Judge orders Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen to stay away from each other for 3 YEARS as exes face off in court

A UTAH judge ordered Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex Dakota Mortensen to stay away from each other for three years during a court hearing on Thursday.

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star faced off against the father of her two-year-old son in court after they both filed protective orders against each other following domestic violence allegations.

After the 90-minute hearing, the judge ordered that Taylor and Dakota’s temporary protective orders be extended to three years, with both being forbidden from coming within 100 feet of the other.

If either party fails to abide by the order’s conditions, “an arrest can be made, and charges can be filed,” the judge solemnly warned Taylor and Dakota.

The judge did not yet rule on changing Taylor’s supervised visits with their son, Ever, and said he wanted to wait until May 11 to make any modifications to their current custody arrangement.

He said the parenting time for Taylor will remain at eight hours of supervised visits a week, though he did note that he was open to removing the supervision requirement.

Both Taylor and Dakota will return to court on June 1.

Before he announced his ruling, the judge ordered Dakota and Taylor: “You have to figure out how to function as co-parents.

“You’re linked together for the remainder of your lives.

“You’re modeling how you deal with conflict to a two-year-old. This is going to affect the child.

“This is a legacy of violence from generation to generation.”

The judge slammed Dakota for filming their physical fights, claiming his motivation was “preservation of evidence” and not the welfare of their child.

He said Dakota’s behavior is “calculating,” while Taylor’s aggression is “reactive.”

The judge also accused Dakota of “manipulating” and “controlling” Taylor.

There were a slew of court filings entered before Thursday’s hearing, including letters of support from fellow Taylor’s Mormon Wives co-star Jessi Draper and from her sister, Aspen May.

During the hearing, Dakota’s attorney outlined several alleged domestic violence incidents against Taylor, including one from the night that Taylor was charged for domestic violence back in May 2023.

The attorney also claimed Taylor had threatened to ruin his career.

Taylor’s attorney rebutted Dakota’s request for a protective order.

He also claimed his client had gone through two miscarriages ahead of the 2023 arrest, and he said that alcohol was involved during that incident – but drinking is “no longer a factor.”

Taylor’s attorney claimed in May 2025, Dakota kicked her repeatedly while she was on the ground during an explosive fight.

He also claimed Dakota leaked a damning cellphone video to a media outlet, which ultimately led ABC execs to pull her season of The Bachelorette from air just days before the scheduled premiere.

Taylor’s attorney said Jessi claimed in her affidavit that Dakota planned to leak the 2023 video of Taylor’s violent behavior as an act of revenge.

The latest trouble began on March 19, when Dakota filed a protective order against the mother of their two-year-old son, whose birthday happened to be that same day. 

The judge ruled that Taylor would be barred from seeing Ever until a new ruling was made on April 7.

Hours before the April 7 hearing, Taylor filed her own protective order against Dakota with new allegations of abuse during a February incident.

During that hearing, Taylor’s attorneys presented photos of bruising to support her claims that Dakota slammed her head into a truck dashboard during the February altercation. 

Taylor also alleged that Dakota struck her knee and elbow and requested sex immediately following the fight. 

Additionally, she cited a May 2025 incident where she claimed Dakota refused to leave her home and kicked her.

Following these filings, a judge granted Taylor a temporary protective order, requiring Dakota to stay at least 100 feet away from her. 

Dakota has provided a vastly different account of the February incidents to the Draper City Police. 

He alleged that on February 22, Taylor attacked him while he was in bed with their son, scratching his neck and face. 

During the following day’s altercation, Dakota claimed Taylor mounted him, grabbed his throat, and screamed in his face, prompting him to shove her away in self-defense, an action Dakota claimed resulted in her head hitting the dashboard.

The Draper City Attorney declined to file formal charges against either party, citing “inconsistencies” in both accounts.

The Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office also declined to press charges against Taylor following their own investigation. 

While filming for the fifth season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was initially halted in March due to the domestic violence allegations, production resumed last week. 

Taylor has not yet restarted filming with her co-stars, and sources told The U.S. Sun that Dakota will not return to the show in any capacity this year.