Just like prospectors digging for literal gold in the 1800s, television producers have been flocking to the Salt Lake state for reality TV gold and it now looks like lightning has struck Utah twice. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has the internet ablaze, as the “MomTok” group that got caught up in a “soft swinging scandal” lives out their very carbonated drama on screen. Like the unspoken #1 problem child of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Jen Shah, Taylor Paul of Secret Lives is the center of the Mormon madness in their TikToking friend group, and her boyfriend/baby daddy Dakota Mortensen is in the eye of the storm with her. If you’re wondering how famously conservative members of the Church of the Latter Day Saints are having baby mama/Tinder porn drama then buckle TF up now. Here’s a relationship timeline for Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen.
Are Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota still together?
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No, Taylor confirmed her breakup from Dakota in early 2025. Taylor wrote, “I cry every day” on social media as she recovers from their chaotic on-and-off relationship. At the start of season 2 of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Taylor and Dakota are already in the early stages of their separation, and struggling to co-parent their infant, Ever True, leading to a family BBQ from hell.
After more bumpy interactions with their chaotic MomTok friend group at the Halloween party, Taylor and Dakota go to couples therapy during season 2. After the session, Taylor admits, “I do love Dakota so it’s not something I want to give up on,” even though things are “toxic.” Neither of them is thrilled about co-parenting instead of having their “family,” as Dakota says. But by the end of season 2, viewers get to see Taylor realize, with everything she has going on with MomTok and her kids, that it’s time to walk away from Dakota for good.
Why did Taylor and Dakota break up after Secret Lives of Mormon Wives?
@taylorfrankiepaul My handsome wedding dates #postpartum #weddingtiktok @Dakota Mortensen ♬ original sound – forgottensongschart
Taylor explained that after season 1, they were “living in bliss with [their] baby” and she was “even considering engagement” to Dakota, until Taylor found out Dakota didn’t give her the full story about another girl he was seeing behind her back, Jenna. Dakota had previously told Taylor about the situation, but after sitting down with the woman in question, Taylor discovered that Dakota had not been fully honest after reading the messages Dakota sent.
Specifically, Taylor was shocked to find out that Dakota had “spent the night, more than once,” with another woman and said he was just hanging out with Taylor for social media clout. At the end of season 2 episode 1, Dakota admitted he “deleted some messages” to make his other relationship look less intense because he “just didn’t want more problems.” He also “selfishly” didn’t want to lose Taylor, whom he “loves the most out of everybody,” or his son, Ever, who is “so perfect.”
So, Dakota instead told Taylor he “just made out” with someone else instead of the truth (bedroom dry humping because, um, mormons). Damn, someone get this girl a hug and an honest man, ASAP!
Who did Dakota cheat on Taylor with?
Dakota was hooking up with a woman named Jenna and slept at her house while he was still having sex with Taylor. Technically, Dakota considers this not cheating because he and Taylor weren’t officially back together at the time, though Taylor expressed that the lack of loyalty while they were being intimate was a big betrayal. Mayci got in touch with Jenna last season, and Taylor was finally ready to face her head-on at the start of season 2.
During their meeting, Jenna said that she and Dakota “never had sex for sure,” but spent days and nights together. Taylor was especially upset that Dakota was texting her all day and had sex with her one night after a day-long hang sesh with Jenna.
Overall, Taylor said it was “so awful” that Dakota “definitely lied a ton” by making it “seem like [Jenna] was the one that was always instigating and begging” when the texts showed something different and downplaying their hookups. Taylor cried in her confessional about how Dakota made her feel like “the night girl” and “a piece of trash” since Dakota was planning daytime dates and sending “cute” texts to Jenna, and “apologizing because he went too far with her,” when Taylor never got an “apology for hurting [her]” in the same way.
When did Taylor Paul and Dakota Mortensen start dating?
@taylorfrankiepaulbut like what if you connect?♬ Powerful
Taylor hard launched Dakota as her new man on TikTok in July of 2022. On Secret Lives Taylor talks about how her mom’s viral comment that she needed to “focus on herself and her children” instead of dating someone seriously was an embarrassing public warning. Taylor ignored it regardless, pursuing a relationship with Dakota, anyway. The TikTok sound in her first video featuring Dakota seemed to imply Taylor did cheat someone else, but he was now her “toxic” past while Dakota was her “new bitch.”
@taylorfrankiepaul Replying to @douggrahmann I will not be sharing this one @Dakota Mortensen ♬ original sound – 🤞
Why did Taylor Paul get arrested?
On February 17, 2023, the police were called to Taylor Paul’s home as a result of a fight with Dakota Mortensen. The police camera footage and 911 call played on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reveals a neighbor reported a disturbance next door. When the police arrived, Taylor admitted to throwing items including a chair at Dakota, which also struck one of Taylor’s children, according to a sworn affadavit submitted to law enforcement. Taylor was ultimately charged with multiple offenses including aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, and child abuse with injury as first reported by The New York Post. When discussing the legal repercussions of the incident with her mother on the show, Taylor shared her probation had been reduced to less frequent meetings after taking a plea deal.
Taylor and Dakota were on and off for a year
@taylorfrankiepaul Replying to @yvette_buras ♬ som original – . ♬ ❦
Taylor Paul And Dakota Mortensen’s Son Was Born in March 2024
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When Did Taylor Frankie Paul get divorced from her husband?
@taylorfrankiepaulAn unfortunate announcement♬ Malibu – Miley Cyrus
Taylor revealed through the TikTok caption of a May 2022 video that she and her then-husband Tate Paul were getting a divorce. Tate is the father of Taylor’s older two children: her 7-year-old daughter Indy and her 4-year-old Ocean. The couple was originally married in 2016. According to Taylor, though “no one was innocent,” she escalated problems in her marriage when she broke the rules she and Tate set regarding their “soft swinging” with other Mormon couples.
