After the new footage was released, ABC scrapped Paul's upcoming season of &34;The Bachelorette&34; days before its premiere. Everything Taylor Frankie Paul has said about her 2023 arrest for incident captured in leaked video After the new footage was released, ABC scrapped Paul's upcoming season of &34;The Bachelorette&34; days before its premiere. By Marina Watts Marina Watts Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

After the new footage was released, ABC scrapped Paul's upcoming season of "The Bachelorette" days before its premiere.

Everything Taylor Frankie Paul has said about her 2023 arrest for incident captured in leaked video

After the new footage was released, ABC scrapped Paul's upcoming season of "The Bachelorette" days before its premiere.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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on March 20, 2026 5:14 p.m. ET

Taylor Frankie Paul on 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' season 3 reunion special. Credit:

Fred Hayes/Disney via Getty

- Taylor Frankie Paul has been candid about her 2023 domestic violence arrest.

- After a new video of the altercation was released, however, ABC pulled the plug on her upcoming *Bachelorette *season days before it was set to premiere.

- Paul is "currently exploring all of her options, seeking support, and preparing to own and share her story," a representative for the *Secret Lives of Mormon Wives *star said following the cancellation announcement.

Taylor Frankie Paul's 2023 domestic violence arrest impacted her life and career long before *The Bachelorette*.

In February 2023, Paul was arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief, and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child, per the Harriman Police Department. Six months later, she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, with the other charges being dismissed. She received three years of probation, which will be up this August.

The incident, involving then-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, was referenced throughout the first season of *The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives*. On Thursday, video of the alteracation was released, in which she is seen throwing a chair at Mortensen.

Following the release, days before Paul's season of *The Bachelorette* was set the premiere, ABC announced plans not to air the show.

"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," a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said in a statement to **.

Taylor Frankie Paul on 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Season 3 Reunion Special.

Fred Hayes/Disney via Getty

In the premiere episode of *The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives* in 2024, bodycam footage of the incident showed Paul being interviewed by the police after the night with Mortensen.

"I peed my pants because I was so scared of him," she told the responding officer at the time.

She also claimed that Mortensen pushed her in their garage, so she "reacted" and threw a "wooden thing at him." She added: "And when he came in I threw everything else."

Upon the responding officers' arrival, Mortensen claimed that Paul was "hammered" and that he was "sober." Mortensen also alleged that Paul was "attacking the crap out of" him and told her to "stop lying" to the police about the altercation.

In audio released by the Herriman Police Department, Mortensen said that Paul "was launching those metal chairs at me. Left and right, putting holes in the walls." He alleged: "I was actually a little bit scared for my life there."

In the second episode, Paul described "getting arrested" as the "worst night" of her life.

"It's been a challenge going from the scandal to the relationship to miscarriage to arrest to being pregnant again." (Paul was previously married to Tate Paul. They share daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5.)

The reality star said that after she was arrested, she and Mortensen "actually never broke up."

"We stayed in our relationship and I think we wanted it, to be honest. It might not be the smartest decision in our situation. It wasn't, but, it is what it is."**

Taylor Frankie Paul on 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives'.

Paul first addressed the incident on a TikTok video shared in September 2023: "As much as I wish that night had went differently, I felt like hitting rock bottom actually helped me in some ways. Made me seek help that I wasn't getting at the time."

The reality star was asked about the arrest during her September 2024 appearance on *The Viall Files w/ Nick Viall*. In a clip from the interview, which has resurfaced following the 2023 incident's release, Paul was emotional as she spoke about her daughter being present.

"I remember, like, throwing things and I don't know my daughter was on the couch. I had no idea, like, we had babysitters there so I think they're upstairs sleeping and I started throwing things. I'm so mad and I throw a chair."

Paul also recalled Mortensen motioning that her daughter was in the room as she threw things.

