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Credit: Disney/Pamela Littky
Taylor Frankie Paul revealed the “worst part” of the controversy surrounding the leaked video of her altercation with her ex, Dakota Mortensen. Meanwhile, a source confirmed that a Secret Lives of Mormon Wives spinoff is set to film soon in Orange County with original castmate Jen Affleck.
Days before Taylor’s season premiere of The Bachelorette, a video surfaced of her 2023 altercation with Dakota, who’s now the father of her youngest child. In the recording, Dakota held the camera as Taylor threw barstools at him. At one point, he claimed that a barstool hit Taylor’s daughter.
Soon after the video was leaked, ABC canceled Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette. Taylor later claimed that Dakota released the video on their son’s birthday. As of now, SLOMW has paused filming for season five amid the controversy.
On March 23, Taylor commented on a video from fan account @turtzc, who blamed Dakota for releasing the video on their son’s birthday.
“Worst part is my daughter having to relive and see it all over again years later after extensive work with her and apologies to her about that night,” wrote Taylor in a comment. “And my baby boy[‘s] birthday was taken from him.”
Around the same time, an insider speaking to PEOPLE confirmed that a spinoff for SLOMW is set to start filming this spring, and it will premiere in the fall. According to the source, Jen is the only SLOMW star who will be in the spinoff, along with nine newbies, and they’ll film in Orange County.
After the video was released (and ABC canceled The Bachelorette premiere), Taylor’s spokesperson released a statement to the outlet: “Taylor is very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security. After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm.”
Dakota eventually gave his own statement to PEOPLE, saying, “As anyone who has seen the video will understand, this is a deeply upsetting situation. I am, unfortunately, used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny. I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same.”
