• Taylor Frankie Paul opened up in a lengthy Instagram post about why she stayed with ex Dakota Mortensen for so long
• The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star cited postpartum depression, fear, and alleged gaslighting as key factors
• Paul says when she finally left, she faced manipulation, physical harm, a custody battle, and having police called on her
• Her planned season of The Bachelorette was pulled by ABC after a 2023 domestic violence video was leaked
• Taylor currently has up to 12 hours of supervised visitation with son Ever, 2; a custody hearing is set for June 1

Taylor Frankie Paul has a lot she wants the world to understand — and she’s not going quiet to make anyone more comfortable.

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, 31, shared a raw and emotional Instagram post Thursday night laying out, in her own words, exactly why it took her so long to walk away from her relationship with ex Dakota Mortensen, 33. Never mentioning him by name but leaving little doubt who she was talking about, Paul said postpartum depression, fear, and what she describes as relentless psychological manipulation kept her trapped far longer than she ever should have been.

“It’s so sad because nobody wants to be like this. I hate that I am no longer myself. I hate that I stayed for so long,” she wrote. “I blame nobody more than my own damn self, because how did I allow this for my kids and myself for so long? I’m sorry to THEM.”

She was quick to acknowledge her own culpability — she’s already done that in court — but her post was about something harder to quantify: the psychological grip of a relationship she says slowly dismantled her sense of reality.

“I’ve been in survival mode for years with miscarriages, pregnancy, postpartum, and horrible betrayal with so many lies told, which added to the trauma on my body physically, hormonally, mentally, and emotionally,” Paul wrote. She said she was too scared to ask for help or even speak about what she was going through, because she was being reminded she was already on probation and would be the one in trouble. “Imagine being pregnant and postpartum healing internally and too scared to ask for help,” she wrote, “and he knew he had that advantage, which gave him MORE access to do whatever, knowing I’d remain silent.”

“You Eventually Feel Insane”

What she describes next is the slow erosion that anyone who’s been in a psychologically controlling relationship will recognize — even if they’ve never had a name for it.

“What people aren’t understanding is you don’t even realize you’re in it and what’s happening psychologically for a long time,” she explained. “You solely believe you’re the only insane one because they twist everything that you eventually feel insane. Then to find out you weren’t insane, in fact, I was right about it all, which is gut-wrenching to learn.”

She described the cycle of snapping, then being consoled — a pattern she now recognizes as deliberate. “It’s a human response to eventually snap and then getting stuck in the cycle because they console you, saying, ‘It’s okay you’re acting out, I’m still here for you and love you still,’ which then you’re feeling bad as they are aware they are gaslighting you. Even after learning a lot of that, you STILL want to be held by that same person. It’s twisted, I know.”

And to the inevitable question of why she didn’t leave sooner, Paul had a pointed answer: look at what happened when she did.

She alleges that after she finally said no more, Mortensen “love bombed, then manipulated, threatened [and] physically hurt” her, had police and CPS called on her, publicly humiliated her, turned friends against her, and dragged her into court over custody of their 2-year-old son, Ever. “That’s the difference between us,” she wrote. “I didn’t want to ruin his life, call cops on him, take his child away, or claim complete innocence.”

She also drew a line between how she loved and how she believes she was loved back. “The difference between us, my love was real for him without gaining anything, and people know that. Not sure it was the same in return. I cried the whole way home after court, allowing the pain through. I wish he had been the person he pretended to be.”

Where Things Stand Now

The post comes after months of headlines that have upended Paul’s life and career. In March, production on Mormon Wives Season 5 temporarily paused following investigations into multiple alleged domestic violence incidents involving the pair. Around the same time, ABC pulled Paul’s planned season of The Bachelorette after footage leaked from a 2023 incident showing her throwing a chair at Mortensen in front of her now 8-year-old daughter, Indy. Paul pleaded guilty to third-degree felony aggravated assault as part of a plea deal and remains on probation.

Prosecutors ultimately declined to press charges against her in the more recent investigations — news that moved Paul to tears. “Cried when I got the call,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “THANK YOU to those that have stood with me.”

As of now, Mortensen holds temporary custody of Ever, and Paul has up to 12 hours of supervised visitation per week under a Utah judge’s ruling. The custody arrangement is set to be revisited at a hearing on June 1. Paul also shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul.

In April, Mortensen issued a statement of his own: “I regret not stepping away from the difficult cycle sooner. I’m not perfect, and I take accountability for my part. I’m sincerely sorry to those I’ve hurt. At the same time, I don’t agree with how this situation has been portrayed publicly.”

As for whether her Bachelorette season might still air someday, Disney’s unscripted and reality TV chief Rob Mills told Variety in April that “everything with that is one day at a time.”

