Taylor Frankie Paul: Biography, Scandals, and PTSD

Few reality TV arcs have packed as many sharp turns as Taylor Frankie Paul’s. From a devout Mormon influencer to a headline-grabbing Bachelorette star whose season was scrapped, her story now includes a PTSD diagnosis, a departure from the LDS church, and a relationship marked by domestic violence allegations.

Born: May 23, 1994 ·
Known for: The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, The Bachelorette ·
TikTok followers: 6.2 million ·
Diagnosis: PTSD (diagnosed 2 years ago) ·
Former religion: LDS (Mormon) ·
Marital status: Divorced from Tate Paul

Nine key facts about Taylor Frankie Paul—from her identity to the legal and medical details that shape her public narrative.

Are Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota still together?

Who is Dakota Mortensen?

Dakota Mortensen is the ex-boyfriend identified by Fox News (national news network) as the person involved in the domestic dispute that derailed Paul’s Bachelorette season. According to Biography.com, Paul and Mortensen continued dating after the 2023 incident and later had a child together, though their on-again, off-again relationship officially ended in September 2024.

What is the status of their relationship?

As of 2026, no public statement from either party verifies a current reunion. Reports from Biography.com describe the breakup as final as of late 2024, but social media speculation continues about possible reconnection. The lack of recent joint appearances or mutual confirmations means the status remains unverified.

The implication: without direct confirmation from either party or a reputable outlet reporting a reunion, the “still together” question is unanswerable with current evidence.

Who are Dakota Mortensen and Tate Paul?

Who is Dakota Mortensen?

Dakota Mortensen is the central figure in the domestic violence investigation that led to Paul’s arrest on February 17, 2023. E! Online detailed that the incident involved thrown metal chairs and a wooden playset during an argument while one of Paul’s children was present. Charges included felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor child abuse, according to the same report.

Who is Tate Paul?

Tate Paul is Taylor Frankie Paul’s ex-husband. The couple divorced in 2022 after she appeared on The Bachelorette. E! Online confirmed the divorce was tied to the Bachelorette scandal, though Tate Paul has not given public interviews about the split. He is the father of two of Taylor’s children.

The pattern: both men are connected to Paul through separate public scandals—Tate via the Bachelorette fallout, Dakota via the domestic violence case—yet neither has spoken publicly in any verified outlet about their respective relationships.

What has Taylor Frankie Paul been diagnosed with?

What is PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event. Paul described her diagnosis as potentially being Complex PTSD (CPTSD) in her public disclosure. Just Jared reported that the diagnosis was made by more than one therapist.

When was she diagnosed?

Paul publicly revealed she was diagnosed with PTSD about two years prior to her April 2026 statement, placing the diagnosis around 2024. Just Jared covered the disclosure, noting that Paul linked the diagnosis to “panic attacks” she experienced during the period she described as “hell on earth.”

Why this matters: her diagnosis is a rare instance of a reality star disclosing a specific, therapist-verified condition rather than a general “mental health struggles” statement.

Why did Taylor Frankie Paul and her husband split?

What led to the divorce?

The divorce from Tate Paul in 2022 followed her appearance on The Bachelorette. E! Online confirmed the Bachelorette scandal played a direct role. She had been cast as the lead for the show’s upcoming season while still legally married to Paul.

Was there a scandal involved?

The scandal was multifaceted: ABC pulled her Bachelorette season before it premiered after the domestic violence controversy involving Dakota Mortensen emerged. Los Angeles Times reported that the controversy also paused production on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 5. The divorce itself, however, predated the domestic violence arrest by roughly a year.

The catch: the divorce and the scandal are often discussed as one event in social media narratives, but verified timelines show they were separate—the marriage ended in 2022, while the domestic violence incident occurred in February 2023.

Is Taylor Frankie Paul still LDS?

Why did she leave the Mormon church?

Taylor Frankie Paul announced on Easter Sunday in 2026 that she was leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Los Angeles Times and Variety Australia both covered the announcement. Paul wrote that “the last 40 days felt like hell on earth” in connection with her departure, per Variety Australia.

How did the Bachelorette scandal affect her faith?

