In a July 18 video, the reality star denied claims that she “stormed out” during a DCFS visit and “forced” her daughter to change a sibling’s diapers
Credit: taylorfrankiepaul/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- Taylor Frankie Paul addressed Utah DCFS’s petition asking a court to find her three children are “abused, neglected or dependent”
- Taylor addressed allegations in a July 18 Instagram video, denying claims that she “stormed out” during a DCFS visit and “forced” her daughter to change a sibling’s diapers
- “It’s been the most difficult thing I’ve ever, ever been through,” Taylor said in the video, the latest in her messy legal battle with ex Dakota Mortensen
Five days after Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) filed a petition asking a court to find that Taylor Frankie Paul‘s kids are “abused, neglected or dependent,” the reality star shared a video addressing some of the agency’s allegations.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, 32, shares son Ever, 2, with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, 33, and son Ocean, 6, and daughter Indy, 8, with ex-husband Tate Paul. In the petition filed July 13 and obtained by PEOPLE, the Utah DCFS asked a juvenile court to order protective supervision and appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the children.
On Saturday, July 18, Taylor spoke out about the petition in an over five-minute Instagram video, in which she stated that she is “clearing up some allegations.” While putting on makeup in the video, she denied the agency’s allegations that she “stormed out” of her own home during a Utah DCFS visit and that she made her daughter Indy change Ever’s diapers, among other claims.
“Not once have I forced or made my daughter change diapers,” she said of Indy, but said the 8-year-old “likes to help.” “She’s in that phase of, like, ‘mummy’s helper,’ wanting to do like the diaper bags, changing,” Taylor added of her daughter. “If that is bad on me, then so be it.”
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“Another frustrating one to hear was an outburst during a visit,” Taylor said, referring to the petition’s claim that during a home visit, she “left DCFS alone in her residence and DCFS had to lock up her home after she stormed out.”
Recalling the visit mentioned in the filing, the reality star said, “I do remember that day specifically and I was emotional and I was like, ‘Let me take a step outside.’ And so I went to go take a breather, which I think would be the correct thing to do to de-escalate emotions, like go outside to breathe. I would never leave someone in my home unattended or ask someone to lock up if my house locks up.”
The reality star also addressed the claim that her therapist once raised concerns about her “lack of investment in treatment.”
Utah DCFS held a meeting with Paul in July 2026, where she expressed a desire for a different therapist after feeling she wasn’t being adequately supported. In her new video, Taylor claimed that the therapist, who she had met with three times in total, “just wasn’t the fit.”
Taylor claimed that the therapist “had an issue with me going into my car,” made her “very uncomfortable” at one point, and did not express urgency while scheduling an appointment after Taylor “reached out to her letting her know that I was struggling.” Allegations that she “didn’t take my mental health seriously,” Taylor said, “is far from the truth because I’m a huge advocate for mental health.”
Taylor also claimed in the Saturday video that she “tried to have this sealed from the beginning,” seemingly referring to the contents of the petition. “It’s all gonna come to light either way, so it wasn’t in protection of me, but honestly just to keep it sealed for the children and again this was something I asked for and was denied from the beginning,” she told her followers.
Credit: taylor frankie paul/Instagram
She also stated that she has “actually made a lot of progress in the courtroom considering this type of stuff does not happen overnight,” referring to her ongoing legal battle with ex Mortensen. “I feel like I have made the progress that we have been aiming for, and that is just more time with my son,” she said, pointing to a judge’s recent decision to expand Paul’s parent time with son Ever at a July 8 hearing. It now includes alternating weekends through Monday morning and the same midweek day each week without overnights.
“And speaking of, the day of all the information being leaked was my first day and the longest period I will have my son,” said Taylor, who had posted a photo of the toddler playing in sand earlier in the day. “He’s actually napping right now, but what are the odds more things were leaked on the very day that I get him back for the next five days.”
PEOPLE has reached out to attorneys for Taylor, Tate and Mortensen for comment.
The reality star stated toward the end of the video that she is an “open book” who is “not here to sway anyone.” “I will give you the ugly and the pretty,” she told her followers. “I don’t claim to be this mother of the year of my faults. I also have a right to stick up for myself, give context of my life.”
She also said she believes her children would choose to be in her custody. “I will admit I am a lot of things,” she said. “I can confidently say you were to put any of my children up on a stand, they’re choosing mom and mom’s house every time, and I say that with full confidence because I love my children. They know that I love them.”
Credit: Taylor Frankie Paul/ Instagram
“I’m just at a loss of words on this experience. It’s been the most difficult thing I’ve ever, ever been through,” she continued. “Some people think the best thing is getting offline. My decision is to show this process and how ugly it is and make mistakes. I will own that.”
In the caption of the video, Taylor also added, “Last night I studied that long suffering trains us to eventually thrive in it and it’s safe to say I’m starting to understand exactly what that means.” And in text over the footage, she wrote, “This is me continuing on no matter the suffering that continues on or comes my way.”
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In a statement to PEOPLE after the petition was filed, an attorney for Taylor said, in part, that the reality TV star was “not deterred” by the case’s transfer to juvenile court and “looks forward to continuing her progress toward normalizing custody and becoming the healthiest version of herself.”
An attorney for Mortensen and Tate responded in a statement provided to PEOPLE at the time, stating in part that the star’s exes were “deeply concerned that Taylor’s statement minimizes the gravity of the action filed by DCFS and her many underlying actions that prompted such.”
The petition is the latest in an ongoing and legal battle between Taylor and Mortensen, which began in February when two Utah police departments opened domestic violence investigations into the couple. Amid the ongoing investigations, Mortensen filed for a protective order against Taylor in March, after which she filed for a protective order of her own. The orders were mutually granted for three years at a court appearance in April.
The former couple’s legal battle has also consistently made headlines, particularly for the public release of a 2023 video depicting a violent altercation between Taylor and Mortensen, after which ABC promptly called off Taylor’s already filmed season of The Bachelorette.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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