‘Mormon Wives’ star Taylor Frankie Paul and ex-partner ordered to stay 100 feet apart

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Taylor Frankie Paul, a reality TV star from “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” and the father of her 2-year-old son were ordered Thursday to stay 100 feet (30 meters) away from each other for the next three years as a Utah court commissioner continues to assess custody plans for the child.

Paul has been unable to spend unsupervised time with her son since a hearing April 7, when Third District Court Commissioner Russell Minas said Paul had a history of volatile behavior directed at her former partner, Dakota Mortensen, while kids were present.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.

Minas on Thursday described the pair's dynamic as “very toxic” before granting Paul and Mortensen's dueling requests for protective orders against each other. He found that “there’s been violence that occurred both ways between these parties” and urged them to figure out how to function as co-parents to their son, Ever.

“I'm hoping that you're not people who just thrive on the drama and the conflict,” Minas said. “You've got to put your child first and shield the child from this conflict.”

Paul, Mortensen and their families were present in court, but no other cast members from the Hulu reality show attended.

Attorneys for Paul and Mortensen offered competing versions of fights between the pair, with each suggesting the other party was the aggressor.

Paul's attorney Eric Swinyard told the court commissioner that Mortensen is much larger and stronger than Paul — and that when she was faced with physical intimidation from Mortensen during an argument, she responded the same way a lot of people would.

“He said, ‘Hit me,’ and she did,” Swinyard said.

One fight between the two came while Paul was dealing with recent miscarriages, and she felt that Mortensen had been blowing her off while their son was sick.

When Paul lost her footing and fell to the ground, Mortensen kicked her several times in the leg, Swinyard alleged. He submitted to the court photos of her bruises.

Mortensen's attorney Brent Salazar-Hall said his client was a victim of abuse from Paul, but that she kept luring him back with text messages inviting him over for intimacy.

During one argument, Paul and Mortensen were in a truck and she tried to interfere with his driving by squeezing his face, Salazar-Hall said. In response, Mortensen shoved her away, he said.

Paul's lawyers said Mortensen slammed her head into the vehicle's dashboard, causing bruises.

Mortensen has Paul’s initials tattooed on the inside of his lip, which Paul’s attorney pointed to as an example of his possessive nature. Mortensen’s lawyer disagreed with that characterization and said many of the men on the TV show got lip tattoos of their partners’ names in a humorous scene that has not yet aired.

“There seems to be a continuing attraction that they have for each other, whether it’s physical, whether it’s the thrill between the two of them of making themselves celebrities,” Minas said.

“The problem is that the two of them can’t be together in the same place at the same time before it starts to turn violent,” he added.

Violations of the protective orders could result in criminal charges.

Eleven fights between the exes were under examination in their protective order requests. A recently leaked video of one fight from 2023 prompted ABC to make the unprecedented move last month of shelving an already-filmed season of “The Bachelorette” starring Paul. Hulu also paused production of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” and resumed filming last week.

In the video, Paul appeared to punch, kick and throw chairs at Mortensen while her daughter from another relationship watched and cried.

Swinyard alleged that Mortensen leaked that video to the press to ruin Paul’s reality TV career just before her season of “The Bachelorette” was supposed to air.

“Our point with the video is he’s not just trying to come after her for custody. He’s not just trying to seek a protective order. He wants to literally destroy her,” Swinyard said.

Salazar-Hall said Mortensen denies leaking the video.

Just after the fight, Paul was charged with aggravated assault and other offenses, including domestic violence in the presence of a child. The police body camera footage of her arrest was featured in the first season of the Hulu series.

Paul pleaded guilty to an assault charge, which will be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor if she stays out of legal trouble for a three-year probationary period that ends in August. The other counts were dismissed.

Earlier this month, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office declined to file new charges against Paul in recent fights with Mortensen. Any new charges would have violated Paul's probation from the 2023 assault.

Minas said he would make custody recommendations by May 11. Mortensen has custody in the meantime.

Paul had majority custody of their son before the April 7 hearing.

A protective order in Utah can restrict or eliminate a parent’s ability to see their child. When both parents have protective orders against each other, the court relies heavily on the recommendations of an attorney appointed to investigate the child's best interests.

