The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul and her former partner, Dakota Mortensen, have been granted mutual three-year protective orders against one another.
At a court hearing in Utah on Thursday, Third District Court Commissioner Russell Minas did not decide the custody of their son, Ever. He said parenting time will remain the same, but he will make a recommendation on any changes on or before May 11 and schedule a review for June.
The protective orders mean they must not contact each other, and must remain at least 100 feet (30 meters) away from each other. Both parties had alleged incidents of domestic violence.
In a statement to The Independent, Paul’s attorney 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.
“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.”
After hearing arguments from Paul and Mortensen’s representatives, Commissioner Minas said both parties had to take responsibility for the breakdown of their relationship.
“This has been a very toxic relationship,” said Minas. “It’s beyond the pale in a lot of ways, the toxicity here.”
Minas said that he had decided to approve the protective orders on a mutual basis in the hope that it would prevent the former couple falling back in to old patterns, saying: “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, you know, making themselves celebrities, there seems to be this attraction that they continue to have for each other.”
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The former couple has asked a Utah court to turn short-term protective orders into long-term arrangements as the two have accused each other of domestic violence.
After clarifying that the protective orders will remain in place for three years, Minas said: “I’m really intent on trying to keep the two of you away from each other for now, and then later on, hopefully as the dust settles, we can perhaps scale something back a bit.”
He continued: “I just think that’s what’s best for your child as well, for the two of you not to be in the same place at the same time with each other. I mean, all of the evidence seems to suggest that’s a bad idea.”
The Independent has approached representatives for Mortensen for comment.
Paul and Mortensen’s tumultuous relationship was featured heavily on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
A total of 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 make the unprecedented move last month of shelving an already-filmed season of The Bachelorette starring Paul. Hulu also paused production of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and resumed filming earlier this month.
In the video, Paul appeared to punch, kick and throw chairs at Mortensen while her daughter watched and cried. Paul was charged with aggravated assault and other offenses, including domestic violence in the presence of a child. The police body camera footage of her arrest was featured in the first season of the Hulu series.
Paul pleaded guilty to an assault charge, which will be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor if she stays out of legal trouble for a three-year probationary period that ends in August. The other counts were dismissed.
The national domestic abuse helpline offers support for women on 0808 2000 247, or you can visit the Refuge website. There is a dedicated men’s advice line on 0808 8010 327. Those in the US can call the domestic violence hotline on 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
