Taylor Frankie Paul won’t face domestic violence charges in dispute with ex-boyfriend
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- Prosecutors declined to file charges against “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul after domestic violence investigations.
- The controversy cost Paul temporary custody of her 2-year-old son and prompted ABC to pull the “Bachelorette” season in which Paul was set to star after a leaked domestic dispute video from 2023 went viral.
Taylor Frankie Paul won’t face criminal charges in connection with alleged domestic violence incidents between her and her ex-boyfriend, the Salt Lake County district attorney’s office said Tuesday.
The embattled “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star’s cases were reviewed by multiple attorneys due to their high-profile nature, according to the district attorney’s office.
“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,” the statement reads.
According to the news release, Dakota Mortensen, Paul’s ex and the father of her youngest child, reported several domestic violence incidents, “some of which occurred more than three years ago.”
“Any incidents of misdemeanor offenses which are alleged to have occurred more than two years ago are barred by the statute of limitations,” the district attorney’s office wrote, adding that “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, according to the district attorney’s office.
A timeline breaking down the rise of Hulu’s ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ and Taylor Frankie Paul’s domestic violence investigations.
Mortensen filed a report with the West Jordan Police Department in Utah in February alleging an incident of domestic violence that he said occurred in early to mid-2024. Utah’s Draper Police Department was also looking into a separate incident involving the former couple.
Days before the premiere of Season 22 of “The Bachelorette,” in which Paul was set to star, a leaked video of a 2023 domestic dispute between Paul and Mortensen circulated online.
That 2023 incident resulted in Paul being arrested. She eventually pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault, and Paul’s arrest was featured in the first season of “Secret Lives.”
Although the incident had already been addressed publicly and dealt with in court, the leaked video featured previously unseen footage of the dispute. As a result, Paul was hit with a restraining order, she temporarily lost custody of Ever, the 2-year-old son she shares with Mortensen, and ABC pulled “The Bachelorette.” Production on the hit reality series had already wrapped and the premiere was slated for March 22.
Last week, a Utah judge ruled that Paul can have supervised visits with Ever, until another hearing for a protective order later this month.
The exes are also ordered to appear remotely at a court hearing April 30 to review the merits of Mortensen’s protective order against Paul. Paul has also filed her own protective order against Mortensen, which a Utah judge signed off on last week.
Mortensen sought a protective order after two incidents in February that involved “grabbing, scratching, shoving, and striking” that allegedly left Mortensen with marks on his neck, according to police documents. A judge granted the order last month.