Paul and Mortensen's son had a court-appointed attorney present at Thursday’s hearing to help the commissioner determine the safest arrangement for the boy.

Associated Press writer Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.

Dakota Mortensen, left, speaks with his attorney Joel Kittrell in Third District Court for a hearing regarding protective orders in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Taylor Frankie Paul, left, hugs Cheyenne Cranford Mortensen, Dakota Mortensen's mother, after appearing in Third District Court for a hearing regarding protective orders in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Dakota Mortensen appears in Third District Court for a hearing regarding protective orders in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Taylor Frankie Paul appears in Third District Court for a hearing regarding protective orders in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Dakota Mortensen, left, speaks with his attorney Joel Kittrell in Third District Court for a hearing regarding protective orders in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Taylor Frankie Paul appears in Third District Court for a hearing regarding protective orders in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Taylor Frankie Paul, center right, appears in Third District Court for a hearing regarding protective orders between her and her former partner Dakota Mortensen in Salt Lake City, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Attorney Brent Salazar-Hall, representing Dakota Mortensen, speaks during a hearing regarding protective orders between Taylor Frankie Paul and Mortensen in Third District Court in Salt Lake City, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Taylor Frankie Paul, second from left, and Dakota Mortensen, far right, appear in Third District Court for a hearing regarding protective orders in Salt Lake City, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Dakota Mortensen appears in Third District Court for a hearing regarding protective orders between him and his former partner Taylor Frankie Paul in Salt Lake City, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Taylor Frankie Paul appears in Third District Court for a hearing regarding protective orders between her and her former partner Dakota Mortensen in Salt Lake City, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

FILE - Taylor Frankie Paul appears at the Oscars in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

SYDNEY (AP) — Five Australian rules footballers have been banned for the remainder of the AFL season by the Sydney Swans for breaching player codes of conduct during a stay at a Melbourne hotel that has led to a police investigation into allegations of sexual assault.

The Swans issued a statement Wednesday saying “Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner will not be considered for selection for the remainder of the 2026 AFL Season,” ruling them out of a regular-season game this weekend and the playoffs series.

The Swans said the club-imposed sanctions were independent of an investigation by Victoria state police. No charges have been laid, and no player has been identified as being involved in an alleged sexual assault.

Police were called to a hotel in East Melbourne early Monday when a woman made a complaint to staff there.

“We respect there is an ongoing investigation by Victoria Police and the actions we have taken today are independent of this,” the Swans statement said, adding that the Australian Football League “is supportive of the club’s sanctions.”

Swans chief executive Matthew Pavlich told a news conference Wednesday the club sanctions were imposed for a series of postgame code of conduct breaches. Swans players were staying at the hotel after a game on Sunday because a commercial flight wouldn’t have got the squad back to Sydney in time before an airport curfew.

“It was staying out late, it was drinking, it was continuing their night, it was bringing women back to the hotel,” Pavlich said. Such behavior “was a long way short of what we expect of our players.

“We’re holding them to a really high standard. But they were well short of anywhere near that standard.”

He declined to comment on any matters relating to the police investigation.

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon earlier released a statement saying the allegations were “deeply concerning.”

“While the matter remains under police investigation, it raises broader issues for our game and our responsibilities as a sport,” Dillon said. “The woman who made the report to police is entitled to privacy and care, and that should be respected.”

The competitive bans followed a club board meeting Tuesday night and interviews with the players involved.

“The Sydney Swans condemn all forms of abuse and disrespectful behavior toward women,” the Swans said in a statement ahead of the board meeting. “Any conduct that causes offense or harm to others is unacceptable and falls well short of our expectations. All women deserve to be respected and feel safe.”

Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham apologized for the actions of the players and said there was deep disappointment within the club.

“To effectively torpedo our season by making a decision such as this tells you how seriously we’ve taken it,” he said.

See AP’s full sports coverage here

Sydney Swans Australian Rules Football club CEO Matthew Pavlich, left, and Chairman Andrew Pridham speak to the media in Sydney, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP Image via AP)