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Taylor Frankie Paul Addresses Mystery Man in Her Video Ahead of ‘Bachelorette’ Premiere
Content Warning: This story contains details of domestic violence.
Taylor Frankie Paul's journey of finding love has come to an abrupt end.
After a video of a physical altercation between the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star and her ex Dakota Mortensen from 2023 recently surfaced, ABC confirmed that Taylor's season of The Bachelorette will no longer premiere on March 22.
A spokesperson for Disney Entertainment said in a statement to E! News, "In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.”
The network's announcement comes after a video in which Taylor could be seen grabbing and kicking her then-boyfriend—with whom she shares 2-year-old son Ever—during an argument was obtained by TMZ.
Following the video's release, a spokesperson for Taylor called the video in a statement to E! News part of “a destructive campaign to harm Taylor,” claiming it “conveniently omits context,” and categorizes the release as “a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior.” (TMZ did not specify from where they obtained the video.)
E! News reached out to Dakota's rep for comment regarding the video and has not yet heard back.
After the 2023 incident, Taylor—also mom to two kids with ex Tate Paul—was arrested and charged with one count of felony aggravated assault, two counts of felony domestic violence in the presence of a child causing injury, one count of misdemeanor child abuse and one count of misdemeanor criminal mischief, according to court documents released by the District Attorney for Salt Lake County and obtained by E! News.
Disney/Michael Kirchoff) (Photo by Michael Kirchoff/Disney via Getty Images
That August, the 31-year-old pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, according to ABC4 Utah, while her other charges were dismissed.
The newly-surfaced footage also comes just days after it was confirmed that production on season five on Secret Wives of Mormon Wives was halted amid an investigation into a more recent alleged dispute between Taylor and Dakota that took place in February.
Draper City, Utah, police also confirmed to People that an investigation had been opened and “allegations have been made in both directions.”
Shortly thereafter, the 31-year-old shared her thoughts on the show's subsequent pause and the aftermath of the accusations.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images; Sara Jaye/Getty Images for Arby's
"My heart hurts to see it, to go through it, especially at this time," she told People while promoting The Bachelorette on March 17. "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."
Meanwhile, Dakota's rep addressed the most recent allegations of a dispute between the former couple, noting that the 33-year-old "wants to co-parent well."
"His number one priority here is protecting [their 2-year-old son], Ever," his rep told Entertainment Weekly in a statement March 18, adding of the alleged incident, "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."
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