Taylor Frankie Paul’s ex breaks silence on domestic assault claims after Secret Lives of Mormon Wives filming halted

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Dakota Mortensen, Taylor Frankie Paul’s former partner, has publicly addressed the domestic assault investigation concerning them both.

Filming for the show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was suddenly stopped on Monday because police are investigating claims of domestic violence involving Paul and Mortensen, who are parents to a one-year-old boy named Ever.

Police in Draper City, Utah, have confirmed that accusations are being exchanged between the parties involved.

Following the investigation, Paul, who will be appearing on the upcoming season of The Bachelorette starting March 22nd, has spoken out, telling People magazine that this is a difficult and upsetting time.

She shared with EW that she and Mortensen aren’t speaking directly right now. They’re communicating about their son through a third party instead.

As a huge Viggo Mortensen fan, I was really upset to hear about all this drama. It was frustrating to see things escalate so quickly. Then, just hours after the initial reports, his representative stepped in and made it clear that Viggo’s main concern is his son, Ever. They also strongly denied any claim that Viggo had anything to do with the information becoming public – which honestly, I never believed anyway. It’s good to know he’s focused on what really matters.

The representative explained that while he suspected this information might surface eventually, he wouldn’t be the one to reveal it, as his client has always hoped to maintain a good relationship with Taylor.

‘It’s been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to co-parent well.’ 

Mortensen’s representative insists he was hoping the situation would calm down on its own.

The representative explained that he was hoping the issue would simply disappear if he didn’t address it, which is his typical approach. He’s never publicly shared his perspective in a formal interview.

He generally goes with the flow, but now that things are really serious, he understands he needs to take more control.

Production on the reality show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has been put on hold while police investigate a reported incident involving Paul and Mortensen, who have been featured on the series since it began in 2024.

Draper City Police haven’t shared details, but they did confirm officers spoke with both people involved on February 24th and 25th.

Oh my gosh, I’m SO ready for Paul’s season of The Bachelorette to start this Sunday! I was just reading an interview with her from Tuesday, and she totally let slip that Mortensen didn’t want to keep their legal stuff private. Like, she hinted he wanted everything aired out! It’s driving me crazy waiting to find out what happened, but this little tidbit just adds fuel to the fire. I need to know EVERYTHING!

She explained that she’s now using a third party to manage all interactions with Mortensen, including scheduling pick-ups, drop-offs, and handling all communication. This means they aren’t communicating directly with each other right now.

Looking back, it’s probably a good thing things ended the way they did. We simply weren’t compatible, and I felt I needed to handle it responsibly. I wanted to avoid a public conflict, particularly with everything happening in my life and for my son’s sake. Unfortunately, Mortensen didn’t seem to want the same.

In her first TV interview since the accusations came out, Paul discussed the situation on Good Morning America, saying she’ll share more details when she’s ready.

She admitted it’s been difficult seeing the recent news, particularly with the new season of The Bachelorette coming up, which should be a happy occasion.

Okay, so like, I have to be real, right? I always say what’s on my mind, and when the time is perfect, I totally will. But honestly, right now I’m just trying to live in the moment and concentrate on… well, everything happening right now. It’s just… a lot, you know?

There are different accounts of what happened between Paul and Mortensen, and Paul’s potential partners have had varying responses to the situation.

Sources at Entertainment Weekly say the men involved are shocked and hurt by the current drama, including rumors that Paul and Mortensen had a romantic encounter the night before Paul left for The Bachelorette. However, TMZ reports the men feel the Paul they knew on the show is being misrepresented in the media, and they describe her as sincere and having good intentions.

Paul addressed the mixed responses by explaining to EW that the show will reveal all aspects of her character.

She described the upcoming season as showcasing different sides of her personality: confident and outspoken, but also a more relaxed, easygoing, and vulnerable side that viewers haven’t seen before on ‘Sister Wives.’

I’m thrilled to finally share this part of who I am, especially since you’re already familiar with other aspects of my personality. This is me, being completely authentic.

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2026-03-18 23:35