The disgraced Bachelorette star Taylor Frankie Paul scored a major legal victory on Tuesday when it was announced that she would not face domestic violence charges.
‘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,’ said Salt Lake County District Attorney Slim Gill in a statement.
Her fate had hung in the balance after an alleged domestic violence incident from February involving her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.
Mortensen, 33, had accused Paul, 31, of choking him, before hitting him and shoving him into a window.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Paul’s representatives for comment.
In March, ABC opted to pull Paul’s season of The Bachelorette before it had even aired after news of her latest alleged domestic violence incident broke.
The disgraced Bachelorette star Taylor Frankie Paul, 31, scored a major legal victory on Tuesday when it was announced that she would not face domestic violence charges; pictured March 15 in Hollywood
‘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,’ said DA Slim Gill in a statement; she’s pictured in a 2024 mugshot
The network had been battered by increasing criticism for selecting the Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives star to lead the latest iteration of the long-running reality series as an earlier 2023 incident — also involving Mortensen — resurfaced.
After the arrest, Paul pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault in August 2023.
In exchange, four other charges that had been filed against her were dropped with prejudice, meaning they can not be refiled in the future.
Rich Ferguson, the chief of police in Draper, Utah, previously told TMZ that he had passed on Paul’s case to the Salt Lake County District Attorney, leaving her fate in his hands.
Last week, the reality star revealed how she has been coping with the fallout of her ongoing domestic violence scandal as she shared a teary-eyed selfie.
The controversy has played out publicly, with Paul and Mortensen both accusing one another of violence and receiving temporary protective orders against each other.
Now Paul is getting through the ordeal with the help of poignant gifts sent to her before the scandal broke.
In an Instagram post published Thursday, Paul revealed how she has been comforted by gifts that have ‘been essential for me through this specific time.’
Paul shared a tearful selfie last week as she revealed how she had been coping with the aftermath of her domestic violence scandal
‘Just want to say THANK YOU to those that have all helped carry. Nothing but gratitude for these gifts given by different people at different times that have been essential for me through this specific time. Thank you to every message, meal, gift, call, prayer, and support of any kind sent. There is the human side of this and then it gets to a point of it being miraculous when you start to see it from a bigger lens.’
The post began with a photo of Paul, sitting in her car with tears welling up in her eyes and her hand covering her mouth. ‘It’s miraculous that every essential or reminder I’ve needed was GIVEN through people,’ the selfie read.
The photos included a picture of a Starbucks beverage she purchased with a comforting message from the barista reminding her she is ‘loved.’
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star also appears to be leaning into her faith, showing a photo of Jesus Christ that appeared to have been a housewarming gift from her mouth.
She also is now working through a book given to her last year that was presented to Paul to provide her with ‘peace and comfort through the good and bad days’.
Paul filed for the temporary protective order on Tuesday and claimed Mortensen had demonstrated a ‘pattern of abusive conduct and coercive control’ during their relationship, according to court filings obtained by People.
She also described several times in which he allegedly acted violently towards her. Paul also included alleged screenshots of text messages and pictures of bruises that she claimed to have incurred during disputes with Mortensen.
Last month, Mortensen was granted a temporary restraining order against Paul after he characterized her as an ‘immediate threat’ to his safety.
A personalized message on her Starbucks cup brought her comfort
Paul also appears to be leaning into her faith
A book she received in September was given to her to provide ‘peace and comfort through the good and bad days’
Paul’s history with domestic violence has come back to haunt her just days before her season of The Bachelorette was set to debut.
It emerged that filming on her other show, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, had been paused as she and Mortensen faced an investigation into domestic assault.
The Draper City Police Department confirmed to People at the time the existence of an open ‘domestic assault investigation’ into Paul and Mortensen.
‘Allegations have been made in both directions,’ a spokesman for the department told the publication, adding ‘contact was made with involved parties on [February] 24 and 25.’
It came three years after Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault over another domestic violence incident with Mortensen.
Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2023 after she threw chairs at Mortensen with her daughter, Indy, in the room.
The young girl could be heard crying as the fighting continued, with Mortensen telling Paul that her daughter ‘just got hit in the head by a metal chair.’
Video of the incident was released and led to her Bachelorette downfall, with ABC announcing they would be canceling her season ‘at this time.’
Paul has been de-stressing with the help of tea and bubble baths
Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was scrapped after video of her hurling chairs at ex Dakota Mortensen in 2023 was released in what has evolved into a massive legal battle
ABC made the decision to pull the plug on Paul’s season of The Bachelorette after the video was released
‘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,’ they said.
In response to the resurfaced footage, Paul’s representative told the Daily Mail, ‘It’s sad to see the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child.
‘Releasing an old video, which conveniently omits context, on their son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior.’
Just two days before the video was made public, Mortensen filed for a protective order in Utah, citing alleged incidents that took place on February 23 and 24, according to TMZ.
As part of his filing, he requested temporary custody of their two-year-old son, Ever, and asked that Paul be prohibited from drinking or using drugs during her parenting time.
Mortensen claimed that a verbal argument turned into a physical confrontation, where Paul allegedly choked him.
He alleged that he had to physically remove her hands from his neck, after which she shoved him into a window and struck him.
Describing the situation as ‘chaotic’ and ‘frightening,’ Mortensen said their son woke up from the commotion, which included Paul screaming and yelling, according to TMZ.
The order was granted, as well as his custody request.
After an hour-long hearing on April 7, the judge ruled that Paul will be allowed up to eight hours of supervised visitation with her son each week.
This temporary custody arrangement will remain in place for three weeks and two days, until the next court hearing on April 30.
