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Salt Lake City: Taylor Frankie Paul, one of the stars of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, can\u2019t spend unsupervised time with her two-year-old son due to concerns about the volatile behaviour she displayed during confrontations between her and the boy\u2019s father, a Utah court commissioner ruled on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Third District Court Commissioner Russell Minas said, \u201cI have concerns going both ways\u201d about duelling allegations between Dakota Mortensen and Paul, who was also set to star in the latest season of The Bachelorette until it was pulled days before airing<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Minas said: \u201cEven if he was trying to provoke a response, the actions that occurred are very troubling.\u201d<\/p>\n The hearing set the stage for an April 30 court battle, in which Minas will assess duelling petitions for protective orders between the pair.<\/p>\n Mortensen, who shares son Ever with his ex, has asked the court to extend a short-term protective order against Paul to a long-term one. Paul filed her own request for a protective order just before Tuesday\u2019s hearing. Both participated remotely while their lawyers were in court.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll have a showdown on the 30th,\u201d said Paul\u2019s lawyer Eric Swinyard.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully it won\u2019t be a showdown,\u201d Minas said. \u201cI\u2019m hoping you can come to some resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawyers for the two sides and a court-appointed attorney for Ever addressed several heated and sometimes violent interactions between the couple, some of which were caught on video, revealing in their arguments details in protective order filings that had been sealed.<\/p>\n Swinyard gave an account of what he called \u201cthe truck tussle\u201d in late February. In his request for a protective order, Mortensen said Paul threw a drink at him as they argued in a truck so as not to wake up the children sleeping inside Paul\u2019s home. But Swinyard said Mortensen slammed Paul\u2019s head into the dashboard and punched her in the leg, showing Minas photos of her bruises.<\/p>\n Related Article That, and another fight around the same time, are under investigation by police in the Salt Lake City suburb of Draper City.<\/p>\n The sides generally agreed that Paul didn\u2019t intentionally direct violence at their son or her other two children from a previous relationship. At issue was her willingness to lash out at Mortensen when children were present.<\/p>\n Ever\u2019s court-appointed lawyer pointed to a May 2025 video that has not been released publicly. He said it shows Paul pushing Mortensen and shouting for him to get out of her house while he\u2019s holding their child.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, that makes me very nervous about her ability to control herself, and her volatility,\u201d said the lawyer, Michael McDonald. He said Paul has \u201ca very difficult time with self-control. And I think that it puts my client at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul\u2019s attorney, though, said Mortensen deliberately created that situation.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s holding the child as his human shield, so to speak, and provoking my client and not getting out of her house,\u201d Swinyard said.<\/p>\n Daniela Diaz, a lawyer for Mortensen, argued that Paul uses their shared child to perpetuate a cycle of abuse that keeps Mortensen coming back.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s often invited back and his child is often used as a pawn, as a pawn to start fights,\u201d Diaz said.<\/p>\n Minas ordered that Paul, who had primary custody of Ever, should get eight hours per week of supervised visits, emphasising it was a stopgap arrangement until the next hearing.<\/p>\n ABC, in an unprecedented move, announced last month that it was shelving the entire, already-filmed new season<\/a> of The Bachelorette, which featured Paul in the title role. The network blamed the cancellation on a then-newly leaked video in which Paul appeared to punch, kick and throw chairs at Mortensen while her young daughter watched and cried.<\/p>\n That fight was a central part of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which dealt with it in the first episode, including police body camera footage of Paul\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n Paul was charged with aggravated assault and other offences, including domestic violence in the presence of a child. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour assault charge, and the other counts were dismissed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all know that social media has made up its mind about my client,\u201d Swinyard said. \u201cThe court, unlike social media, actually has to get it right. The evidence we believe, on the 30th when viewed in its totality, will show who the real abuser is, who the real violent actor has been during the party\u2019s relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/8029cb583d70bd74ab22bfaff418935e6a9c9f9c0722f45d74221abe943fa99b.jpeg\")
Taylor Frankie Paul has been restricted to supervised visits to see the son she shares with Dakota Mortensen. <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/9cb46f40d137cf15370d039686f5d7a0bacea307.jpeg\")
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season one cast with Taylor Frankie Paul, centre. Season five is now on hold.Disney\/Fred Hayes<\/p>\n![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/e814c64f27e3391bde14f0e73737bfe8e508a5be.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/a147aaab6871a10207efc08ac899b7d9e749a915.jpeg\")
Taylor Frankie Paul at the CMAs in 2024.Evan Agostini\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/57e5ef2dfca907f28d44cb49685df78ed5da6950.jpeg\")
Taylor Frankie Paul on Good Morning America in March, before The Bachelorette season was cancelled.ABC via Getty Images<\/p>\n
![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775607672_166_57e5ef2dfca907f28d44cb49685df78ed5da6950.jpeg\")
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