New updates continue to arise in the situation involving Taylor Frankie Paul in the aftermath of the reality TV star’s season of The Bachelorette being shelved. ABC announced its decision not to air the season amid the 2026 TV schedule after 2023 footage of Paul engaged in an altercation with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen was released. At the same time, Paul has been embroiled in a domestic assault investigation with Mortensen, and it was just confirmed that she wouldn’t be charged. With that, Paul has since reacted.
It was announced this week that prosecutors in Utah decided not file charges against Paul in relation to the domestic violence allegations leveled against her. Throughout the last few weeks, Paul continued to share updates on social media, with some being related to her scrapped Bachelorette season. Upon learning that she wouldn’t be charged, the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star took to her Instagram story to share a photo of flowers and a drawing of a butterfly along with a message. See the post below:
When explaining the decision not to charge Paul, The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office cited an apparent lack of evidence. The DA’s Office also noted that some of the “misdemeanor offenses” related to the claims from Mortensen purportedly occurred over two years ago. That alleged wrongdoing is apparently hampered by the statute of limitations as well. As NBC News also reported, while more recent incidents weren’t subject to the statute, they weren’t severe enough to be considered crimes. The DA’s Office also said:
The remaining incidents lack sufficient evidence to support filing criminal charges where the state must be able to prove such allegations beyond a reasonable date. Such incidents lack specificity as to when and what actually occurred or corroboration.
Back in 2023, Taylor Frankie Paul was arrested in connection to the alleged domestic violence incident that was apparently captured in the recently leaked video. The footage appears to show Paul throwing metal chairs at Dakota Mortensen in the presence of her daughter, Indy, who was 5 years old at the time. Paul was charged with assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child. Paul reached an abeyance deal in relation to one of the charges and served 36 months of probation.
The video footage from 2023 surfaced as Paul was in the midst of promoting The Bachelorette Season 22. Ahead of that, Paul lightly addressed the investigation (in which she also made claims against Mortensen). It’s since been reported that Chairman of Disney Entertainment Television Debra OConnell made the call to cancel the season. Around the same time, it was also alleged that ABC lost tens of millions of dollars due to its decision to pull the show from its schedule.
Since then, there’s been considerable speculation regarding what lies ahead for The Bachelorette and Bachelor Nation as a whole. Trista Sutter, who led Bachelorette’s first season, expressed her hope that the Paul controversy wouldn’t mark the end of the whole franchise. Season 13 star Rachel Lindsay wasn’t as optimistic, as she argued that the reality TV property in its entirety was “over” due to what transpired.
In terms of the legal side of this situation, Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen – who share son Ever True (2) – filed temporary protective orders against each other. As of this writing, Mortensen has not responded to Paul not being charged.
