Taylor Frankie Paul has broken her silence on the drama, lamenting the “timing” of her domestic violence allegations with Dakota Mortensen.
“Honestly, it’s heartbreaking to see that and go through that, especially during this time,” she told People magazine at Tuesday’s press preview for “The Bachelorette.”
“Just the timing is difficult, and that’s a big deal. I feel like every premier I’ve been to, I’ve never fully enjoyed it. So this one too… it’s been very difficult and it took everything to get here today.”
Paul, 31, also said it had been a “difficult time” and said he was “disappointed”.
“I’m definitely having a hard time, but at the same time, I feel like if I don’t show up, I’m just giving up on these opportunities and not being able to enjoy what we’ve been working on and something very exciting that’s coming up,” she continued, referring to her upcoming turn as The Bachelorette on ABC’s beloved reality competition series, which premieres Sunday.
“I feel like it was the right thing to do…even if it’s hard, I’m going to be there,” she explained.
The “Secrets of a Mormon Wife” personality explained that when she had the opportunity to appear on the 22nd season of “The Bachelorette,” her “yes” response was “instant.”
“The only condition I had was if I could see my children,” she told the magazine. “That was the biggest question I had when considering this piece.”
Paul revealed that she felt appearing on the series in Los Angeles was a way to “get out of Utah and the toxicity of life in the bubble” and appreciated that it was “the best thing[she]could have done.”
“I felt a lot of comfort in who I am because all the men were just kind and gentle and gentlemen,” she told People.
“It’s about bringing out the truest side of yourself and honestly believing in your worth and worth. They gave me peace of mind and reminded me of that. It was also a journey.”
Sources told the outlet on Monday that production on “Mormon Wives” has been halted pending an investigation into domestic violence allegations involving Paul and his ex, Dakota Mortensen.
“They are not filming,” the newspaper reported on Monday. “There’s something pretty serious going on with Taylor’s past, so they’ll see what happens. Until that’s resolved, they’ll take a break.”
A spokesperson for the Draper City, Utah, Police Department told People that “contact with the parties involved occurred on the 24th and 25th (of February)” in the case, noting that the charges were “a two-way street.”
The on-again, off-again couple, who have a 1-year-old son, Ever, dated from 2022 to 2024.
The 2023 incident in which Paul allegedly threw a chair at Mortensen, which hit Mortensen’s daughter Indi, 8, but Paul said during an appearance on Call Her Daddy in 2025 that the incident was “all dropped.”
The TV star, who has sons Indy and Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul, was arrested and charged at the time with domestic violence, misdemeanor assault and mischief in the presence of a child.
Last week’s Season 4 finale of SLOMW revealed that Paul and Mortensen were together the night before he left to film The Bachelorette, but she insisted in an interview on Call Her Daddy that they had broken up “for good.”
“We’ll see what happens[with Season 3 of SLOMW],” she said, adding that she was the one who made the “final decision to end it.”
