Taylor Frankie Paul is trying to get back to neutral after ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen called 911 alleging she violated their protection order amid their contentious custody battle.
A source close to Taylor, 32, exclusively tells Us Weekly that they believe Dakota, 33, is allegedly “ using and abusing the system to inflict the most pain and create inaccurate harmful narratives.”
The insider claims that they think Dakota’s recent actions are “seemingly to prevent a show from going on the air — which is in direct contrast to Taylor — whose priority is her family and her own well-being,” referring to Taylor’s unaired season of The Bachelorette.
“One side is trying to inflict pain, the other side is trying to manage and avoid pain,” the source further claims.
When it comes to the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star’s well-being, the insider tells Us, it’s been “incredibly painful” for her to “watch someone deliberately create sideshows without any regard for the human consequences simply because they don’t want a show to be on the air.”
The source also alleges that since Taylor’s domestic violence incident involving Dakota made headlines in March, they think there’s been “a never-ending campaign of intimidation and misrepresentation with the only purpose to inflict as much pain as possible on Taylor.
Us Weekly reached out to Mortensen’s attorney, who declined to comment.
Taylor and Dakota, who share 2-year-old son Ever, raised eyebrows in March when reports surfaced that there had been an alleged domestic violence altercation between the pair one month prior.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Dakota alleged that Taylor choked him and shoved him into a window. He also claimed that he feared for their child’s safety.
Taylor has vehemently denied the allegations of child abuse. Dakota was granted a temporary restraining order against Taylor and temporary custody of their son in March.
Amid her personal drama, ABC chose to cancel her season of The Bachelorette, which was set to premiere in late March.
“In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson told Us in a statement at the time, referring to a video from a separate 2023 domestic violence incident that resurfaced online. (Taylor pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2023 and the other counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury and criminal mischief were dropped.)
Taylor’s issues with Dakota, however, didn’t end with the TV show being pulled from the airwaves.
After an April hearing, Taylor was granted her own protection order against Dakota after claiming he assaulted her in his truck during their February altercation. Dakota has denied the allegation.
The judge ruled that both Taylor and Dakota have to stay at least 100 feet away from each other and allowed Taylor to have supervised visitation with Ever. Taylor was granted unsupervised visitation rights with her son in early June.
Later that month, however, Dakota called the cops inquiring about his and Taylor’s protection orders as they relate to Ever.
The Bluffdale Police Department confirmed to Us on Monday, June 29, that Dakota called the authorities at around 10 p.m. on Friday, June 26.
The police told Us that Dakota called with questions about the protective order, specifically asking about who can help with the drop-off and pick-up exchange for Ever. He wanted to know if the protective order had been violated.
The officers then made contact with Taylor via a phone call and gathered statements from all involved before sending the case to the District Attorney’s office, who will decide if a violation occurred.
“Cops called on me again THIS WEEK … What are the odds?” Taylor wrote in a since-deleted Instagram Story after the incident, according to a screenshot shared via TMZ. “And it’s not people … it’s ONE person, the same person. It’s obsessive.”
Amid her back-and-forth with Dakota, Taylor’s ex-husband, Tate Paul, with whom she shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 6, filed for a temporary restraining order against her.
Us confirmed on Wednesday, July 1, that a judge denied Tate’s request. His request for sole custody of their two kids by filing a petition to change their custody agreement has not been addressed.
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.
