Dakota Mortensen Was 'Coerced' Into Romance With Taylor Frankie Paul: Lawyer
Dakota Mortensen's attorneys are shining a light on the timing behind The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star's decision to file for a protective order against Taylor Frankie Paul.
"Why has he put up with this? Why did he wait so long to do anything?" Dakota's attorney said in a court hearing on Thursday, April 30. "The answer is because he was afraid of the force that would happen against him."
Us Weekly confirmed on March 19 that Dakota filed for a protective order against his ex.
Although the pair documented their ups and downs on their Hulu reality show in recent years, Dakota's attorney argued in court that an incident from February resulted in his client wanting to make a change.
"Unfortunately, and I don't get to say this very often with male victims, but he's a domestic violence victim, your Honor," Dakota's attorney claimed. "He is coerced either through romantic interest or interests involving his son and with very charismatic tests, and very charismatic personality to come back and rejoin this romantic relationship until it blows up, again."
The lawyer continued, "He filed, actually, because of the most recent incident when he decided to break the cycle."
At another point in court, Taylor's lawyer was able to speak and questioned Dakota's motives for his legal moves.
"He's not just trying to come after her for custody. He's not just trying to seek a protective order," Taylor's attorney shared in court, which was livestreamed via ABC4 Utah. "He wants to literally destroy her. He was to subject her and her family to a new round of torment. Yes, there are career implications to it. There's massive embarrassment associated with that."
In his original court filing obtained by TMZ, Dakota - who shares son Ever, 2, with Taylor - detailed the incidents that he claims went down on February 23 and February 24. He called the situation "chaotic" and "frightening" and alleged that Taylor was "emotionally volatile."
A spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department previously confirmed to Us that there was an open "domestic assault investigation" involving the former couple.
On April 14, however, Us confirmed through the district attorney that Taylor, 31, would not be charged in the case.
"After reviewing reports and evidence submitted to the Draper Police Department and West Jordan Police Department, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office has declined to file charges against Taylor Frankie Paul," district attorney Sim Gill's office said in a statement.
Thursday's hearing was the first time Taylor and Dakota, 33, had publicly appeared in person together since police opened domestic violence investigations involving them in February.
At the hearing, Taylor was joined by her sister, Aspen May, her mother, Liann May, and her stepdad, Jeremy May.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
Copyright 2026 Us Weekly. All rights reserved
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 3:59 PM.