‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ star Taylor Frankie Paul granted more parent time amid custody battle with ex

Watch Monday’s hearing in its entirety by clicking on the video player above.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A Utah-based reality star has been granted more time with her son after she and her ex-boyfriend appeared in court following domestic violence allegations from both parties.

Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen, who both became popular as social media influencers and stars of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” met with a commissioner for a review hearing on protective orders they filed against each other that resulted in a custody battle.

On Monday, Commissioner Russell Minas recommended lifting supervision and granted Paul one weekday, not overnight, and alternating weekends. She is allowed to choose the midweek day, which should be the same every week. He also elected to “throw in” holidays.

This recommendation is standard in line with the Utah State Code for children under the age of 3. Paul and Mortensen must still remain 100 feet away from each other.

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While discussing his recommendations, Minas stated that he was prepared to lift supervision Monday and ultimately recommended that both parties follow recommendations from the Utah Department of Child and Family Services. He also noted that a restraint against disparaging comments on social media should be included.

The commissioner noted that both Paul and Mortensen feel that they are the victims and not the perpetrators, which is not uncommon. He stated that, throughout that, the role of the court is to prevent further acts of domestic violence.

He gave the parties until Friday to select a private Guardian ad Litem, and another hearing has been set for July 8 at 2 p.m. The court recommends that any further proceedings not be carried out under protective orders but rather through an actual custody and support case.

Discussion during the hearing

Beginning the hearing, the Guardian ad Litem who represents their child, Michael McDonald, recommended that the court move Paul and Mortensen to standard parent time. After hearing from both attorneys, McDonald maintained his recommendation, saying that the parties need to focus on themselves and not what each other is doing.

A mental health assessment was completed on both Mortensen and Paul ahead of the hearing, and the findings were reported to the court and the commissioner.

Taylor Frankie Paul’s arguments

Eric Swinyard, Paul’s attorney, stated that she wanted to share her side of the story with the assessor, but also wanted Mortensen’s story to be known. He stated that she did not force the assessor to rely only on her story and provided a clear picture of the situation.

“She is not completely blaming Dakota for this mess; she is taking ownership,” Swinyard said of Paul.

He also noted that she is completing the work recommended by the assessor and attending therapy. Swinyard said that the assessment, however, did not address or touch on any of Mortensen’s alleged violent conduct or drug abuse issues.

“This court specifically found that violence had occurred both ways. It’s not clear if the assessor knows that,” Swinyard stated. Commissioner Minas noted that the assessment was only for mental health.

Paul’s attorney further stated that Paul has been working to improve herself, but Mortensen has “not even started the race.” He called the assessment “one-sided” and asked for a more honest redo of Mortensen’s mental health assessment.

An Instagram comment from Mortensen was also addressed, where he reportedly “publicly disparaged” co-star Jessi Draper as a witness for providing evidence to the court. Swinyard also noted that Mortensen allegedly leaked a voice memo to TMZ.

The commissioner noted that both Mortensen and Paul had chosen to make their lives public, but that there are provisions to prevent them from disparaging one another on social media without restricting their rights.

“My client wants every minute she can get with her son, Ever,” Swinyard shared, noting that Paul had lost some time due to illness and her Mother’s Day visit was cut short due to supervisor availability.

Swinyard asked that the commissioner lift supervision because safety concerns are being addressed with DCFS. He noted that their child, as well as Paul’s other children are hurting because of the “sporadic” visits.

Dakota Mortensen’s arguments

Brent Salazar-Hall, Mortensen’s attorney, then addressed the commissioner. He stated that Mortensen is also attending therapy, and his therapist would “be happy” to appear and discuss his progress, and has had discussions with DCFS.

The attorney stated that Mortensen was assaulted first, and he doesn’t understand why Paul believes she is doing more than him. He noted that, in addition to required parenting classes, Mortensen wants to attend child-parent therapy, but Paul had not signed off on it.

The commissioner offered to create a court order that they could attend the therapy without Paul’s permission.

Paul’s attorney pushed back on this, saying they weren’t made aware until two weeks ago. He shared a concern that it was not recommended by DCFS.

Salazar-Hall pointed to several “disparaging” comments that Paul has made against Mortensen, including posting photos of bruises and blaming Mortensen for ruining their child’s birthday party or abusing her through “psychological torture.”

Mortensen’s attorney stated that they are “OK” with lifting supervision, but noted some concerns that Paul would not be fully involved in caring for their child. He also pointed to some missed parent time on her side. Salazar-Hall stated that the child is “essentially being raised by” Mortensen.

The commissioner pointed to a previous agreement where Mortensen granted Paul the majority of parent time. Salazar-Hall responded that Mortensen is in therapy because of things like that, where he gave his parent time away to Paul.

Salazar-Hall stated that they are looking at getting a private guardian for further proceedings and stated that they will not argue about going to standard parent time, but requested that they keep the parent time the way it is until there can be more discussion.

Background

Previously, the commissioner recommended mutual protective orders, ruling that the two need to keep 100 feet apart. Paul received 12 hours with her child per week and was granted time to spend Mother’s Day with the child. All remaining time was given to Mortensen.

RELATED | Protective orders require Utah ‘Bachelorette’ and ex-boyfriend to stay 100 feet apart

These protective orders first came about following domestic violence allegations and the recent release of a 2023 video of an incident between Paul and Mortensen. For that incident, Paul was charged and pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault, with probation set to conclude in August 2026.

Days before the video was released in March 2026, the Draper City Police Department confirmed it was investigating Mortensen and Paul for a domestic violence incident that occurred in February. The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office ultimately declined to file charges for the Draper and West Jordan domestic violence investigations.

The resurfacing of the 2023 video led ABC to pull its newest season of “The Bachelorette” starring Paul.

The commissioner, in the May hearing, said that both Paul and Mortensen had merits in their arguments for protective orders, explaining that the violence goes both ways. He perceived that Paul is more reactive and that Mortensen is more calculating.