"I'm, like, so gone that I don't care, and I throw another chair and it's like we don't know if it hit her or not, but, like, it sounded like it did," she said.

"So in the police report it does say, like, it hit her, but in reality. like. we didn't know if it hit her. It might have not have hit her at all."

When asked if there were any injuries on her daughter, Paul said there were none. She did think her daughter might have been upset because Paul was crying herself.

"I didn't think about her," Paul said.

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Elsewhere on the podcast appearance, Paul claimed she never behaved like that during her previous marriage. Though she had been drinking, Paul confirmed that she could remember the events of that evening.

"I was the aggressor for sure," she said. "I did throw things at him. I mean, I did scratch him and was. like, going at him."

After the altercation, Paul said she got the help she needed, taking classes and receiving Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.

"I feel like I'm grateful for that night, so it woke me up to be better for them if that makes sense and I don't know if that's the right thing to say, but I feel, like, in a way it helped me to be better."

She also mentioned the altercation during an appearance on the *Call Her Daddy** *podcast last September.

"I never really even think about me in that situation. Obviously, it's my kids because they were involved, they were in the house," she said. "But in that moment that we see on screen, I see a lot of pain. And I didn't have any tools at that time, so I was very lost."

That same month, Paul told E! Online that the altercation was her and Mortensen's "rock bottom."

"He stood by me with that because he knew everything going on behind closed doors," she said. "That was a horrible night and I'm full of regret. Dakota has been at rock bottom himself, so he could totally relate. He was like, 'I want to help you out of this.'"

In an *Us Weekly* cover story published last week, Paul mentioned that throughout her season, her *Bachelorette *suitors asked about her past.

"I think I got asked about all of 'em during individual convos, and I was ready for it. I've got nothing else to hide," she said.

"My arrest will always be a sensitive subject given the circumstances in that," she added. "Swinging — that's such a scandal headline — but it's also a very traumatic time in my life. That was one of my rock-bottom points. I lost my family, my husband. It's so much deeper than that to me, and deep conversations were had. I think anyone that actually cares about me would definitely be asking those."

This week brought word that *The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives* had stopped filming season 5 amid a new alleged domestic assault investigation involving Paul and Mortensen. The Draper City Police Department told PEOPLE that a "domestic assault investigation" had been opened, as claims involving the alleged February assault "have been made in both directions."

"I've had better days" she told EW* *about the allegations on Tuesday. Although Paul said she was "super excited" about *The Bachelorette* premiere, she said she felt "everything that's been heavy right now is kind of taking away from that, I'm not going to lie. But in the normal situation I'd be very excited."

Taylor Frankie Paul on 'The Bachelorette'.

Bachelor Nation on ABC/YouTube

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Paul also told EW that she had gone "no contact" with Mortensen, with whom she shares son Ever, 2.

"I actually took action about a few weeks ago," she said. "I'm just doing third-party everything — pick-up, drop-offs, communication — so no contact right now for me. I think that's the best case, honestly, because clearly it's just not to a point of us getting along, so I wanted to take the best action I could… I didn't want to bring anything to the public eye, making it a bigger deal for the sake of my son, and just everything about to come out. But that wasn't the plan for [Mortensen]."

After Disney pulled the plug, Paul spoke out via a new statement from a rep: "Taylor is very grateful for ABC's support as she prioritizes her family's safety and security. After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm."

The statement added, "There are too many women who are suffering in silence as they survive aggressive, jealous ex-partners who refuse to let them move on with their lives. Taylor has remained silent out of fear of further abuse, retaliation and public shaming. She is currently exploring all of her options, seeking support, and preparing to own and share her story."

Mortensen — who has since filed for a restraining order against Paul, with a hearing set for April 7 — released a statement of his own Thursday.

"As anyone who has seen the video will understand, this is a deeply upsetting situation," Mortensen said. "I am, unfortunately, used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny. I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same."

*If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at **1-800-799-7233**, or go to **thehotline.org**. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.*

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