Dakota Mortensen has spoken out about the domestic assault investigation involving him and his ex-girlfriend Taylor Frankie Paul.

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"His No. 1 priority here is protecting Ever," a representative for Dakota told Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday, March 18, referring to the exes' son, who turns 2 on March 19.

News broke on Monday, March 16 that Taylor and Dakota recently got into a domestic assault dispute that led to Hulu pausing production on Season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

The Draper City Police Department told People earlier this week that both Taylor and Dakota made allegations against each other and "contact was made" with the two parties in late February, prompting a "domestic assault investigation" that is still ongoing.

A source had also told People that there is "some pretty serious stuff happening" and Taylor's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives co-stars no longer want to be associated with her.

But Dakota claimed via his rep that he's not responsible for the scandal going public.

"He knew there was a possibility it could come out, but he was not going to be the one to proactively do that because he has always wanted a decent relationship with Taylor," the rep continued.

"It's been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to co-parent well."

Prior to Dakota breaking his silence, a source had told Us Weekly that Dakota was "feeling hurt and disappointed by how everything unfolded when [Taylor] came back to Utah" after filming The Bachelorette.

The insider said Dakota "really wanted" to give Taylor "space to have her moment" as the upcoming Season 22 star of The Bachelorette.

(However, Dakota slept at Taylor's house the night before she left to film The Bachelorette. Dakota allegedly told a friend that the pair had sex, and then he asked Taylor to "save" a rose for him.)

"He was trying to be supportive and stay out of the way, even when things were difficult between them," the source claimed.

The source said Dakota believed he and Taylor "would finally be on a good path after" her The Bachelorette stint.

Taylor, for her part, said on the Wednesday, March 18 episode of Good Morning America that this is a "heavy" time for her and reading the headlines about her relationship with Dakota feels like "the end of the world."

Taylor also told EW that she and Dakota have "no contact right now" and they're using a "third party" to handle "pick-up, drop-offs, communication" amid the scandal.

The influencer and MomTok creator explained that, for "the sake" of her son, she never intended to "bring anything to the public eye" and or "make it a big deal."

Taylor was previously arrested in 2023 for a fight with Dakota, but she claimed last year that all the charges against her were dropped.

According to Taylor, she and Dakota broke up in late 2024, although she didn't publicly confirm their split until early 2025.

After ABC announced Taylor's The Bachelorette casting in September 2025, Taylor admitted on the "Call Her Daddy" that she and Dakota hooked up again post-split and it was difficult for her to move on from that relationship.

Taylor's mother, Liann May, claimed during an October appearance on "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast" that Taylor and Dakota still loved each other and he'd sabotage her The Bachelorette season if given an opening.

But Dakota revealed on a January episode of "The Rub Down" show that he was dating someone new and just wanted Taylor to be happy.

Dakota had also claimed at the time his co-parenting relationship with Taylor was healthy.

When asked how he and Taylor were doing, Dakota replied, "Better, actually."

"It always hard because there are still feelings there," he elaborated, "and there's something about -- obviously you have a kid now, right? It is so crazy when you have a kid with someone. I mean, talk about feeling very much, like, soul-tied to them."

Dakota and Taylor were apparently splitting custody of Ever 60/40, with Taylor having their son the majority of the time.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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