Inside the Utah courtroom where Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen faced off

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — After weeks of headlines about domestic disputes, physical violence, criminal investigations and off-screen drama, a Utah judge put it to reality stars Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen simply: You “need to stay away from each other.” The judge ultimately granted the “The Secret Lives of Mormon Housewives” stars mutual protective orders during a Thursday court hearing. It marked the first time the on-again, off-again couple has been seen together in public since their domestic violence case made national headlines and a video of an altercation scuttled the productions and broadcasts of two popular reality series, “Secret Lives” and “The Bachelorette,” which Paul was supposed to be fronting. Paul and Mortensen’s meeting Thursday was unlike the ones “Mormon Wives” viewers are used to on-screen — neither Paul nor Mortensen appeared to acknowledge the other. Both were calm, respectful and attentive during the nearly two-hour hearing that hashed out the merits of their competing temporary protective orders. The only piece of familiarity for fans: Paul showed up a little late, wearing a neutral-toned outfit with a Louis Vuitton tote slung over her shoulder. Paul, 31, and her ex-partner, Mortensen, 33, had filed dueling petitions for protective orders against each other and have both claimed the other has been abusive. Their attorneys argued for the family judge to side with their clients’ order and toss out the other, while also arguing over who should have primary custody of their shared 2-year-old son. Third District Court Commissioner Russell Minas said that while both had “merit” to their arguments, for the sake of their son, the pair should not be in the same place at the same time. “All of the evidence seems to suggest that’s a bad idea,” Minas said. Following court, Eric Swinyard, one of Paul’s attorneys, said his team is pleased with the outcome. “What we wanted on the DV front was for the relationship to be over,” he said, adding, “We wanted orders in place.” The orders will last three years and mandate Paul and Mortensen stay 100 feet away from each other, Minas said. If violated, “they will face criminal charges.” Minas acknowledged Paul and Mortensen have a “very toxic relationship” yet a “continuing attraction to each other.” “I’m hoping that you’re not people who just thrive on the drama and the conflict,” Minas told the pair. “You’ve got to put your child first and shield the child from this conflict.” Swinyard, in a statement, also acknowledged that his client has taken responsibility for her past actions. “Taylor was incredibly candid with the court that she is not perfect and owned her faults, which is in direct contrast to how the other party presented their argument, despite evidence and input from law enforcement that showed otherwise.” Attorneys for Mortensen did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Thursday's hearing. The court was expected to make a decision on the pair’s custody agreement for their son, Ever. Minas said he needed more time to think and wanted to wait for a Department of Child and Family Services assessment. Swinyard said, “Ultimately with today’s outcome it’s what we were expecting on the child protective front.” Minas said he’ll make a written recommendation on parent time schedules by May 11, and a review hearing will take place June 1. No other “Mormon Wives” cast members were in the courtroom, but both Paul’s and Mortensen’s families were there to show support. After the orders were granted, Paul was emotional as she said goodbye to Mortensen’s family in the tiny, 28-seat courtroom, and cried as she hugged his mother, who also shed tears. Mortensen’s friend and roommate, Cru Eaton, expressed frustration with the outcome, calling it “a joke and pathetic.” Eaton came to court to support his friend of seven years and said it is “pretty shocking the judge swayed that way” and that a lot of things were left unsaid in court. “Taylor needs help, and I don’t trust her with Ever,” Eaton told NBC News. “... It’s almost like an impossible battle when she’s backed by ABC and Hulu.” Representatives for Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Eaton’s comments. Paul, who evolved from a TikTok personality to a reality TV star, was yanked from her upcoming season starring in ABC’s “The Bachelorette” following reports that she and Mortensen were involved in an ongoing domestic violence investigation. The decision to shelve “The Bachelorette” was prompted by a TMZ video depicting Paul attacking Mortensen in front of her daughter in 2023. Paul faced charges for the incident in that video. She pleaded guilty in abeyance to one charge of aggravated assault in connection with the February 2023 charges, according to a plea affidavit. Four other charges in that case — including assault, criminal mischief, and domestic violence in the presence of a child — were dismissed with prejudice. In court Thursday, Paul’s attorney discussed the public leak of that 2023 video to TMZ days before Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” was set to air. That same day, Mortensen filed an amended request for a protective order, he said. “I understand he denies having done this, but a lot of information lends itself to Dakota leaking this, or at least at a very minimum, having his fingerprints all over this,” Swinyard said. “He wants to literally destroy her,” Swinyard added. Swinyard acknowledged Paul’s role in the video. “My client has zero excuses for this. ... It is a tragedy that Dakota and my client’s daughter were the victims of her actions,” he said. He noted that Paul entered a plea in advance for assault on Mortensen, and said that at the time of the incident, she was struggling after two miscarriages but is on track to complete her probation in August. Brent Hall, Mortensen’s attorney, denied that his client leaked the video, adding, “He told his publicist not to release the video.” Hall said his client filed the protective order “to break the cycle” he and Paul were in and to “protect his child, to stop the violence.” Hall cast doubt on Paul’s motivation for a protective order, saying it’s “not designed to protect her son, it’s designed to protect her image.” At the end of February, Mortensen reported domestic violence allegations against Paul from events in 2024, 2025 and 2026 in both West Jordan and Draper, Utah. Paul also reported allegations against Mortensen in relation to the 2026 incident out of Draper, spokespeople from both departments confirmed to NBC News. In April, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office said it would not pursue charges against Paul in connection with any of the reported cases, citing statute of limitations issues and lack of evidence. Days later, the city of Draper said that Mortensen would not be charged. The recent back-and-forth has also had consequences for Mortensen, who was edited out of the new season of the show “Vanderpump Villa.” Cast members of “Mormon Wives” expressed concern over their co-star’s behavior in a March meeting with ABC executives, a recording of which was shared with NBC News. The meeting came after news of the criminal investigations and was not related to the protective order hearing Thursday. In that meeting, the cast chose to pause filming — a unanimous decision, the audio recording showed — until legal action played out in Paul’s cases. The show decided to pick cameras back up on April 21, a source with knowledge of the decision told NBC News. It is not clear whether Paul and Mortensen will be included in the Hulu reality series going forward, but the new protective order indicates that they cannot be in the same place at the same time. Rebecca Cohen reported from Salt Lake City and Marlene Lenthang from Los Angeles.