Taylor Frankie Paul is opening up about “the last 40 days” as she navigates an ongoing legal battle with her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, along with the cancellation of The Bachelorette season 22.
“The last 40 days felt like hell on earth. Through every panic attack I prayed for strength as I could feel my body breaking down and out from the distress of it all,” Paul captioned an Instagram post.
The 31-year-old reality star went on to say that God has sent her “undeniable signs saying ‘I am with you’” and shared various images of her crying and praying, as well as taking notes on the Bible and texting other people about her faith.
“I’ve prayed since I was young and never strayed away because I believe he wants us to ask for help especially during our lowest points. However, instead of just asking I switched over to thanking him at the end of each day no matter how low I felt,” she wrote.
Paul also shared on her Instagram Stories that she wants to distance herself from Mormonism, the religion she was raised in and that is highlighted throughout the popular reality series, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
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“Born and raised Mormon (lds) and I’ll always have love and respect towards it. I’ll even continue to go with my family at times, with that being said, it’s time to detach myself from it,” Paul wrote.
She continued, “I strongly believe in Christ, God, the bible, the divine. I believe we are loved whether we are praying in church building or from a bathroom floor at home.”
Paul said that she has “experienced grace and love from amazing people that aren’t sure what they believe if at all and that’s okay too.”
“Point being there is more out there to learn. And I’m writing this out as a release,” Paul concluded.
Paul’s Instagram post comes after she recently shared how the leaked video from a 2023 incident with Mortensen was affecting her daughter after the video was made public.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star said her eight-year-old daughter Indy, whom she shares with ex-husband Tate Paul, was “having to relive” the incident all over again.
“Worst part is my daughter is having to relive and see it all over again years later after extensive work with her and apologies to her about that night,” Paul wrote on TikTok.
She also said her two-year-old son Ever, whom she shares with Mortensen, had his birthday “taken from him” because the footage was published online that day.
Paul was previously arrested for domestic violence charges following the incident in 2023.
She faced misdemeanour charges of assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child after she was accused of throwing a chair at Mortensen that reportedly hit her daughter.
Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in August 2023, while the other charges were dismissed, according to ABC4 Utah.
Footage of the alleged 2023 incident between Paul and Mortensen, where she can be seen kicking and hitting her ex-boyfriend and throwing chairs at him, was leaked to TMZ on March 19.
“Your daughter is right here,” Mortensen says in the video before Paul throws a chair in his direction.
ABC decided to pull season 22 of The Bachelorette, starring Paul, after the video surfaced.
“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,” Disney Entertainment Television said in a statement on March 20.
Disney’s statement did not include details on what the network planned to do with the already filmed season of the dating reality series.
Following the news of the season cancellation, Paul said in a statement from her spokesperson: “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.”
“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.”
On Friday, Variety reported that Mortensen’s storyline would be cut from the upcoming season of Vanderpump Villa.
Lisa Vanderpump, an executive producer of Vanderpump Villa, told People that Mortensen “didn’t really have a big storyline” so editing him out of the third season of the reality series “hasn’t affected the story.”
“We don’t want to shine a spotlight on something that’s been so controversial when we have so much great content,” Vanderpump continued.
“Our show’s ready to go. Obviously, we don’t want to do anything extraordinarily significant at this stage in the game, but it’s ready to go.”
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