Paul also used the post to address online friction with SLOMW co-star Mikayla Matthews, who she says came after her during an already brutal stretch. An apology is not on the table. “She can go kick rocks instead of kicking me right now,” Paul wrote.

In a separate post earlier this week, Paul had admitted her anxiety was “10/10” walking into her kids’ school, bracing for judgment from other parents — only to be met with hugs, phone numbers, and “Girl, we feel you.” She said it reminded her that what people assume about her online doesn’t define who she actually is.

She’s been told to log off. She’s not interested. “I’ll continue sharing on social media, showing how ugly healing can truly be,” she wrote. “This is my way and I choose to share it.”

The post Taylor Frankie Paul Opens Up About Why She Stayed With Dakota Mortensen appeared first on Cream.

• Taylor Frankie Paul posted a lengthy Mother’s Day message calling out people in her circle for “kicking while I’m already down”
• A judge awarded her nearly 12 hours of parent-time on May 10, from 9 AM to 8:30 PM
• Her weekly parenting time has increased from 8 hours to 12 hours, in three supervised four-hour blocks
• TFP and Dakota Mortensen have mutual restraining orders and a custody hearing scheduled for June 1
• Salt Lake City prosecutors declined to press domestic violence charges against Paul due to lack of evidence and statute of limitations

Taylor Frankie Paul made it very clear she had things to say on Mother’s Day — and she wasn’t going to hold back.

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star took to social media on Sunday with a long, emotionally charged post that opened with a statement of intent: “It’s Mother’s Day so I’ll say whatever I want.” What followed was a raw, pointed message that appeared to call out people in her inner circle for what she described as betrayal during one of the hardest stretches of her life.

Paul wrote that she felt certain people were “kicking while I’m already down” — and took particular issue with someone she accused of framing their actions as “setting a boundary” while placing the blame on her for reacting. She pushed back on what she called public mischaracterization, saying she has never claimed to be a “victim” but is still human with limits. She also suggested she was being discussed in conversations she was never given the chance to be part of, let alone respond to.

The post touched on legal issues, relationship trauma, and pregnancy-related challenges — and the frustration of feeling like the people around her don’t fully understand the psychological weight she’s been carrying. The tone was pointed, but she ended on a note of faith and gratitude toward the supporters who have shown up for her.

The Mother’s Day She Actually Got

What made Sunday even more significant: it was the first Mother’s Day in a while where Paul actually got to spend real time with her kids. According to court documents, a judge awarded her parent-time from 9 AM to 8:30 PM — nearly a full day with her son, who she’s seen only in limited windows since video surfaced of her accidentally hitting one of her children with a barstool during an argument with baby dad Dakota Mortensen.

Her weekly parenting time is also getting a bump — up from 8 hours a week to 12 hours, structured as three separate four-hour supervised blocks. It’s a meaningful step forward in what has been a complicated and painful custody situation.

Paul and Mortensen were both granted permanent restraining orders against each other at the end of April, requiring them to stay at least 100 feet apart. Mortensen was awarded temporary primary custody back in March. A follow-up hearing is scheduled for June 1 to work through longer-term custody and parent-time arrangements.

The Legal Cloud That’s Been Hanging Over Her

One significant piece of news that came before Mother’s Day: Salt Lake City prosecutors decided not to press domestic violence charges against Paul. The office confirmed the decision came down to a combination of the statute of limitations and insufficient evidence, noting that “any incidents of misdemeanor offenses which are alleged to have occurred more than two years ago are barred by the statute of limitations” and that more recent incidents were also reviewed before the conclusion was reached. Paul reportedly got emotional when she heard the news.

In a witness statement she filed in March with the Draper County Police Department, Paul made her own allegations against Mortensen, claiming he had a pattern of creating problems for her whenever she was on the verge of something big professionally. “Things like a new season [of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives] coming out or, in this case, the trailers for The Bachelorette starting to run always seem to set him off,” she wrote. She also alleged he sent her messages expressing that he couldn’t bear to watch her fall in love on the show.

What Happens to Her TV Career From Here

SLOMW producers have made clear they want Paul back, and sources say the production has been holding space for her, ready to work at her pace whenever she’s ready to return. As for her Bachelorette season — which was pulled just before it was set to air — ABC never officially called it canceled, only “paused,” and Disney executive Rob Mills has said publicly that whenever it does air, fans will enjoy it because Paul “did a phenomenal job.” With the domestic violence charges off the table, there’s at least a path forward, even if it’s not a guaranteed one.

Castmate Jessi Draper also filed a court declaration in Paul’s defense — a notable move given that just weeks earlier, a shocking audio message obtained by TMZ had Draper going after Paul publicly.

It’s been a brutal few months. But on Sunday, at least, Taylor Frankie Paul got to be with her kids — and she had plenty to say about the people who weren’t there for her when it counted.

The post Taylor Frankie Paul’s Explosive Mother’s Day Post appeared first on Cream.