No charges to be filed against Taylor Frankie Paul’s ex-boyfriend in Utah case

Dakota Mortensen, the ex-boyfriend of “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul, will not be charged in relation to an allegation of domestic violence this year, the Utah city of Draper said.

In a statement, the city announced the city prosecutor’s decision two days after the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against Paul.

“The Draper City Prosecutor reviewed the DA’s findings and, upon further review of the Draper Police case, has declined to file any charges against Taylor Frankie Paul or Dakota Mortensen related to an investigation of domestic assault claims,” the city said.

Mortensen filed a complaint of domestic violence against Paul on Feb. 23, and Paul counter-claimed an assault by him.

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“After a thorough investigation by Draper Police, the City Prosecutor has determined that there is insufficient corroborating evidence to support filing criminal charges against either party,” the city said in the statement.

The police department said it “would only pursue the investigation further if additional information is provided that supports the prosecution of either party.”

NBC News has reached out to representatives for Paul for comment.

Mortensen declined to comment when he was reached by phone.

In the incident in February, a friend reported that Paul assaulted Mortensen, according to police records obtained through a Utah public records request.

Mortensen told police that Paul attacked him, grabbed his throat, scratched him and threw objects at him, according to Draper police records. Paul told police that she told Mortensen to leave her home and he refused and that at one point Mortensen grabbed her and hit her head against the dashboard of his vehicle, according to the police documents.

Police said in the documents about the investigation that the city prosecutor “advised that neither Taylor or Dakota are credible witnesses, with both their statements being fraught with inconsistencies.”

Police referred the case to the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, because the couple’s child was home at the time, the city said in Thursday’s statement.

Allegations of domestic violence between the couple made headlines last month when a leaked video from a 2023 incident went viral. The video, posted online by TMZ, appeared to show Paul hurling a chair at Mortensen as he protested.

The couple’s on-and-off relationship was depicted in “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” which premiered in 2024. Filming for season five was paused last month, sources have told NBC News.

Paul was to be the centerpiece of season 22 of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” but after the 2023 video was leaked, the network pulled the upcoming season.

Mortensen will be edited out of the upcoming season of “Vanderpump Villa,” a source familiar with the show confirmed to NBC News.

Draper is a city of around 50,000 in Salt Lake and Utah counties, south of Salt Lake City and in the metropolitan area.

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