Taylor Frankie Paul’s exes Dakota Mortensen and Tate Paul are breaking their silence after the Division of Child and Family Services raised concerns about her parenting.
“Tate Paul and Dakota Mortensen have remained publicly silent throughout these proceedings to avoid having serious private family matters turned into more of a public spectacle than they already have due to the insatiable appetite of others to share private family information online to promote views and publicity,” Dakota, 33, and Tate said in a joint statement through counsel to Us Weekly on Friday, July 17. “However, they are deeply concerned that Taylor’s statement minimizes the gravity of the action filed by DCFS and her many underlying actions that prompted such.”
“The petition filed by DCFS this week is not a routine transition to juvenile court or an opportunity for personal growth,” the duo added in their statement. “DCFS has asked the Court to find that the children are abused and has requested an expedited hearing concerning their immediate protection.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Taylor’s attorneys for comment.
Dakota shares son Ever, 2, with Taylor, 32, whom he dated on and off for several years before they split earlier this year. (Their tumultuous relationship made headlines in March when they were involved in an alleged domestic violence dispute. The district attorney later decided not to charge Taylor in the alleged incident.)
Tate, meanwhile, was married to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star from 2016 to 2022. The exes split after Taylor crossed a line during their soft-swinging agreement, which she later confessed to via a TikTok video. The former spouses share two children, Indy, 8, and Ocean, 6.
Over the past few months, Taylor has found herself battling over custody with both Dakota and Tate.
Amid the legal disputes, Utah’s division of the DCFS filed a petition asking a juvenile court to find that her three children are “abused, neglected or dependent.”
TMZ reported on Wednesday, July 15, that DCFS also asked the judge to order protective supervision services, appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the children and issue any additional orders deemed to be in their best interests.
“Tate and Dakota are grateful that DCFS has taken these concerns seriously and is stepping in to protect the children,” Taylor’s former partners said in their statement. “They share the serious concern that the family court system, law enforcement, prosecutors, and child-welfare agencies need meaningful coordination necessary to understand the situation and act in a manner most likely to protect the children. Serious warning signs went largely unaddressed for far too long, even after the passage of Om’s Law.”
Tate and Dakota’s statement noted that both fathers “remain focused on protecting the children, giving them the time and space they need to heal, supporting meaningful accountability, and using what their families have experienced to help improve coordination between these systems in the future.”
“Despite the myriad false accusations published online and on social media about them by Taylor and others, Tate and Dakota have chosen to not participate in the often misconstrued social media and other online activity surrounding their cases,” the statement continued. “They have remained silent to protect their children, not because they have nothing to say. When the time is right, they will tell their story in their own words in the appropriate forum.”
Taylor, for her part, reacted to DCFS stepping in on Thursday, July 16, telling Us in a statement, “It was recently decided that the ongoing custody actions would be best suited for juvenile court, a common step for families engaged in highly contentious, complex custody matters.”
The reality star’s attorney added, “Taylor is not deterred by this transition; she welcomes the added structure and oversight it provides and looks forward to continuing her progress toward normalizing custody and becoming the healthiest version of herself.”
The statement concluded: “Taylor remains fully committed to doing whatever is necessary to reach that goal and will not be swayed from it. Taylor appreciates the professionalism of DCFS and its representatives.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
