Taylor Frankie Paul scores big win in custody battle over son Ever after facing off with ex Dakota Mortensen in court

THE SECRET Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul has won back partial custody of her two-year-old son after a nasty battle with her ex Dakota Mortensen.

Taylor, 32, initially lost total access to her son Ever when Dakota filed a protective order against the reality star in March, accusing her of repeated abusive behavior.

During Monday’s court hearing in Utah, the judge acknowledged that the volatile exes did make some headway in mediation and came to some agreements on Ever’s care.

The judge decided to lift supervised visitation, so Taylor will be able to see their son without additional oversight.

He also granted Taylor one weeknight every week with Ever – but not an overnight – and she will get every other weekend with him as well.

It’s a big step up from the just 12 hours of supervised visitation she previously was given.

The judge also said he also expects both parents to closely follow the recommendations by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

The judge also ruled that both parents should not make disparaging remarks about each other.

He also told Dakota, 33, and Taylor to hire a private guardian ad litem, or child advocate, for Ever by the end of this week, and he expects to approve the selection by next week.

The exes will be back in court on July 8, with the judge aiming to rule on parenting time for Ever’s holidays and summer months.

Until then, the judge said that Dakota should be considered the custodial parent for holidays, which includes July 4.

During the hearing, Taylor’s attorney ripped into Dakota and said he was found to be unemployed with a criminal history and no family support in Utah.

Taylor’s attorney insisted she has lots of support in Utah, and just purchased a home with plenty of space for her three children.

Dakota’s attorney said they were open to lifting the supervised visits for Taylor, but expressed concerns about how much time Taylor has utilized in her allocated parenting time thus far.

The legal battle kicked off on March 19, when Dakota filed for a protective order against the Hulu reality star right on the toddler’s second birthday.

The judge initially stepped in and blocked Taylor from seeing their son until a scheduled court date on April 7.

Just hours before they were set to face the judge on that date, Taylor retaliated with her own protective order, bringing forward fresh allegations of abuse from a fight back in February.

In court, Taylor’s legal team brought out photos of bruises, claiming Dakota slammed her head into a truck dashboard during that February dispute.

Taylor also alleged that Dakota hit her knee and elbow, and then demanded sex right after the altercation.

She also brought up an older incident from May 2025, claiming Dakota refused to leave her house and kicked her.

After hearing the claims, the judge granted Taylor a temporary protective order, ordering Dakota to stay at least 100 feet away from her.

Taylor was given eight hours of supervised visitation with Ever weekly after that first hearing; it was upped to 12 hours of supervised visitation during a May hearing.

Dakota, however, gave the Draper City Police a completely different version of what happened in February.

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

As for the dashboard incident the next day, Dakota claimed Taylor got on top of him, grabbed his throat, and screamed in his face, forcing him to shove her away in self-defense, which he says caused her head to hit the dashboard.

In the end, prosecutors decided not to pursue the matter.

The Draper City Attorney declined to file formal charges against either of them, pointing to major inconsistencies in both of their stories.

The Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office also passed on pressing charges against Taylor and thus declined to revoke her probation from her 2023 arrest for domestic violence, after wrapping up their own investigation.

During the most recent hearing on the protective orders, the judge extended both of the protective orders for three full years.