Taylor Frankie Paul acknowledged that she is not “mother of the year” while fiercely defending herself amid her custody battle against exes Dakota Mortensen and Tate Paul.
“Last night I studied that ‘long suffering’ trains us to eventually thrive in it and it’s safe to say I’m starting to understand exactly what that means,” Taylor, 32, wrote alongside a lengthy vlog about her legal troubles on Saturday, July 18.
Taylor spoke in depth about her separate custody battles against Mortensen, 33, and Tate while applying makeup in a “Get Ready With Me” video. (She shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 6, with ex-husband Tate and son Ever, 2, with Mortensen.)
“If I have learned anything in 2026 [with] false headlines, there’s a lot of false information out there and so, therefore, it doesn’t affect me because it’s not true,” she insisted. “That being said, there are some things that are true as well.”
First up was Utah’s division of the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) filing a petition asking a juvenile court to find that Taylor’s three children are “abused, neglected or dependent” and seeking protective supervision on the children’s behalf.
“It’s kind of like [Mormon Wives] for me. I don’t need to go read [the court documents] because I lived them,” she insisted. “However it is perceived, what is said, it may be accurate, maybe not. It can be exaggerated, twisted. What I do know is what [happened] and I know the truth.”
Taylor confirmed she was consulting with her attorneys to determine whether there is “something way off or misconstrued” in the DCFS filing.
“It will be handled in the courtroom, not here,” she vowed.
Taylor explained that she wanted to keep details of the case sealed for the betterment of “the children” even though she knew all of the information would “come to light” eventually. However, Taylor claimed that she had “made progress in the courtroom” even if it’s a “very slow process.”
“I feel that we have made the progress that I have been aiming for and that is just more time with my son,” she said.
Taylor expressed concern that “more things” about the case were “leaked” on the same day as she resumed extended visitation with her 2-year-old son Ever.
The reality star expressly denied allegations from the DCFS report that she made her daughter Indy change Ever’s diapers.
“Not once have I forced or made my daughter change diapers,” she stressed. “If she ever wanted to, I let her. She likes to help. … If that is bad on me, so be it.”
Taylor wrapped up her vlog by clarifying that she was not trying to change anyone’s mind about her parenting.
“I am actually not here to sway anyone. I am an open book. I will give you the ugly and the pretty. If you know me, I don’t claim to be this ‘mother of the year.’ I have my faults,” she acknowledged. “I also have a right to stick up for myself, give context of my life.”
She went on, “I will admit I am a lot of things. I can confidently say that if you were to put my kids on a [witness] stand, they are choosing mom and mom’s house every time, I say that with full confidence because I love my children. They know that I love them.”
“I’m at a loss for words about this experience. It’s been the most difficult thing I have ever been through,” she concluded. “Some people think the best thing is getting offline. My decision is to show this process and how ugly it is. I’ve made mistakes. I will own that. I can see that.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star has been locked in two separate custody battles with Mortensen and Tate for months.
After taking a plea deal in a 2023 domestic violence case, Taylor was involved in a new incident with Mortensen that was investigated by Utah’s Draper City Police Department in February. Both parties publicly denied the allegations of domestic violence made by the other. (Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was pulled off ABC’s spring schedule due to the criminal investigation.)
The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office declined to file criminal charges against Paul in April, effectively closing that case.
That same month, Mortensen was awarded temporary custody of Ever, with Taylor restricted to eight-hour weekly supervised visitation. A Utah judge subsequently signed mutual orders of protection for Mortensen and Taylor, requiring them to stay 100 feet apart for a period of three years.
The former couple were in court again earlier this month, as their custody agreement was changed to allow Taylor more unsupervised time with Ever. (Mortensen was also given longer weekends as part of the ruling.)
Meanwhile, Taylor’s ex-husband Tate sought an emergency change to their custody agreement for Indy and Ocean in early July when the reality star entered rehab. (Us reported on July 1 that Taylor voluntarily entered a rehab facility and has since returned home.)
While Tate’s motion was rejected, Taylor volunteered to take a sobriety test in order to regain unsupervised visitation with both children. (In Saturday’s vlog, Taylor said that the first half of her test “came in clean” but she was still waiting for the full results.)
A major development for both cases occurred this past week when child welfare officials raised concerns about her three children. Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services asked a juvenile court to order protective supervision services because it found that her three children were “abused, neglected or dependent.”
Taylor’s legal team reacted to the DCFS report in a statement to Us, saying, “It was recently decided that the ongoing custody actions would be best suited for juvenile court, a common step for families engaged in highly contentious, complex custody matters. Taylor is not deterred by this transition; she welcomes the added structure and oversight it provides and looks forward to continuing her progress toward normalizing custody and becoming the healthiest version of herself.”
The ruling prompted Tate and Dakota to come together for a joint statement to explain their side of the legal battle.
“Tate Paul and Dakota Mortensen have remained publicly silent throughout these proceedings to avoid having serious private family matters turned into more of a public spectacle than they already have due to the insatiable appetite of others to share private family information online to promote views and publicity,” their attorneys told Us on Thursday, July 16 “However, they are deeply concerned that Taylor’s statement minimizes the gravity of the action filed by DCFS and her many underlying actions that prompted such.”
Attorneys for both men insisted that the DCFS petition was “not a routine transition to juvenile court or an opportunity for personal growth” since it determined that “the children are abused.”
“Despite the myriad false accusations published online and on social media about them by Taylor and others, Tate and Dakota have chosen to not participate in the often misconstrued social media and other online activity surrounding their cases,” they added. “They have remained silent to protect their children, not because they have nothing to say. When the time is right, they will tell their story in their own words in the appropriate forum.”
Amid her legal battles, Taylor recently returned to film the opening credits for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives earlier this month after the Hulu reality show was put on pause in February.
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