A new video released Thursday shows Taylor Frankie Paul attacking her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen in front of her daughter three years ago.
Shortly after the video was published, a Disney spokesperson confirmed Thursday that they had decided to air Taylor’s season of “The Bachelorette” on Sunday.
“In light of the newly released video today, we have decided not to move forward with a new season of ‘The Bachelorette’ at this time and are focusing our attention on supporting the family,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said.
The video, published by TMZ, was recorded by Mortensen and shows Paul pushing and kicking Mortensen as he repeatedly asks her to stop and “let me go.” The recording, which did not capture what led up to the moment the video began, reportedly depicts the incident that led to Paul’s arrest in 2023, according to TMZ.
Paul was charged with assault in the presence of a child, criminal mischief and domestic violence for the 2023 incident. Paul pleaded guilty to an aggravated assault charge in August 2025 and four other charges were dismissed with prejudice, court records show.
“I own my truth,” Paul said in a phone interview with NBC News after the video was released.
NBC News has not independently reviewed the TMZ video or viewed the original full video.
Police bodycam video of Paul’s arrest in that case was played in the first episode of the Hulu reality series “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” which follows a group of Utah-based Mormon mothers who popularized an online subculture known as “MomTalk.”
There are currently no public charges against Mortensen.
In a video of the incident, Paul can be seen throwing three barstools at Mortensen. Shortly after the stool is thrown, the daughter, who was nearby on the sofa during the fight, is heard crying.
“It’s called physical abuse,” Mortensen said in the video. As Paul starts throwing feces at Mortensen, he can be heard saying, “Your daughter is right here.”
The video is referenced in a 2023 indictment against Paul, which mentions that Mortensen had redness and swelling around his eyes, swelling on his elbows, scratches on his fingers and lacerations on his neck from the incident. In the video, Paul’s daughter was hit on the head while lying on the couch, the indictment said.
A spokesperson for Paul told NBC News on Thursday, after TMZ released the video, that the recording was “the latest episode in (Mortensen’s) endless, desperate, attention-grabbing, destructive campaign to harm Taylor with no regard for the consequences for her child.”
“Releasing an old video conveniently out of context on his son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior,” the spokesperson added. “Fortunately, the public has seen this act before and knows who they are, and sadly, many recognize this pattern of manipulation in their actions on the show and from their own experiences.”
Mortensen did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment about the video. ABC and Hulu also did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the video.
In a March 2023 mental health evaluation in Paul’s case, he explained that the altercation happened after a girls’ night out at a friend’s house, where he was “drunk on vodka, although he doesn’t remember exactly how much.”
She explained that she asked Mortensen to take her after she started thinking about how she had “ruined” her family after her divorce. The evaluation stated that Paul states that her feelings only worsen when she reflects on her “recent ectopic pregnancy (which was reported to have occurred a few days before this event)”.
At the evaluation, Paul said she didn’t remember much after the pair got home, but she read an incident report that said she “grabbed three bar stools and threw them in her boyfriend’s direction.”
“Both children were sleeping, her son was upstairs in his room, and her daughter was sleeping on the couch downstairs (where the incident occurred),” the mental health evaluation states. “Ms. Paul reported that her daughter woke up after or during the altercation (and she reported that she checked on her daughter to make sure she was OK.”
Paul said there were no signs her daughter had been hit, the assessment added. However, the criminal indictment alleges that Paul hit his daughter in the head with a metal chair and that “crying was heard after being hit with the tool” in a video of the incident.
During the next video, an officer was told that Paul’s daughter “had a goose egg on her head that was painful,” the indictment says. According to a probable cause affidavit in the case, when officers arrived at the home, one officer saw a “lunge” at Paul Mortensen and pushed and hit him.
A mental health assessment recommended that Paul attend a parenting class to “learn to manage stress and anxiety around her children” and that she would benefit from a “Prime for Life class to gain some information/education about alcohol and its side effects and effects.”
At the time, Paul was seeing a therapist regularly, and the evaluation notes that the counselor said she was an “intermittent problem drinker.” It also notes that Paul has “borderline anxiety” and “mild levels of depression.”
The case docket shows that Paul completed two recommended courses.
The video comes just days after reports of a separate domestic violence incident involving both Paul and Mortensen.
Three sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, told NBC News there is an “ongoing investigation” involving the on-again, off-again couple. Sources declined to provide further details on the investigation on the record.
The West Jordan Police Department in Utah confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday that the department received an allegation of domestic violence through a phone call involving Paul but declined to provide details about the allegation or any potential charges. They don’t even know the exact date or time of the reported incident.
The spokesperson of the department said that detectives are working to find out the facts of this case.
The Draper Police Department in Utah told PEOPLE earlier this week that there is an open “domestic assault investigation” into Paul and Mortensen and that “allegations have been made in both directions.” “Contact was made with the persons involved on February 24 and 25,” a police spokesperson said.
The police department, reached by NBC News on Monday, declined to confirm reports of a domestic dispute, saying its practice is “not to release details related to active investigations.”
Sources who spoke to NBC News confirmed reports that “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” the Hulu reality show that spotlighted both Paul and Mortensen, has paused filming amid the allegations.
The cast of “Mormon Wives” has now unanimously decided to take a break from filming, a source told NBC News.
A source close to Paul, who spoke to NBC News on Tuesday, said the “MomTalk” founder is trying to keep the investigation private because it affects his children, his family and his future. Instead, Paul was trying to focus all his attention on “The Bachelorette,” the source said.
Paul “needs help,” the source says, adding that the cast hopes production can pause long enough so she can get the care she needs. Sources said that production has stopped there. It is unclear when filming will resume.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-SAFE (7233) for help, or go to www.thehotline.org For more. States also often have domestic violence hotlines.
