Y’all remember the Utah mom who got caught up in that soft-swinging affair last year and revealed it was leading to a rash of divorces across her tight-knit Mormon community?? Well, she’s back in the news once more — and it ain’t good.
Taylor Frankie Paul, a well-known TikTok influencer who rose to fame amid that infamous Mormon swingers scandal from early 2022, has been arrested on charges of domestic violence. The 28-year-old social star, who boasts more than four million followers on that viral vid platform, was taken into custody by cops in the city of Herriman, Utah over the weekend.
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According to multiple media reports, the social media influencer was arrested by officers of the Herriman Police Department and booked into Salt Lake County Jail at 1:56 a.m. local time this past Saturday morning. As her arrest was processed through that system, three charges came to light: misdemeanor counts of assault, criminal mischief, and domestic violence in the presence of a child.
Whoa…
Booking records indicated Paul spent about nine hours inside the jail. She was released on her own recognizance later on Saturday morning at 10:35 a.m. local time. It is not immediately clear when her next court appearance will be.
According to DailyMail.com, there still isn’t a ton of info available about what led to Paul’s arrest. Neither the Herriman PD nor the city attorney’s office would reveal details about the allegations against her. When that outlet contacted assistant prosecuting attorney Matt Brooks this week, he told them:
“I have yet to see the file on Taylor Paul. If it comes across my desk, I will screen it for possible charges like any other case.”
Of course, Paul rose to infamy last May after detailing the presence of a “soft swinging” group of young Mormon couples who would swap partners with each other. The mother of two revealed she broke the group’s cardinal rule — not to have full sex with a swapped partner — and ended up getting divorced from her husband Tate.
In the months since then, the young mom revealed the presence of a new boyfriend: 30-year-old Dakota Mortensen (pictured with Taylor, above). In September, Paul took to TikTok to share her new love with Mortensen. It shocked fans and kept her growing follower list primed for more must-see content. And now, with this news of her domestic violence arrest unfolding this week, we’d say there’s a lot more here…
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Speaking of Mortensen, DailyMail.com contacted him this week to inquire about Taylor’s arrest, too. The real estate agent confirmed he had retrieved her from a “Galentine’s Party” on Friday night. He was just supposed to pick her up from that get-together — which the outlet describe as a “bonding event for woman held around Valentine’s Day” — and drive her home. But evidently, something else happened.
Mortensen didn’t want to share too many details, first saying:
“‘I’m going to wait for everything to come out before I speak on it. … I’m not even allowed to speak with her. I really don’t want to talk about it but I want to clarify a few things.”
Whatever happened, Dakota said he didn’t call the cops. In fact, he thinks a neighbor called police after hearing some kind of disturbance:
“I didn’t call 911.”
And while he refused to provide specific info about the arrest, the outlet notes he did “let slip” this interesting comment:
“She never hurt anyone intentionally. … We didn’t argue.”
Hmmm…
Mortensen did add one more (sad) comment to his limited interview, too. When asked about Taylor’s mental and emotional state, he admitted she has been “so broken” in the months since the scandal came out.
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Dakota added that his girlfriend is “going through a lot” at this point in her life, and has “been struggling” with all the infamy and criticism following the soft-swinging debacle:
“I don’t even want the truth to come out. She’s so broken right now. I tried to help her. She’s a good mom, she’s going through a lot in her life right now. Taylor’s been struggling, it’s been a hard year for her. She is racked with guilt on her cheating scandal that cost her her marriage.”
Oof. That’s really not good.
To that end, we hope she gets whatever help and support she needs during this very clearly difficult time.
Reactions, Perezcious readers?
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/.
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
[Image via Taylor Frankie Paul/TikTok]
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