Dakota Mortensen is continuing to share his side of the story amid the investigation into him and ex Taylor Frankie Paul.
“As anyone who has seen the video will understand, this is a deeply upsetting situation,” Dakota, 33, tells Us Weekly in a Thursday, March 19, statement. “I am, unfortunately, used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny. I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same.”
Dakota’s statement comes hours after TMZ obtained court documents saying that he filed a protective order against Taylor in Utah. He also requested temporary custody of their son. News later broke that The Bachelorette has been canceled amid the allegations.
“Taylor is very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security,” a rep for Taylor, 31, said in a statement to Us on Thursday, March 19. “After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm.”
The statement continued, “There are too many women who are suffering in silence as they survive aggressive, jealous ex-partners who refuse to let them move on with their lives. Taylor has remained silent out of fear of further abuse, retaliation, and public shaming. She is currently exploring all of her options, seeking support, and preparing to own and share her story.”
TMZ released footage on Thursday, March 19, that showed Taylor throwing multiple chairs at Dakota as the pair yelled at each other. The incident led to her 2023 arrest for domestic violence, where she was charged with aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury and criminal mischief after the incident. Taylor ultimately pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, while the other four charges were dismissed with prejudice. She later reached a plea deal.
Taylor’s daughter, Indy, could be heard crying in the background. (Taylor shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul. She is also mom to son Ever, 2, whom she shares with Dakota.)
“It’s sad to see the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child,” a rep for Taylor told TMZ after the footage emerged. “Releasing an old and selectively edited video on their son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior.”
The statement continued: “Thankfully, the public has seen this act before and knows who he is and sadly, many will recognize this pattern of manipulation, both in his actions on the show and from their own experiences.”
The footage was released amid news breaking that Taylor and Dakota were involved in an incident leading to season 5 of Mormon Wives halting production. A spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department in Utah confirmed to Us Weekly at the time that there was an open “domestic assault investigation” concerning Taylor and Dakota. The spokesperson noted that allegations were “made in both directions.”
Taylor, for her part, addressed the alleged incident in an exclusive interview with Us and claimed that there’s “more to the context to everything.”
“It’s been hard. And it sucks to be in this position,” she said. “And the mother that I am, that is something I will always stand my ground on. I believe that I am a good mother and I have always treated my kids very well. So the headlines that are out right now are very hard to see because that’s not the truth of it. I have always treated my children with respect and I’ve never touched them. So it’s been really hard.”
Taylor went on to note that the news coming to light days away from The Bachelorette season 22 premiere was “unfortunate.”
“It’s another premiere that’s been taken away from me,” she said. “I’ve never enjoyed a premiere for any one of my shows. So it’s just been very sad.”
Dakota, meanwhile, addressed the incident one day later. His rep denied that he was responsible for the news being made public at this time.
“His number one priority here is protecting [their son], Ever,” a rep for Dakota told Entertainment Weekly. “He knew there was a possibility it could come out, but he was not going to be the one to proactively do that because he has always wanted a decent relationship with Taylor. It’s been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to coparent well.”
The statement continued, “He was just hoping that if he says nothing, as he usually does, it would go away. He’s never done any kind of sit-down interview about his side. He kind of just lets it all happen to him, and I think he realizes with the severity of everything now that he just can’t do that.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
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