Taylor Frankie Paul has expressed concern that the release of the 2023 video -- depicting her assault on ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen -- is forcing her daughter, Indy, have to relive a painful experience.
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"Worst part is my daughter having to relive and see it all over again years later after extensive work with her and apologies to her about that night and my baby boy birthday was taken from him," Taylor wrote.
In the video, the TikTok user said, "The fact that Dakota did this to the mother of his child on his child's birthday tells you everything that you need to know about Dakota."
He added, "And for those of you who are going to say, 'Taylor is at fault for the situation,' just because she may or may not have done something to Dakota, it does not mean that Dakota also wasn't doing something to her. You can both be an abuser and abused at the same time. The two are not mutually exclusive."
It has yet to be confirmed who released the video of Taylor and Dakota's 2023 altercation that resulted in ABC canceling Taylor's The Bachelorette season.
The disturbing video TMZ released on March 19 showed Taylor kicking and punching Dakota before throwing metal barstools at him, one of which appeared to hit Indy, causing her to cry.
Just a few hours after TMZ posted the video, Disney's ABC announced they were pulling the plug on The Bachelorette's 22nd season, which was originally scheduled to premiere on March 22.
"In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time," a Disney spokesperson said in a media statement, "and our focus is on supporting the family."
A spokesperson for Taylor had responded to TMZ's release of Dakota's 2023 video with a March 19 statement that blamed Dakota for the video's release and did not address the disturbing behavior it showed Taylor exhibiting.
Instead, the statement claimed the recording omitted "context" but did not detail the context they believed it omitted.
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RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"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," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson called the "sad" video leak "the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child."
"Releasing an old video, which conveniently omits context, on their son's birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior," the spokesperson continued.
"Thankfully, the public has seen this act before and knows who he is and sadly, many will recognize this pattern of manipulation, both in his actions on the show, and from their own experiences."
The video TMZ released last week was from the night of Taylor's 2023 arrest -- which had been chronicled on the first season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives when it was released on Hulu, ABC's corporate sibling, in 2024.
Taylor was taken into custody during the 2023 incident and booked on charges of aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury, and criminal mischief.
The MomTok creator -- who shares Indy and son Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul -- pleaded guilty in August 2023 to aggravated assault in exchange for the dismissal of her other four charges.
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.
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According to People, Dakota has been granted a temporary restraining order, which he had filed against Taylor on the same day ABC decided to cancel her season of The Bachelorette.
The temporary restraining order also comes amid an ongoing domestic assault investigation for another incident involving Dakota and Taylor which occurred in late February.
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The Draper City Police Department had shared with People that "allegations" had been made "in both directions" and "contact was made" with the two parties on February 24 and 25.
The February incident led to Hulu pausing production on Season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
A source with knowledge of the situation told People that Taylor's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives co-stars have been distancing themselves from Taylor and no longer want to be associated with her.
"We're all worried for Taylor's well-being," the source said after a screenshot surfaced showing that Taylor had called Dakota's phone over 100 times in one night in January.
"We want Taylor to get the help she needs."
A hearing on Dakota's temporary restraining order been reportedly set for April 7 at which time Taylor will have the chance to address the matter with the court.
Taylor will not be allowed to see Ever until the scheduled hearing on April 7, People reported, citing a copy of the court order.
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 as The Bachelorette star in September 2025, Taylor told Alex Cooper on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast that she hooked up with Dakota after their split and they had a toxic on-again, off-again dynamic.
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Taylor then faced major backlash once viewers watched the Season 4 finale of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which showed Dakota sleeping at Taylor's house the night before she left to film The Bachelorette.
Dakota allegedly told a friend in the MomTok social circle that he and Taylor had sex, and he later asked Taylor via FaceTime to save him a rose.
Taylor expressed to Dakota how she still loved him but The Bachelorette would serve as a much-needed break for them both.
Dakota had said in January his relationship with Taylor was better and they were in a healthy place, so it appears their relationship must have taken a turn for the worse last month.
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Click here to read all the spoilers for Taylor Frankie Paul's The Bachelorette season and find out her winner and how her journey ended.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
