ABC cancels Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘Bachelorette’ season
Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” was canceled after a “domestic assault investigation” was revealed by Utah police.
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul has filed a petition for a protective order against her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.
Paul, 31, submitted the filing in court April 7, per Salt Lake County District Court records reviewed by USA TODAY. The move takes place the same day she and Mortensen, 33, were due for a hearing in the latter’s case for a protective order against Paul, according to Variety, People and NBC News.
Mortensen’s attorneys declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY. Paul’s representatives confirmed the petition’s filing and declined further comment.
Ahead of the hearing, Mortensen was temporarily granted custody of their 2-year-old son as his case moves forward, People reported on March 20. The two have had a custody and parent time agreement in place, according to court records, with Paul having primary custody of their son. Paul also has two children with her ex-husband, Tate Paul.
They are expected to appear for another hearing on April 30.
According to Mortenson’s temporary protective order against Paul, issued by the judge April 7 and obtained by USA TODAY, Mortensen retains temporary custody of their son, while Paul has been granted “up to eight hours” of supervised parent time each week.
Conditions of the order show Paul must stay at least 100 feet away from Mortensen and cannot possess weapons, commit or threaten to commit violence against him, or contact him.
Taylor Frankie Paul accuses Dakota Mortensen of assault, harassment, stalking
In her filing, which was obtained by USA TODAY, Paul accused Mortensen of a “pattern of abusive conduct and coercive control” throughout their “tumultuous” relationship. She alleged a “high number of instances of abuse and domestic violence” that include four incidents involving assault, harassment and stalking between March 2025 and Feb. 23, 2026.
“The fact that our relationship was over finally dawned on Dakota in February 2026, which led him to take actions that scared me and made me fear for my safety,” Paul wrote in her declaration. “I completely reject Dakota’s characterizations of my conduct and his attempts to paint me as an abusive mother and co-parent. The evidence will show the Court that Dakota has been the primary aggressor and has been violent and abusive toward me.”
She accused Mortensen of injuring her in an altercation in his car during the early morning hours of Feb. 23, days before Utah police confirmed an ongoing domestic assault investigation into claims made by both Paul and Mortensen.
“As the Court will note from our competing requests for protective orders, our accounts as to what happened in his truck differ wildly,” Paul acknowledged. “Essentially, we each allege that we were physically assaulted by the other.”
Mortensen’s petition is not publicly available. In a March 19 statement to People after TMZ posted a video Mortensen had filmed of Paul acting violently toward him, he called the situation “deeply unsettling.” He added, “I am, unfortunately, used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny. I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same.”
On March 24, NBC News reported that police in West Jordan, Utah, are investigating Mortensen’s allegations against Paul of a domestic violence incident in 2024, which he’d contacted police about this February.
Taylor Frankie Paul’s past domestic violence charge
Paul is currently on probation in a domestic violence case that dates back to early 2023.
In February 2023, Paul was arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child, according to police.
She later entered a plea of abeyance to a felony aggravated assault charge, a move that entails pleading guilty or no contest, with the court delaying a conviction and a possible sentence “on [the] condition that the defendant comply with specific conditions as outlined in a plea in abeyance agreement,” according to the Utah Code.
People, local news station KSL and the Salt Lake Tribune reported that while other criminal charges were dropped, the aggravated assault charge will reportedly remain for a three-year probationary period until Paul meets the conditions of her agreement with the court.
After TMZ published video of the alleged domestic violence incident, her season of “The Bachelorette” was scrapped days before its premiere, with no details about whether the episodes would eventually make it on the air.
(This story was updated to include new information.)
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support in English and Spanish via chat and at 800-656-4673.