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Taylor Frankie Paul’s lawyer has shared new details about an alleged domestic violence incident that took place between the reality star and ex Dakota Mortensen in February.
Paul, 31, and Mortensen, 33, appeared in court virtually on Tuesday, April 7, to discuss visitation after Mortensen was granted temporary custody of their 2-year-old son, Ever. During the hearing, Paul’s lawyer detailed a so-called “truck tussle” between the pair that allegedly occurred on February 23.
Paul’s lawyer claimed that Mortensen came to the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star’s home after midnight to discuss their relationship. Taylor’s kids — including Ever and her two children with ex-husband Tate Paul — were asleep in the home, so she suggested that they go into Mortensen’s truck to avoid waking them up. (Taylor shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, with Tate.)
Taylor’s attorney claimed that Mortensen then drove away with Taylor in the truck, leaving the kids alone at the house. “Something happened” between the pair, which allegedly led Mortensen to grab Taylor’s head and slam it into the dashboard. Mortensen also allegedly struck her in the knee, which caused bruising. Taylor’s team filed photos of the bruises as exhibits in court on Tuesday.
After the incident, Taylor allegedly demanded a separation and told Mortensen to leave her alone, according to her attorney. Mortensen dropped Taylor off at home, but “lingered” on her doorstep and looked through her windows. He also allegedly sent Taylor a text that read, “Do you want to f***?” (Taylor’s team claimed in another exhibit that she had a screenshot of the text exchange where Mortensen sent her a “request for sex,” Us Weekly exclusively reported on Tuesday.)
Taylor also filed “possessive texts” from Mortensen, which were dated February 16 — one week prior to the alleged domestic violence incident.
Mortensen’s legal team argued that Taylor had invited Mortensen to her home on the night of the “truck tussle.” They claimed that Taylor uses Ever as a “pawn” and argued that Mortensen is simply trying to protect their son.
Tuesday’s hearing resulted in Taylor being granted supervised time with Ever for eight hours per week until their protective hearing on April 30. The judge will reevaluate Taylor’s parenting time restrictions at that hearing.
The judge also ruled that the supervised visits should be facilitated by a neutral third party. However, other options were discussed in court as long as both parties can agree on the person or people present during Taylor’s visits with Ever and that the person or people agree to being subjected to the jurisdiction of the court.
Us confirmed earlier on Tuesday that Taylor filed a temporary protective order against Mortensen.
A judge previously granted Mortensen a temporary protective order against Taylor on March 20, as well as temporary custody of Ever.
Mortensen and Taylor’s legal battle comes more than three years after a separate domestic violence incident in February 2023. Taylor was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse and criminal mischief. She ultimately pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault as part of a plea deal for the other charges to be dropped. The charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor if she abides by the deal’s terms for three years.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
