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Taylor Frankie Paul is opening up about her tumultuous relationship with ex Dakota Mortensen amid their custody battle and The Bachelorette cancellation.
“It’s so sad because nobody wants to be like this. I hate that I am no longer myself. I hate that I stayed for so long,” Taylor, 31, wrote in an emotional Instagram post on Thursday, May 14. “I blame nobody more than my own damn self, because how did I allow this for my kids and myself for so long? I’m sorry to THEM. I don’t need to log off and remain silent. I’ve already admitted in court I’m fully NOT INNOCENT, I know that. None of it is okay, period.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star continued, “I’ve been in survival mode for years with miscarriages, pregnancy, postpartum, and horrible betrayal with so many lies told, which added to the trauma on my body physically, hormonally, mentally, and emotionally. Those layers also matter. To make it more difficult, I was scared to call for help or tell anyone because I was being reminded I would be the one in trouble given I’m the one on probation already.”
“Imagine being pregnant & postpartum healing internally and too scared to ask for help or at the very least speak about it and he knew he had that advantage, which gave him MORE access to do whatever, knowing I’d remain silent,” Taylor alleged. “What people aren’t understanding is you don’t even realize you’re in it and what’s happening psychologically for a long time. You solely believe you’re the only insane one because they twist everything that you eventually feel insane. Then to find out you weren’t insane, in fact, I was right about it all, which is gut-wrenching to learn. Was always projection. It’s a human response to eventually snap and then getting stuck in the cycle because they console you, saying, ‘It’s okay you’re acting out, I’m still here for you and love you still,’ which then you’re feeling bad as they are aware they are gaslighting you. Even after learning a lot of that, you STILL want to be held by that same person. It’s twisted, I know.”
“And then there is the ‘Why didn’t you leave sooner?’… which is valid and let’s look at how it ended for me when I finally did,” Taylor went on, claiming Dakota, 33, had “love bombed, then manipulated, threatened [and] physically hurt” her, in addition to having “cops called on me, [being] publicly humiliated, lost most friends because he got to them, had CPS called, and am now in court all because I said no more and he knew I meant it this time.”
“The difference between us, my love was real for him without gaining anything, and people know that. Not sure it was the same in return. I cried the whole way home after court, allowing the pain through,” the MomTok influencer wrote. “I wish he had been the person he pretended to be. I experienced enough, I saw too much. The mask fell off, and not only with me. We’re both in the wrong. What I can say is I didn’t want to ruin his life, call cops on him, take his child away, or claim complete innocence … that’s the difference between us.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Dakota’s representative for comment.
Taylor also took aim at her Mormon Wives costar Mikayla Matthews, who has distanced herself from Taylor in recent months.
“And then we have friends like Mikayla that come at me during all this, and now she wants me to apologize? Absolutely not. She can go kick rocks instead of kicking me right now,” Taylor wrote.
In the caption of her post, Taylor wrote that she was sharing her emotions over the past couple of months because she “wanted to process it more.”
News broke in March that ABC had shelved the latest season of The Bachelorette starring Taylor after footage emerged of a domestic violence incident between her and Dakota that took place in 2023. (Taylor pled guilty to third-degree felony aggravated assault in 2023 as part of a plea deal and remains on probation.)
At the same time, Taylor was being investigated by two different Utah police departments in connection with two more alleged domestic disputes involving Dakota; however, prosecutors ultimately declined to press charges against the reality stars. The police investigations led to production pausing on Mormon Wives season 5.
In late April, Taylor and Dakota were granted protective orders against each other, ordering them to stay at least 100 feet away. The pair remain locked in a legal battle over their 2-year-old son, Ever, of whom Dakota currently has temporary custody. Taylor has up to 12 hours of supervised visitation with her youngest child. The custody arrangement will be revisited during another hearing on June 1. (Taylor also shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul.)
In an April statement, Dakota said, “I regret not stepping away from the difficult cycle sooner. I’m not perfect, and I take accountability for my part. I’m sincerely sorry to those I’ve hurt. At the same time, I don’t agree with how this situation has been portrayed publicly. It does not reflect the full context of what occurred or the impact it has had on me and my son.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
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