Taylor Frankie Paul’s ex Dakota Mortensen has seemingly reacted to news of her casting as the next Bachelorette.
“Had so many curve balls today and every time I am always reminded there is nothing more important than God and family ❤️,” Dakota, 32, wrote via his Instagram Stories on Wednesday, September 10, alongside a selfie. “Life is too short.”
During an appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast earlier on Wednesday, Taylor, 31, was announced as the new lead of the reality dating show, which is expected to air sometime in 2026.
ABC is placing The Bachelor on pause in order to bring The Bachelorette back to follow Taylor on her search for love. Hulu viewers have previously had a front row seat to Taylor’s tumultuous love life on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
Speaking to Us Weekly on Wednesday, Taylor confirmed she hadn’t personally told Dakota about her new role.
“I have not confirmed it with him. It’s just not something that’s been on, like, my priority list to confirm with him,” Taylor exclusively told Us. “I don’t know exactly how he’ll react or feel, but he does know that we opened the gates of dating other people. [He’ll] probably [be] sad. I assume that it’s like, ‘Whoa, she’s gonna be dating people, a lot, and then also, in front of me,’ and that’s probably gonna be kind of hard to watch.”
She added, “I can’t speak for him, but I’d assume it wouldn’t be the best news he’s heard on that day.”
Before the show premiered in September 2024, Taylor made headlines when she was involved in a “soft swinging” sex scandal while still married to Tate Paul. The controversy involved Taylor hooking up with couples including Miranda McWhorter and her then-husband, Chase McWhorter.
Taylor and Tate, who share daughter Indy, 7, and son Ocean, 4, called it quits in the aftermath of the drama. She then found love with Dakota Mortensen, who was Taylor’s first boyfriend since her divorce.
Taylor and Dakota, 32, faced major ups and downs — including a domestic violence arrest — which was documented on season 1 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. In February 2023, Taylor was arrested for domestic violence.
The reality star was ultimately charged with aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse with injury and criminal mischief after the incident. Taylor pleaded guilty six months later to aggravated assault, while the other four charges were dismissed with prejudice. She reached a plea deal the following month.
Season 1 captured Taylor and Dakota trying to make their relationship work after her legal issues. They briefly got back together before their son Ever’s arrival in March 2024.
“I just want to take my time with this time around, this [would be] my second marriage. It is going to be very important to me, and I don’t want to end up in another situation of being divorced,” Taylor exclusively told Us in September 2024 about potentially getting engaged to Dakota. “So, I really just want everything to be really solid and have a foundation of trust. And so I feel like that takes time. I would love for that to be the end goal. But right now, I think building it up to that is where I’m at.”
Taylor also discussed how she and Dakota were preparing to watch their scenes on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
“I feel like I might’ve vented to my mom and been a little harsh — and he’s very sensitive — so I feel like it could be a lot harder for him,” she continued. “Also it could be triggering, too, to bring up these conversations. Especially, I think I’ve heard the [season] cliffhanger, so that in itself stirs up some stuff. We are doing good today, we’re going through work, so I really hope that not too much comes out.”
By the time production started on season 2, which aired in May, Taylor and Dakota pulled the plug on their relationship again after he was accused of being unfaithful again. They admitted to still having feelings for each other but didn’t get back together.
“We’ve obviously come a long way to navigate [coparenting],” Taylor shared with Us in May. “It’s different from my first husband because there’s obviously a friendship there. We adjusted. Whereas [with] Dakota, everything’s fresh. It’s something that we necessarily didn’t want to do but needed to separate.”
She added: “It’s an adjustment and we’ve had to learn through the obstacles of this experience to do what’s best for our son. Of course when things are heightened, you’re breaking up and it’s not something you wanted and you just had a baby. It was not the prettiest experience, but currently we’ve come a long way.”
More recently, Taylor sparked romance rumors when she shared an Instagram post in September with a photo of a mystery guy. The social media upload received support from her costars with Mayci Neeley writing, “Couldn’t be happier.”
Miranda replied, “We love to see a healed Taylor.” Taylor also “liked” a comment from a friend that read, “Oh my gosh you giving the world a sneak peek I love it.”
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