Taylor Frankie Paul said postpartum depression and being “too scared to ask for help” is why she stayed with her ex, Dakota Mortensen, for so long.
The “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star shared a lengthy Instagram post Thursday where she said she blames herself for not walking away from her tumultuous relationship with Mortensen, with whom she shares 2-year-old son Ever, until their latest split.
Paul, 31, said that as she was staying silent about her internal struggles, Mortensen, 33, used that to his “advantage” to allegedly mistreat her.
“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.”
The mom of three blamed Mortensen for “gaslighting” her into staying with him, admitting it’s “twisted” that she let him get his way for so long.
She also pointed out that when she finally left Mortensen, she was “manipulated,” “threatened,” “physically hurt,” had the cops called on her, lost her friends and ended up in court fighting for custody of Ever.
“The difference between us, my love was real for him without gaining anything, and people know that,” she wrote. “Not sure it was the same in return.”
The Hulu star acknowledged that while she and Mortensen are “both in the wrong,” she called him out for calling the cops on her and trying to take their son away from her.
At the end of her post, Paul mentioned her online drama with co-star Mikayla Matthews, whom she said she will not apologize to.
“She can go kick rocks instead of kicking me right now,” Paul said.
Paul and Mortensen made headlines in March after “SLOMW” temporarily paused filming on Season 5 due to investigations into multiple alleged domestic violence incidents involving the pair.
In addition, Paul’s planned season of “The Bachelorette” was pulled by ABC after a disturbing video from 2023 was leaked showing Paul throwing a chair at Mortensen in front of her now 8-year-old daughter, Indy.
While Paul wasn’t charged in any of the domestic violence investigations, she temporarily lost custody of Ever.
Paul currently has up to 12 hours of supervised visitation with their son, per a Utah judge’s ruling.
The judge also granted them protective orders against each other.
Their next court hearing is scheduled for June 1.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
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