Taylor Frankie Paul confirms relationship status with Dakota Mortensen after weeks of break-up rumours

Controversial influencer Paul, who is known for being involved in a mormon swinging scandal, has had an up and down relationship with Mortensen.

They first began dating in the summer of 2022, but the following year she pleaded guilty to an aggravated assault charge after she allegedly threw a chair at him in an incident which took place in early 2023. By September 2023, however, the couple, who have broken up and got back together numerous times, announced their pregnancy by posting a video of a baby scan appointment to TikTok. They also posted a series of photos from a pregnancy photo shoot to Instagram.

Paul announced the the birth of their baby boy in March last year by sharing a series of photos on her Instagram of herself and Mortensen cradling newborn Ever in the hospital. She posted a carousel of four images along with the caption: "Meet Ever Mortensen our angel sent from heaven." The child was Paul’s third, as she shares two children with her ex-husband, and Mortensen’s first.

Fans first began to speculate back in September that Paul and Mortensen had split up again. She last posted about him on September 12, where she poked fun at the “girls coming out of the woodwork talking about their past with Mortensen. In the video, she lip synced to a song with the lyrics “I don’t know why these girls bother, I won”. She captioned the video: “Congrats? the man wants to marry me and didn’t accidently have a baby with me.”

By September 29, however, she posted another video of her looking confused with the caption “when you thought it was your turn for no more dramatic changes”. Though she did not clarify at the time what this post was about, fans speculated in the comments that she had gone her separate ways with Mortensen once more. Paul did not respond to the speculative questions.

On November 6, however, she then posted a video of Mortensen doing household chores, which led fans to think that the pair were still together. On December 10, she then posted a video about disgreements in relationships, further appearing that she was loved up (but perhaps going through a difficult time).

On December 21, fans had more reason to fear for Paul and Mortensen’s union though as she posted another cryptic video. In it, she danced around the kitchen to the sound of Hollaback Girl buy Gwen Stefani which includes the lyrics ‘this s*** is bananas’. Over the top of it she wrote: “Did anyone else think 2024 was their year and then went to complete s***?’. In the caption, she refused to give any more details as to what the video was about and simply said: “I won’t give anything away, but dang.” When a fan commented “worst year of my life by far”, she replied with “same”.

On December 24, she posted a video where she and her children dancing around with the caption: “Perk is no travelling to any in-laws anymore.” She used the hashtag co-parenting. But, it was still unclear if this was only referring to Paul’s ex-husband and the father of her eldest two children. Paul is mum to daughter Indy, aged seven, and four-year-old son Ocean, who she shares with ex-husband Tate Paul. Their marriage allegedly ended in 2022 because she broke the rules in a swinging agreement that they had made with their friends. This has been documented in a reality show Paul stars in called The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

Then, on January 2, the 30-year-old shared a video montage of recent years with the caption: “I didn’t think my 20s would be so trying, full of joy, pain, confusion, heartbreak, happiness and sadness all mixed.” The montage showed photos of her with ex Tate in happy times, followed by their children, followed by images of her crying, then photos of her and Mortensen looking happy, and photos of their baby boy, concluding with more photos of her crying.

Now, earlier today, (Monday January 13), Paul has finally confirmed her relationship status with Mortensen following weeks of speculation. So, what exactly has she said? Keep reading to find out all you need to know.

Have Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen broken up?

Paul has confirmed that her and Mortensen have broken up, less than a year after welcoming their baby son Ever. Alongside a video showing her removing smudged mascara from her face after she had seemingly been crying, Paul wrote the caption: “I’ll never forget these exact screams I cried for days in my car when I found out I’d also be co-parenting the baby I just had.” She also referred to it being “the second worst day of [her] life”.

The influencer received lots of words of support from her fans. One said: “Ur literally the strongest person. Those babies are all happy you can tell and it’s because of how awesome their parents are.” She replied: “Don’t feel that way, but this means a lot.” One person questioned “why?”, calling the break-up “so sad”. She did not respond to the question of why, but agreed that it was “very sad”.

Another fan shared they are also going through a similar situation. “I coparent with two and can feel this scream in my soul. I’m so sorry you’re going through it. Thanks for your vulnerability,” they wrote. In response, Paul invited them to text her and sent her her phone number.

On January 6, Mortensen posted on his own TikTok page alluding to the break-up, but also seemingly confirming their was no bad blood between the exes. He shared a video of himself dancing wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with Paul’s face - merchandise created for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. In the caption she wrote: “Still my baby momma”.

• The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is available to watch now on Hulu and Disney+.