NZ Herald Morning Headlines | Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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A domestic assault investigation has cost the Bachelorette and Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul custody of her son.
Her ex Dakota Mortensen was granted temporary custody of their child, Ever, 2, after he filed a protective order, according to court documents seen by People.
Mortensen hasalso been granted a temporary restraining order.
Draper City Police Department told People there was an open domestic assault investigation between the two, “saying allegations have been made in both directions”.
Since a video of the assault surfaced, filming has shut down for season five of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and ABC has cancelled Season 22 of Bachelorette, starring Paul.
On March 19, TMZ posted a video from 2023 of Paul attacking Mortensen in front of her daughter. Paul has three children and shares one with Mortensen.
“This is called physical abuse,” Mortensen said in the footage. In the video Paul attacked her ex, punched him, pulled his hair and threw a chair at him.
At one point Paul’s child was heard crying and Mortensen said, “Your daughter just got hit in the head by a metal chair.”
The video was recorded the same year Paul was arrested for domestic abuse against Mortensen. She was charged with aggravated assault, domestic violence in the presence of a child causing injury, child abuse and criminal mischief, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
She pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, and the rest of the charges were dismissed.
Last September she spoke about the topic during an interview with Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast.
Taylor Frankie Paul at the Oscars. Photo / Getty Images
She said charges “were all dropped”, saying “I never had hurt my daughter. I never intentionally did anything with my children”.
Paul found fame after she made headlines in 2022 for revealing her “soft-swinging” lifestyle with other Mormon couples with her ex-husband. Soft-swinging involves couples kissing and sometimes oral sex, but stops short of intercourse.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives started as a reality television series following a group of Utah-based TikTok influencers, including Paul, known as “MomTok”, as they deal with the fallout from the scandal.
“I’ve been criticised, I’ve been judged and I’ve been rejected,” Paul said in a teaser for the now cancelled Bachelorette.
“But anyone that takes the time to know me will see that I’m actually a genuine person and I mean well and a person that deserves another chance at love.”
Paul will not see her son until a court hearing on April 7.
“No parent time is allowed until the scheduled hearing,” the order reads.
