Dakota Mortensen allegedly tattooed Taylor Frankie Paul’s initials on her lips just hours after promoting the now-canceled season of The Bachelorette.
In a nondisclosure order filed Tuesday and obtained by Page Six, Paul claims that even though they broke up, Mortensen sent her a photo of him tattooing his initials on the inside of his lips on February 14.
The mother of three said Mortensen’s “alarming” behavior was an example of his “increasingly possessive and erratic behavior”.
“My initials are now permanently etched on the body of a man who was abusive and possessive towards me,” Paul said.
The 31-year-old included an image of her ex-girlfriend’s tattoo in her petition filed in Salt Lake City, Utah, but did not list the date the photo was taken.
Mortensen, 33, reportedly got the new ink just hours after Paul shared a Valentine’s Day-themed promotional post for Season 22 of The Bachelorette on social media.
According to People magazine, Mortensen showed the tattoo to his co-stars the next day “while filming the show.”
Elsewhere in the TRO filing, Paul accused Mortensen of “flooding” him with text messages after their breakup “in an unwanted attempt to restart the relationship.”
She also claimed that her ex-man showed up at her home in the early hours of February 22, initially refused to leave, but then reappeared that night and the next day, “subjecting[Paul]to fear of abuse.”
According to the filing, when the two got into an argument in Mortensen’s car on February 23, Mortensen “assaulted[Paul]by slamming his head into the dashboard of his truck and hitting him in the knee and elbow.”
The TRO’s request included multiple photos of injuries Paul allegedly sustained as a result of the assault.
The former couple, who share a 2-year-old son, Ever, had a court hearing in Salt Lake on Tuesday regarding Mortensen’s protection order, which was filed against Paul on March 19.
In her petition, Mortensen claimed that Paul strangled her during an alleged domestic violence incident in February.
Mortensen was granted an order of protection and temporary custody of Ever. But a judge ruled Tuesday that Paul can only see his son for up to six hours a week until the next court hearing on April 30.
According to TMZ, a judge also granted Paul an order of protection on Tuesday, ruling that Mortensen must stay 100 yards away from Paul until his April 30 hearing. Mortensen also may not email, text, call, or communicate with Paul in any form.
The judge backed up his sentence by citing a disturbing 2023 video of Paul attacking Mortensen, now 8 years old, in front of Mortensen, who is said to have hit him in the head with a metal chair thrown by Paul during the incident.
The video was leaked on March 19, just before ABC decided to cancel Paul’s season of The Bachelorette, which was scheduled to premiere three days later.
Paul’s representatives later claimed that the leaked video “conveniently omits the context” of the former couple’s fight.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
