Taylor Frankie Paul has been granted supervised visitation with her and Dakota Mortensen's two-year-old son Ever True amid dueling protective order filings.
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At the upcoming hearing on April 30, 2026, the court will try to decide on Taylor and Dakota's competing restraining orders filed in recent months and possibly alter the custody arrangement.
The Utah commissioner reportedly gave Dakota custody of Ever for the time being to due Taylor's history of volatile behavior directed at Dakota while her children were present.
In addition to Ever, Taylor shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul.
Court Commissioner Russell Minas said in a statement obtained by The AP, "I have concerns going both ways" about Taylor and Dakota's allegations.
"Even if he was trying to provoke a response," Russell said, "the actions that occurred are very troubling."
Dakota also asked the court to turn a short-term protective order he filed against Taylor on March 19 -- which was the same day ABC announced its decision to cancel Taylor's season of The Bachelorette -- into a long-term one.
Taylor, for her part, filed her own request for a protective order against Dakota on April 7, right before their hearing. She alleged Dakota has had a "pattern of abusive conduct and coercive control" throughout their on-again, off-again relationship, People reported.
Both Taylor and Dakota participated in the April 7 hearing remotely while their lawyers were present in court.
As previously reported, the Draper City Police Department and the West Jordan Police Department in Utah are currently investigating separate cases of domestic violence involving Taylor and Dakota.
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A source recently told People that allegations had been made "in both directions" in late February.
Eric Swinyard, a lawyer for Taylor, reportedly argued Tuesday in court that Dakota was the aggressor in a February altercation referred to as "the truck tussle."
In his request for a protective order, Dakota claimed Taylor threw a drink at him when they were arguing in a truck so they wouldn't wake up children who were sleeping inside Taylor's home.
Eric said Dakota slammed Taylor's head into the dashboard and punched her in the leg, causing bruising.
While both sides reportedly agreed that Taylor didn't intentionally direct violence at Ever or her two others kids, Dakota's side argued that Taylor has a history of lashing out at Dakota in front of their children.
Ever's court-appointed lawyer Michael McDonald submitted a May 2025 video that has not been publicly released as alleged evidence of Taylor's temper and bad behavior.
Michael reportedly claimed it showed Taylor pushing Dakota and yelling at him to get out of her house while he was holding Ever in his arms.
"To me, that makes me very nervous about her ability to control herself, and her volatility," Michael said in court, adding that Taylor has "a very difficult time with self-control, and I think that it puts my client at risk."
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"He's holding the child as his human shield, so to speak, and provoking my client and not getting out of her house," Eric said.
Dakota's lawyer Daniela Diaz reportedly argued on his client's behalf, "He's often invited back, and his child is often used as a pawn, as a pawn to start fights."
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According to People, Taylor claimed in her April 7 request for a protective order that there has been a "high number of instances of abuse and domestic violence (assault, harassment, and stalking) at Dakota's hands."
In a sworn declaration attached to the court documents, Taylor reportedly called her relationship with Dakota "tumultuous," with "several periods" in which they've "argued or outright broken up."
"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," the filing reads.
"For the most part, our co-parenting dynamic has functioned adequately. Recently, however, in an effort to sabotage my career, Dakota filed a protective order against me... I will respond to his allegations in a separate declaration before the hearing on April 30, 2026 before Commissioner Minas."
The filing continued, "Suffice it to say, 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."
Taylor, however, admitted in writing that she's "not perfect" and has "owned" her mistakes.
"But Dakota is an abusive individual who refuses to take accountability. My ex-husband, Tate Paul, and I remain great friends. We have settled into a successful co-parenting relationship, sharing our two children equally," she reportedly wrote.
"I desperately need protection from Dakota or else his abuse, both physical and emotional, will continue."
Taylor was previously arrested in 2023 after a fight with Dakota on charges of aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury, and criminal mischief.
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Taylor ultimately reached a plea deal that -- assuming its terms and conditions were followed -- would reduce her aggravated assault charge to a misdemeanor in August 2026, according to Us Weekly.
On March 19, a video of the 2023 altercation leaked and showed Taylor punching, kicking and throwing metal barstools at Dakota.
When Taylor was attacking Dakota in the video footage, Indy was present and could be heard crying and screaming "mommy" in the background. Dakota could also be heard claiming that one of the stools had struck Indy during the altercation.
A spokesperson for Taylor said in a March 19 statement, "After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm."
Amid Taylor's legal troubles, Hulu paused production on Season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
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To read spoilers about what happened on Taylor's The Bachelorette season and who Taylor picked as her winner, click here.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