Paul linked the distress she described to panic attacks during the same period. Variety Australia reported that she said she would remain Christian while distancing herself from Mormonism/LDS affiliation. She did not explicitly state whether the scandal caused her faith departure, but the timing—following the Bachelorette cancellation and domestic violence fallout—suggests a cumulative trajectory.

What this means: her departure is the most recent verified development in the timeline, and it frames the preceding controversies as chapters in a larger personal reckoning rather than isolated incidents.

Timeline of key events

• May 23, 1994: Taylor Frankie Paul born (Biography.com)
• 2020: Appeared on The Bachelorette (Los Angeles Times)
• 2022: Divorced from Tate Paul amid Bachelorette scandal (E! Online)
• 2022: Left LDS church (initial departure, later formally announced in 2026) (Los Angeles Times)
• 2022 (estimated): Diagnosed with PTSD (Just Jared)
• February 17, 2023: Paul arrested in Utah after domestic violence incident (E! Online)
• August 2023: Plead guilty to third-degree felony aggravated assault (Fox News)
• 2024: Cast on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (Los Angeles Times)
• September 2024: Relationship with Dakota Mortensen officially ends (Biography.com)
• Easter 2026: Formally announces departure from LDS church (Los Angeles Times)
• April 2026: Reveals PTSD diagnosis publicly (Just Jared)

Confirmed facts vs. what remains unclear

Confirmed facts

• Taylor Frankie Paul was born May 23, 1994 (Biography.com)
• She was diagnosed with PTSD by more than one therapist (Just Jared)
• She divorced Tate Paul in 2022 (E! Online)
• She left the LDS church as of Easter 2026 (Los Angeles Times)
• She has two children (Biography.com)
• She was arrested February 17, 2023 and pled guilty to aggravated assault in August 2023 (E! Online)
• ABC pulled her Bachelorette season and paused Secret Lives of Mormon Wives production (Los Angeles Times)

What’s unclear

• Current relationship status with Dakota Mortensen (Biography.com says they ended in Sept 2024, no recent confirmation)
• Exact timeline of her departure from LDS church (initial separation may have preceded the formal 2026 announcement) (Los Angeles Times)
• Outcome of domestic violence investigation beyond the guilty plea (E! Online details arrest and plea, not final sentencing details)
• Whether the CPTSD distinction is clinically verified (only Paul’s own account)
• Whether the divorce was directly caused by the Bachelorette scandal or other factors (no statement from Tate Paul)
• Specific sentencing details after the guilty plea (not publicly confirmed)
• Whether Paul’s departure from LDS came before or after the criminal case resolution (timeline gaps)

“The last 40 days felt like hell on earth.”

— Taylor Frankie Paul, via Variety Australia (entertainment industry publication)

“I’m still a Christian, but I’m detaching myself from the Mormon church.”

— Taylor Frankie Paul, via Variety Australia (entertainment industry publication)

“The domestic violence investigation led to ABC canceling or scrapping Paul’s Bachelorette season.”

— Biography.com (entertainment biography)

“Paul and Mortensen continued dating after the 2023 incident and later had a child together.”

— Biography.com (entertainment biography)

The thread running through these events: every major turn in Taylor Frankie Paul’s public story—from Bachelorette cancellation to faith departure to mental health disclosure—traces back to a single relationship with Dakota Mortensen and the domestic violence incident that followed. Her career as a reality star, her faith identity, and her mental health narrative are now permanently entwined with that February 2023 arrest. For the fans following her on TikTok, the divorce from Tate Paul may be remembered as the original fracture, but the Mortensen relationship is the axis around which everything pivots. What’s missing from the public record is a clear, verified account of how she arrived at each of those decisions—and whether the timeline of her LDS departure preceded or followed the criminal case. Until someone provides that chronology from Paul herself or from court documents, any single narrative is, at best, an editorial frame on incomplete facts.

For a comprehensive overview of her rise to fame, the Taylor Frankie Paul biography details cover the Bachelorette exit and subsequent Mormon wives scandal.

Frequently asked questions

For readers following her story: Taylor Frankie Paul’s future as a content creator and reality TV figure now depends on whether she can reconstruct a public narrative that acknowledges both the medical diagnosis and the legal consequences. The production pause on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and the canceled Bachelorette season mean the industry’s decision-makers are waiting—and the next chapter of her career rests on what she clarifies next.

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