related to active investigations.”
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for “Mormon Wives” and “The Bachelorette” for comment.
Paul, who is the first “Bachelorette” lead to helm the franchise despite never appearing on “The Bachelor,” will date 22 men in the upcoming 22nd season, which is expected to premiere Sunday, March 22.
While not getting into specifics, she told People it’s an “unfortunate” time. Still, she didn’t want to miss out on the premiere.
“It’s just heavy. It’s a heavy time, and it’s unfortunate,” she continued. “I’m struggling for sure, but also at the same time I feel like if I don’t show up, then I’m just giving these opportunities away and not enjoying what we’ve worked on and something super exciting that’s coming. I just feel like it was the right thing to do … show up even though it’s hard.”
The mom to 8-year-old Indy and 5-year-old Ocean from her previous marriage to Tate Paul shares her nearly 2-year-old son, Ever, with Mortensen. The two had an on-and-off relationship, which was documented on “Mormon Wives” and showed they were close right up until she started filming her “Bachelorette” season.
When the show premiered on Hulu in 2024, it opened with Paul’s legal troubles stemming from a 2023 incident with Mortensen. She was arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child, according to police.
According to People, local news station KSL and the Salt Lake Tribune, Paul later entered a plea of abeyance to the aggravated assault charge. While the other criminal charges were dropped, the aggravated assault charge will reportedly remain for three years until she meets the conditions of her guilty plea.
Per KSL, Paul’s case has a review date in August. If she follows the terms of the agreement, which include supervised probation and avoiding violating the law for 36 months, the felony charge will be reduced to a class A misdemeanor.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usatoday.com ’
