Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen were back in court on Thursday, and it was very heated!
After they’ve both made domestic violence allegations against the other for incidents in February, the hearing was to hash out details of their protective orders and custody arrangement for their 2-year-old son Ever.
As Perezcious readers will recall, as reports broke about their recent altercations, TMZ released a video shot during their 2023 fight, which resulted in legal trouble for Taylor. All the turmoil led to ABC cancelling her season of the dating reality show, and production of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was even put on pause. It’s been a mess… but the MomTok star believes her ex planned it all!
Related: Jessi Goes On Date With Man From Taylor’s Bachelorette Season!
The TikTok star’s lawyer came in swinging by arguing Dakota was out to “destroy” his ex just before her season of The Bachelorette was supposed to air — ruining her career and reputation, all for revenge. He said in court, per Us Weekly:
“The same day [Dakota] filed his amended request for a protective order, a news outlet published the video of this incident. Before this release, it had not been out in the public.”
The attorney added:
“I understand he denies having done this, but a lot of information lends itself to Dakota leaking this, or at least at the very minimum, having his fingerprints all over this.”
And Taylor and her team aren’t the only ones saying this! They’ve got Jessi Draper backing them up!
This is actually a huge part of the declaration Jessi submitted in support of her friend. The lawyer revealed Jessi claimed that, “in addition to the timing, which is extremely coincidental,” the hairstylist overheard Dakota making a plan about the video in March while he was at her home. The lawyer detailed:
“Miss Draper entered the basement of her home, that’s Miss Draper’s home, to find Dakota speaking with Miss Draper’s husband, Jordan [Ngatikaura], as well as Dakota’s roommate, Crew, and [overheard] what they were talking about.”
Apparently, the visit was around the time the video came out — and pretty soon before Dakota filed a temporary restraining order against Taylor and a request for temporary custody of their child. During the visit, Jessi witnessed Dakota being “very animated” as he was allegedly “venting his frustrations with cops not doing anything, and told her he was going to take matters into his own hands to embarrass Taylor.”
Jeez.
The lawyer went on:
“He specifically told Miss Draper that he planned on leaking embarrassing videos of Taylor to the press, starting with the bar stool video.”
He even allegedly “specifically named TMZ as the outlet, and a few days later, that exact video was released by TMZ.”
Why does this matter, though?? The attorney argued it “contradicts how [Dakota] is attempting to portray himself today” in court, they urged:
“He wants to literally destroy her. He wants to subject her and her family to a new round of torment.”
WTF.
The legal professional also pointed out the “career implications to it,” as well as the “mass embarrassment associated with that.” The legal rep said:
“My client’s big objection to his conduct was, you know, this additional harm and embarrassment and shame that he inflicted on my client as well as her children. This was a step too far, and we think, shows his true nature.”
The video really did damage…
But was Dakota the one who released it??
His lawyer clapped back at the allegations, saying his client “denies doing that.” The lawyer argued Dakota “told his publicist not to release the video.” They also said Dakota’s roommate Crew could back up the claim that he didn’t want the video released.
Sigh. Taylor and Dakota certainly don’t see eye to eye right now! And with that said, a judge doesn’t think they should be anywhere near each other! The judge issued mutual protective orders for them both lasting three years, requiring them to stay 100 feet away from each other. Their next court hearing in on June 1, and they will receive a recommendation about parenting time ahead of that meeting.
Thoughts?? Do U believe Dakota was plotting to “destroy” Taylor? Sound OFF in the comments (below)!
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via Disney Plus]
