SALT LAKE CITY — After weeks of headlines about home disputes, bodily violence, prison investigations and off-screen drama, a Utah court docket official put it to actuality stars Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen merely: You “have to keep away from one another.”
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The official in the end granted the “The Secret Lives of Mormon Housewives” stars mutual protecting orders at a court docket listening to Thursday. It was the primary time the on-again, off-again couple had been seen collectively in public since their home violence case made nationwide headlines and a video of an altercation scuttled the productions and broadcasts of two widespread actuality sequence, “Secret Lives” and “The Bachelorette,” which Paul was purported to be fronting.
Paul and Mortensen’s assembly Thursday was in contrast to those “Mormon Wives” viewers are used to on display — neither Paul nor Mortensen appeared to acknowledge the opposite. Each had been calm, respectful and attentive in the course of the practically two-hour listening to, which hashed out the deserves of their competing short-term protecting orders.
The one piece of familiarity for followers: Paul confirmed up somewhat late, carrying a neutral-toned outfit with a Louis Vuitton tote slung over her shoulder.
Paul, 31, and her ex-partner, Mortensen, 33, had filed dueling petitions for protecting orders in opposition to one another and have each claimed the opposite has been abusive. Their attorneys argued for the household court docket official to facet with their shoppers’ order and toss out the opposite, whereas additionally arguing over who ought to have main custody of their shared 2-year-old son.
Third District Courtroom Commissioner Russell Minas mentioned that whereas each had “advantage” to their arguments, for the sake of their son, the pair shouldn’t be in the identical place on the similar time.
“The entire proof appears to counsel that’s a foul concept,” Minas mentioned.
Following court docket, Eric Swinyard, certainly one of Paul’s attorneys, mentioned his group is happy with the end result.
“What we needed on the [domestic violence] entrance was for the connection to be over,” he mentioned, including, “We needed orders in place.”
The orders, which can final three years, mandate that Paul and Mortensen keep 100 ft away from one another, Minas mentioned. Whether it is violated, “they may face prison fees.”
Minas acknowledged that Paul and Mortensen have a “very poisonous relationship” but a “persevering with attraction to one another.”
“I’m hoping that you simply’re not individuals who simply thrive on the drama and the battle,” he advised the pair. “You’ve received to place your little one first and protect the kid from this battle.”
Swinyard, in an announcement, additionally acknowledged that his consumer has taken accountability for her previous actions.
“Taylor was extremely candid with the court docket that she will not be good and owned her faults, which is in direct distinction to how the opposite celebration introduced their argument, regardless of proof and enter from legislation enforcement that confirmed in any other case,” he mentioned.
Attorneys for Mortensen didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark after Thursday’s listening to.
The court docket was anticipated to determine on the pair’s custody settlement for his or her son, Ever. Minas mentioned he wanted extra time to assume and needed to attend for a Division of Youngster and Household Companies evaluation.
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Swinyard mentioned, “Finally with right this moment’s end result it’s what we had been anticipating on the protecting order entrance.”
Minas mentioned that he’ll make a written suggestion about mum or dad time schedules by Could 11 and {that a} assessment listening to will happen June 1.
No different “Mormon Wives” forged members had been within the courtroom, however each Paul’s and Mortensen’s households had been there to indicate help.
After the orders had been granted, Paul was emotional as she mentioned goodbye to Mortensen’s household within the tiny, 28-seat courtroom and cried as she hugged his mom, who additionally shed tears.
Mortensen’s pal and roommate, Cru Eaton, expressed frustration with the end result, calling it “a joke and pathetic.”
Eaton got here to court docket to help his pal of seven years and mentioned that it’s “fairly stunning the decide swayed that manner” and that numerous issues had been left unsaid in court docket.
“Taylor wants assist, and I don’t belief her with Ever,” Eaton advised NBC Information. “It’s virtually like an unattainable battle when she’s backed by ABC and Hulu.”
Representatives for Paul didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark relating to Eaton’s feedback.
Paul, who advanced from a TikTok persona right into a actuality TV star, was yanked from her upcoming season starring in ABC’s “The Bachelorette” after it was reported that she and Mortensen had been concerned in an ongoing home violence investigation.
The choice to shelve “The Bachelorette” was prompted by a TMZ video depicting Paul attacking Mortensen in entrance of her daughter in 2023.
Paul confronted fees within the incident in that video. She pleaded responsible in abeyance to at least one cost of aggravated assault in reference to the February 2023 fees, in line with a plea affidavit. 4 different fees in that case — together with assault, prison mischief and home violence within the presence of a kid — had been dismissed with prejudice.
In court docket Thursday, Paul’s legal professional mentioned the general public leak of the 2023 video to TMZ days earlier than Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” was set to air. The identical day, Mortensen filed an amended request for a protecting order, he mentioned.
“I perceive he denies having carried out this, however numerous info lends itself to Dakota leaking this or, not less than at a really minimal, having his fingerprints throughout this,” Swinyard mentioned.
“He needs to actually destroy her,” Swinyard added.
Swinyard acknowledged Paul’s function within the video.
“My consumer has zero excuses for this. … It’s a tragedy that Dakota and my consumer’s daughter had been the victims of her actions,” he mentioned.
He famous that Paul entered a plea upfront for assault on Mortensen and mentioned that on the time of the incident, she was struggling after two miscarriages however that she is on monitor to finish her probation in August.
Brent Corridor, Mortensen’s legal professional, denied that his consumer leaked the video, including, “He advised his publicist to not launch the video.”
Corridor mentioned Mortensen filed the protecting order “to interrupt the cycle” he and Paul had been in and to “defend his little one, to cease the violence.”
Corridor forged doubt on Paul’s motivation for a protecting order, saying it’s “not designed to guard her son; it’s designed to guard her picture.”
On the finish of February, Mortensen reported home violence allegations in opposition to Paul from occasions in 2024, 2025 and 2026 in each West Jordan and Draper, Utah. Paul additionally reported allegations in opposition to Mortensen in relation to the 2026 incident out of Draper, spokespeople from each police departments confirmed to NBC Information.
In April, the Salt Lake County District Lawyer’s workplace mentioned it could not pursue fees in opposition to Paul in reference to any of the reported circumstances, citing statute-of-limitations points and lack of proof. Days later, the town of Draper mentioned Mortensen wouldn’t be charged.
The current back-and-forth has additionally had penalties for Mortensen, who was edited out of the brand new season of the present “Vanderpump Villa.”
Solid members of “Mormon Wives” expressed concern over their co-star’s conduct in a March assembly with ABC executives, a recording of which was shared with NBC Information. The assembly got here after information of the prison investigations emerged and was not associated to the protecting order listening to Thursday.
Within the assembly, the forged selected to pause filming — a unanimous determination, the audio recording confirmed — till authorized motion performed out in Paul’s circumstances. The present determined to decide cameras again up on April 21, a supply with data of the choice advised NBC Information.
It’s not clear whether or not Paul and Mortensen will likely be included within the Hulu actuality sequence going ahead, however the brand new protecting order signifies that they can’t be in the identical place on the similar time.
Rebecca Cohen reported from Salt Lake Metropolis and Marlene Lenthang from Los Angeles.
