Police are reportedly investigating an alleged domestic incident involving “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” stars Dakota Mortensen and ex-girlfriend Taylor Frankie Paul, whose “Bachelorette” season debuts in a week.
The Draper City Police Department in Northern Utah confirmed to People that there is an ongoing “domestic assault investigation” involving Paul and Mortensen, who have both reportedly leveled allegations. Law enforcement made contact with the parties on Feb. 24 and 25, the spokesperson told the outlet.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for “Mormon Wives,” Draper City Police and “The Bachelorette” for comment.
TMZ was first to report the news of an incident involving Paul and Mortensen, which the outlet said caused a pause in production on Season 5 of “Mormon Wives.”
Paul, who is the first “Bachelorette” lead to helm the franchise despite never appearing on “The Bachelor,” will date 22 men in the upcoming 22nd season, which premieres Sunday, March 22. The 31-year-old, mom to 8-year-old Indy, 5-year-old Ocean from her previous marriage to Tate Paul, shares her nearly 2-year-old son, Ever, with Mortensen.
The two had an on-and-off relationship, which was documented on “Mormon Wives” and showed they were close right up until she started filming her “Bachelorette” season.
When the show premiered on Hulu in 2024, it opened with Paul’s legal troubles stemming from a 2023 incident with Mortensen. She was arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child, according to police.
According to People, local news station KSL and the Salt Lake Tribune, Paul later entered a plea of abeyance to the aggravated assault charge. While the other criminal charges were dropped, the aggravated assault charge will reportedly remain for three years until she meets the conditions of her guilty plea.
Per KSL, Paul’s case has a review date in August. If she follows the terms of the agreement, which include supervised probation and avoiding violating the law for 36 months, the felony charge will be reduced to a class A misdemeanor.
In her “Call Her Daddy” interview from September, an emotional Paul called the alleged assault “the worst night of my life.”
“I think I was being very selfish, and I’ve accepted that I was selfish at that time,” she said. “But I’ve learned from it, and I’ve been trying to make up for it,” she said.
Contributing: Melina Khan, USA TODAY
