Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen's Tumultuous Relationship and Bachelorette Cancellation Explained
Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen's Tumultuous Relationship and Bachelorette Cancellation Explained
Christina IzzoFri, March 20, 2026 at 1:48 AM UTC
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(Disney/Fred Hayes)
And the rose goes to...no one! Yes, mere days before its March 22 premiere, The Bachelorette season 22 was cancelled due to domestic assault allegations against its star, Taylor Frankie Paul, following leaked videos of a physical altercation between The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.
“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,” ABC told Parade in a statement on March 19.
The taped incident led to Paul's arrest in 2023 for misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief, and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child, after she was accused of throwing a chair at Mortensen that hit her daughter. The reality star is currently serving a three-year probation.
However, the recent cancellation by The Bachelorette's parent network ABC is just the latest in a tumultuous few years for the on-and-off-again couple. Here's a look back at Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen’s drama-filled romance.
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Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen’s relationship timelineMay 2022
Taylor Frankie Paul takes to TikTok to publicly announce her split from Tate Paul, to whom she was married since 2016 and shares two children, Indy and Ocean. The separation announcement dropped amidst the couple's "soft-swinging" scandal, in which they reportedly experimented sexually with a group of other couples in the Mormon influencer space known as "MomTok."
July 2022
With the end of one relationship came the start of another: In summer 2022, Paul soft-launched her burgeoning relationship with Mortensen, again via her TikTok handle: “Been heartbroken twice this summer and this cute sweet mf comes out of nowhere,” she wrote. Mortensen himself revealed the identity of the mystery man by cheekily commenting: “Lucky guy whoever he is.”
September 2022
In September, Paul hard-launches her new relationship by featuring Mortensen in, duh, a TikTok video featuring the couple performing a choreographed dance to Beyonce's hit "Cuff."
November 2022
In response to a TikTok follower's comment that "she definitely looks off," Paul posted a TikTok video revealing that she and Mortensen were expecting their first child together. Sadly, the reality star ended up suffering an ectopic pregnancy.
Related: How Many Kids Does Taylor Frankie Paul Have? Meet the ‘Bachelorette’ Star’s 3 Children
December 2022
A month later, the duo broke up, with Taylor posting a video to her TikTok account with the caption: “Can someone please explain how ending a six-month relationship hurt worse than ending a six-year marriage?”
January 2023
Sike! Just a few short weeks later, Taylor and Dakota were back together and, yes, posting jokey TikTok videos about their reunion. In a comment beneath the post, she answered: “We did break up for a couple weeks, but decided we want to try things and not chance losing each other.”
February 2023
And now for the legal issues: On February 17, Paul was arrested for domestic violence against Mortensen following a fiery fight between the couple. She was ultimately charged with aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury and criminal mischief after the incident, though all but the aggravated assault charge was dismissed. She reached a plea deal in March 2023. The arrest and subsequent scandal play out on Paul's Hulu reality show, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
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Related: Taylor Frankie Paul’s Ongoing Domestic Violence Investigation Could Impact Her 2023 Plea Deal
June 2023
Despite the arrest, Taylor and Dakota remained together in the months following the altercation, with Paul confirming their romance via social media.
September 2023
About ten months after revealing her ectopic pregnancy, Paul and Mortensen announced that they were expecting their "rainbow baby." Taylor posted photos from their pregnancy shoot onto her TikTok account.
March 2024
The couple welcomed son Ever True Mortensen, "our angel sent from heaven," on March 19, 2024. Of the birth, Paul shared on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives that Dakota "was such a good partner in the process and very supportive.” The mom of three added: “I’m like, on cloud nine, and this is like the first time I’ve been so confident in us, in a future. I just — I hope that I can trust him.”
September 2024
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered on Hulu on September 6, 2024, bringing a spotlight onto Taylor and Dakota's relationship, including cheating claims made against both parties. For his part, Mortensen denied the rumors that he stepped out on Taylor with Jenna Jarvis, posting a TikTok video with the caption: "All that matters is my family at this point. Have i made dumb mistakes in my life? Yes. But idgaf anymore i am not my past."
October 2024
In an Us Weekly cover story, Paul revealed that rewatching her turbulent romance with Dakota on the Hulu reality series was "probably one of the hardest moments" of her life. As for the pair's relationship status at that point, the Secret Lives star said: "“I would say we’re working on things and I actually have no idea where it goes with us from here. We are not fully together, but not fully done. I don’t know where the future holds with him and I.”
December 2024
By December, however, it looks like Taylor had more clarity about where things stood between her and Dakota: She posted a teary TikTok formally announcing their split, with the caption: “Chaos to pure silence. Wouldn’t wish this pain upon anyone, if you’re there take a drive, scream, cry, feel the pain, because I promise avoiding it will make it much worse.”
January 2025
Despite some passive-aggressive back-and-forth over social media, Paul put on a supportive face for Mortensen's birthday, posting to her Instagram Stories on January 27 a photo of her ex with their son Ever True. “Happy birthday baby daddy. Wishing nothing but the best for you,” she captioned the sweet pic.
April 2025
Dakota and Taylor were spotted getting cozy while attending the Stagecoach music festival, leaving fans wondering whether the exes have officially reconciled.
September 2025
Though Taylor confirmed that the exes had hooked up during that Stagecoach reunion a few months prior, she also revealed during a Call Her Daddy podcast appearance that their relationship was "over." Cementing that fact was the announcement that Paul was chosen as The Bachelorette for the ABC program's twenty-second season. Mortensen, meanwhile, seemingly wasn't too happy with the news and took to TikTok with his displeasure.
March 2026
On Thursday, March 19, just a few short days before its premiere, Taylor's The Bachelorette season was pulled by ABC after video leaked of her 2023 domestic altercation with Mortensen. Sources told PEOPLE that the exes are committed to coparenting their son, Ever True, amid the ongoing domestic assault investigation.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of domestic violence, help is available 24 hours a day through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
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This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
