A Utah judge has granted mutual protective orders to Taylor Frankie Paul, star of 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,' and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen. The orders were issued during a court hearing in Salt Lake City on Thursday, following domestic violence charges and allegations. The couple, who share a two-year-old son, must stay at least 100 feet apart, with commissioner Russell Minas warning that the relationship is 'very toxic' and that further issues would arise without the order.
Fellow cast member Jessi Draper submitted a statement to the court alleging that Mortensen confided in her about his plan to leak videos of Paul to TMZ to humiliate her. Paul's attorney, Eric Swinyard, said the statement recounts a conversation Mortensen had with Draper, her estranged husband, and another man days before TMZ published a video showing Paul throwing chairs at Mortensen, one of which hit a child. The video led to ABC cancelling Paul's season of 'The Bachelorette.'
Swinyard issued a statement after the hearing, saying: 'Today's hearing was a significant step forward as the Court entered protective orders requiring that Taylor's ex-partner stays far away from her. Taylor was incredibly candid with the Court that she is not perfect and owned her faults, which is in direct contrast to how the other party presented their argument, despite evidence and input from law enforcement that showed otherwise.'
The statement continued: 'Taylor feels solidarity with the many survivors who have endured similar hardships behind closed doors and shared only part of their stories, and she remains grateful for the outpouring of support she continues to receive. She looks forward to continuing to cooperate with the Court to make progress in the custody case.'
According to Swinyard, Mortensen told Draper he planned to 'take matters into his own hands to embarrass Taylor' and specifically named TMZ as the outlet for leaking embarrassing videos. The barstool video was released by TMZ a few days later.
