Taylor Frankie Paul breaks silence on domestic dispute with ex Dakota Mortensen: ‘I’m struggling’

Taylor Frankie Paul lamented the “timing” of her alleged domestic violence incident with Dakota Mortensen, as she broke her silence on the drama.

“Honestly, just like, my heart hurts to see it, to go through it, especially at this time,” she told People on Tuesday during a press preview for “The Bachelorette.”

“Just the timing is hard, and it’s a big deal. I feel like every premiere that I’ve experienced, I’ve never enjoyed fully, so this is another one… it’s extremely hard, and it took everything to get me here today.”

Paul, 31, also said it was a “heavy time” and called it “unfortunate.”

“I’m struggling for sure, but also at the same time I feel like if I don’t show up, then I’m just giving these opportunities away and not enjoying what we’ve worked on and something super exciting that’s coming,” she continued, referencing her upcoming turn as the Bachelorette on ABC’s beloved reality competition series, which premieres Sunday.

“I just feel like it was the right thing to do … show up even though it’s hard,” she explained.

The “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” personality also explained that when she had the opportunity to star in the 22nd season of “The Bachelorette,” her “yes” was “immediate.”

“The only condition I had is if I was able to see my children,” she told the outlet. “So that was the biggest question I had going into it.”

Paul divulged that she felt starring on the series in Los Angeles was her way of getting “out of my toxicity of a life in Utah and bubble” and labelled it “the best thing [she] could have done.”

“There was a lot of reassurance in who I am, you know, from all these men being just kind and gentle and gentlemen,” she shared with People.

“It kind of brought out my true side of who I am and honestly belief in me, value, worth … they made me feel reassured in that and reminded me of that. It was a journey of also that too.”

A source told the outlet on Monday that production on “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” has been halted amid an investigation into alleged domestic violence involving Paul and her ex, Dakota Mortensen.

“They are not filming,” the publication reported on Monday. “Taylor has some pretty serious stuff happening regarding her past, and they will see what happens. Until that resolves, they are off.”

A Draper City, Utah Police Department spokesperson told People that “contact was made with involved parties on [Feb.] 24th and 25th” in the alleged incident, noting that accusations had been leveled “in both directions.”

The former on-again, off-again couple, who share 1-year-old son, Ever, dated between 2022 and 2024.

Paul allegedly threw a chair at Mortensen that instead hit her daughter Indy, 8, during an alleged 2023 incident — however, she noted during a 2025 “Call Her Daddy” appearance that charges “were all dropped” in the case.

The TV star, who shares Indy and son Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul, was arrested and charged with commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child, misdemeanor assault, and criminal mischief at the time.

Though the Season 4 finale of “SLOMW” revealed last week that Paul and Mortensen were together the night before she left to begin filming on “The Bachelorette,” she claimed in the “Call Her Daddy” interview that they had parted ways “for good.”

“We’ll see that play out [on Season 3 of ‘SLOMW’],” she said, adding that she was the one who made “the final call to end it.”