The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Dakota Mortensen has gone public with Shania Powell, closing out the summer season with plenty of PDA.
“Soaking up our last bit of summer 🙈🤍,” Shinia wrote via Instagram on Saturday, August 8, sharing a handful of photos from a recent getaway to Island Park, Idaho.
In one snap, Dakota, 33, leaned over to kiss Shinia on a mountaintop overlook. The twosome also cuddled up in other outdoorsy images, sharing big grins as they embraced.
Dakota and Shinia were first romantically linked in July after being spotted together at a baseball game in Utah. The duo previously hooked up during Mormon Wives season 4 — amid Dakota’s tumultuous on-and-off romance with Taylor Frankie Paul. (Shinia was introduced as a friend of Taylor’s pal Miranda McWhorter.)
“I do just want to say sorry for everything that I did. I know that caused a lot of problems,” Dakota told Taylor, 32, during a FaceTime call on the Hulu show, addressing his history with Shinia. “I’m sorry for hooking up with Shinia. Was it dumb of me? Yes. Could I have picked someone else? Yes. I picked somebody that was obviously going to come with problems, and that was very s***y of me to do.”
Dakota’s fling with Shinia also sparked drama for Taylor and Miranda, 28, whose friendship had only started to get back on track after their now-viral 2021 soft-swinging scandal.
“I think the Taylor and Dakota of it all was definitely a contributing factor, especially since I was very vocal about how her pursuing that relationship would affect her and would affect me,” Miranda exclusively told Us in March. “It felt like it was just blatantly disregarded on multiple occasions. “Also, I understood where Taylor was coming from with her frustration as well. As things continue to play out, I think other things unfolded, and it just made that decision easier.”
In the end, Miranda overwhelmingly stuck by Taylor’s side.
“Taylor giving me an ultimatum on choosing her or Shinia is frustrating because I’m not your partner and I’m not your child. I’m your friend,” Miranda previously said in a season 4 confessional. “And I’m pretty sure that Taylor is not going to like my decision from where I’m standing right now.”
Taylor and Dakota, who welcomed son Ever in 2024, broke up for good earlier this year amid multiple domestic violence accusations. They each denied the accusations and Utah police declined to press charges. Amid the drama, Taylor temporarily lost custody of Ever, 2, but has since been awarded visitation rights by a judge. She also shares Indy, 8, and Ocean, 6, with ex-husband Tate Paul.
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