A representative for Taylor Frankie Paul responded to a leaked video from her 2023 domestic violence incident, which saw “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star throw several metal barstools at her former partner Dakota Mortensen.
The 2023 video, published by TMZ Thursday, comes as a separate investigation into an alleged assault between the exes halted production on Season 5 of the Hulu reality series.
“It’s sad to see the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child,” Paul’s rep said in a statement to press.
“Releasing an old video, which conveniently omits context, on their son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior,” the rep continued. “Thankfully, the public has seen this act before and knows who he is and sadly, many will recognize this pattern of manipulation, both in his actions on the show, and from their own experiences.”
Their shared son, Ever, turned 2 years old Thursday. Paul also has two children with her ex-husband, one of which was inadvertently struck with a chair in 2023. At the time of the incident, she was arrested and pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault. She was then put on a 3-year probation, which is set to end this August.
Reps for Mortensen claimed Wednesday that he did not “proactively” leak news of the domestic violence investigation ahead of Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette.” He claimed that his No. 1 priority is protecting their 2-year-old son.
“The Bachelorette” Season 22 star reportedly pulled out of a scheduled “Tonight Show” appearance after the TMZ report. Paul’s season of the ABC franchise will premiere as scheduled Sunday.
The upcoming “Bachelorette” star questioned her own “Mormon Wives” future on Wednesday as reports of another domestic violence incident came just days before her season’s premiere on Sunday.
“Honestly, it’s been a heavy time to see the headlines, especially during this time of ‘The Bachelorette’ being released. It’s supposed to be a really exiting time,” she told Lara Spencer on “Good Morning America.”
The fourth season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” which premiered last week, saw Paul preparing to head off to film a new season of “The Bachelorette.” Season 5 would then detail the aftermath of Paul’s time on the popular ABC reality show.
“The Bachelorette” premieres Sunday on ABC before streaming the next day on Hulu.
