Dakota breaks his silence following leaked Taylor Frankie Paul video
'He was just hoping that if he says nothing, as he usually does, it would go away'
Dakota Mortensen has released an official public statement following a leaked 2023 video.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star is seen in the video alongside Taylor Frankie Paul, his ex-partner. During the clip, shared by TMZ, Taylor is seen throwing three metal bar stools at Dakota.
Dakota was filming as the events played out. During the clip, Taylor is seen, as well as a child who, by the end of the video, is heard crying.
Following the leak of the video, Dakota has now broken his silence.
Dakota breaks his silence following 2023 clip
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A source is now speaking out in an exclusive statement to Entertainment Weekly.
It reads: “His number one priority here is protecting [their 2-year-old son], Ever…”
“He knew there was a possibility it could come out, but he was not going to be the one to proactively do that because he has always wanted a decent relationship with Taylor. It’s been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to co-parent well.”
Per EW, the source claims he was hoping the drama would de-escalate.
It continues: “He was just hoping that if he says nothing, as he usually does, it would go away. He’s never done any kind of sit-down interview about his side…”
“He kind of just lets it all happen to him, and I think he realises with the severity of everything now that he just can’t do that.”
Taylor also released statements
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Prior to Dakota’s statement coming out, Taylor had also spoken to EW.
She insinuated that the two were not on the same page and that her desire was to keep their legal issues out of the media.
“I actually took action about a few weeks ago. I’m just doing third-party everything — pick-up, drop-offs, communication — so no contact right now for me,” she said.
Taylor continued: “I think that’s the best case, honestly, because clearly it’s just not to a point of us getting along, so I wanted to take the best action I could. … I didn’t want to bring anything to the public eye, making it a bigger deal for the sake of my son, and just everything about to come out. But that wasn’t the plan for [Mortensen].”
She responded to the video directly
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Taylor also released a statement in direct response to the leaked 2023 video.
Her rep told Entertainment Weekly: “It’s sad to see the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child.
“Releasing an old video, which conveniently omits context, on their son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior.
“Thankfully, the public has seen this act before and knows who he is and sadly, many will recognize this pattern of manipulation, both in his actions on the show, and from their own experiences.”
Following the video leak, ABC confirmed they have cancelled Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette.
This comes after Taylor also took to Instagram to share with her followers that the events we’re seeing “aren’t a storyline but her real life.”
She wrote: “I for the first time sat down and watched this season and it was extremely hard to do.
“These aren’t just story lines these are our actual lives we are sharing. I’ll speak for myself on this, I’m not sharing to appease or switch “story lines” for anyone’s entertainment. A big reason I continue on is to potentially help someone. I know this because I’ve personally watched and listened to people’s experience and it helped me.
“Takes courage to share such vulnerable topics with an audience. My heart goes out to those around me that share and everyone else that continue to do so the hugs will always outweigh the hate for me.”
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