Paul tells EW “everything that’s been heavy right now” has been “taking away” from her new starring role.

Taylor Frankie Paul breaks silence on domestic violence investigation ahead of Bachelorette premiere: ‘I’ve had better days’

Paul tells EW "everything that's been heavy right now" has been "taking away" from her new starring role.

By Sarah Hearon

and Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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March 17, 2026 8:49 p.m. ET

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Taylor Frankie Paul's journey as the new star of *The Bachelorette* isn't off to a storybook beginning.

Days before the season 22 premiere, the MomTok founder and *Secret Lives of Mormon Wives* star is embroiled in a controversy with her on-again, off-again ex Dakota Mortensen involving an investigation concerning allegations of domestic assault. Now, she's breaking her silence.

** caught up with Paul in New York City on Tuesday, where she reflected, "I've had better days." Though the viral social media sensation says she's "super excited" about Sunday's premiere of *The Bachelorette*, she feels "everything that's been heavy right now is kind of taking away from that, I'm not going to lie. But in the normal situation I'd be very excited."

Taylor and Dakota on "Mormon Wives".

Disney/Fred Hayes

News broke on Monday that production on season 5 of *The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives *had paused as the Draper City Police Department pursued an investigation into an alleged domestic assault incident involving Paul and Mortensen. According to reports, the allegations "have been made in both directions," and officers spoke to Paul and Mortensen on Feb. 24 and 25.

"I actually took action about a few weeks ago," Paul tells EW. "I'm just doing third-party everything — pick-up, drop-offs, communication — so no contact right now for me."

She adds, "I think that's the best case, honestly, because clearly it's just not to a point of us getting along, so I wanted to take the best action I could." Paul says her goal was to "not make it a big deal… I didn't want to bring anything to the public eye, making it a bigger deal for the sake of my son, and just everything about to come out. But that wasn't the plan for him."

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Will Taylor Frankie Paul's 'Bachelorette' season still air? What to know about the reality star's latest controversy

Will Taylor Frankie Paul's 'Bachelorette' season still air? What to know about the reality star's latest controversy

EW has reached out to representatives for Mortensen for comment.

ABC announced last fall that Paul, who rose to fame on *Mormon Wives* as a result of a soft-swinging scandal, would hand out roses for season 22 of *The Bachelorette*. Season 4 of the Hulu series documented the weeks leading up to Paul leaving for Los Angeles to shoot *The Bachelorette*. The season included Mortensen's claims that she slept with him (twice), including the night before she left, and the reality star missing her plane to L.A.

“It took everything in me to get up and go, because I knew it was going to be the best thing for me,” she said in her *Us Weekly* cover story of leaving Utah to lead the dating franchise. “Yes, the goal is to find someone, but what I do know is I want out of this toxicity that I’m in right now. So I knew that I needed to go, but it took everything in me to get there.”

The theme of Paul’s season is seemingly breaking the “toxic” cycle she was in with Mortensen, with whom she shares son Ever. (Paul also shares two kids Indy, 8, and Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul.)

“I didn’t have to do this,” she noted. “There was no other reason for me to do this other than I wanted to get outside of Utah and the toxicity that I’m in and venture off and really do something for myself.”

Paul and Mortensen’s tumultuous relationship first made headlines during season 1 of *Mormon Wives* when she was arrested following a fight between the couple. Paul pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault in 2023, which means that charge will be dismissed if she complies with the terms of the plea. Other charges — 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 — were dropped.

Paul told *Us* that her *Bachelorette* men didn’t shy away from asking about her past during the season.

“I think I got asked about all of ’em during individual convos, and I was ready for it. I’ve got nothing else to hide,” she said. “My arrest will always be a sensitive subject given the circumstances in that. Swinging — that’s such a scandal headline — but it’s also a very traumatic time in my life. That was one of my rock-bottom points. I lost my family, my husband. It’s so much deeper than that to me, and deep conversations were had. I think anyone that actually cares about me would definitely be asking those.”

As for where she stood with Mortensen at the time of her *Us* cover story — the interview was conducted prior to the reported February contact with the police — she told the outlet, “I don’t even know. I have to ask myself that question all the time. Where do we stand? I don’t know. Ask me tomorrow.”

*The Bachelorette* premieres Sunday, March 22, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

- Bachelor Universe Fandom

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Source: “EW Bachelor”