From Supervised Visits to Unsupervised Time: Taylor Frankie Paul Scores Major Custody Win

After months of fighting in court, Taylor Frankie Paul caught a significant break in her custody battle with ex Dakota Mortensen over their 2-year-old son Ever. During a virtual hearing on Monday, June 1, a judge lifted supervision requirements and granted Paul expanded parenting time—a marked shift from the heavily restricted visitation she’s had since March.

The ruling represents real progress in a custody war that spiraled after a domestic violence investigation. Back in March, Mortensen filed for custody and a protective order was granted, initially cutting Paul off almost entirely. By April, she’d fought her way to supervised eight-hour weekly visits. Now, she gets Ever on alternating weekends plus one midweek day each week—no overnight requirement for that midweek visit, but the judge emphasized the need for consistency. It’s the kind of incremental victory that matters enormously when your time with your own child has been measured in hours per week.

Here’s what’s notable about the judge’s language: encouragement.“I’m encouraged and I think we’re moving in the right direction,”the judge told both parents during the hearing. But there’s also clear-eyed realism baked into the ruling. The court still maintains a 100-foot distance requirement between Paul and Mortensen for three years. Both are ordered to skip the public criticism, keep up with therapy, and generally stop feeding the conflict that landed them here. The judge’s next hearing is scheduled for July 8.

The backdrop here matters for context. Court documents obtained by TMZ alleged that Mortensen claimed Paul choked him and shoved him into a window during a February 2026 incident at her house, and that he was concerned about their toddler’s safety. Paul has flatly denied these allegations, telling Us Weekly:“I believe that I am a good mother and I have always treated my kids very well. … I have never touched them.”During an April hearing, Paul’s legal team countered with their own assault accusation against Mortensen from that same February period.

The custody fight has had ripple effects beyond the courtroom. Secret Lives of Mormon Wives filming halted in March following the domestic violence incident, and ABC canceled Paul’s season of The Bachelorette just days before its premiere. Neither parent faced criminal charges, but the scandal made headlines and became a very public family implosion.

Paul herself opened up about the emotional toll just before the hearing.“I think all the projects and redoing is a fresh start but mainly a coping mechanism to distract from the fact my baby hasn’t been here for months now, aside visits,”she wrote on Instagram on May 31. That’s the human cost of extended custody fights—the parent left without day-to-day access filling time with distractions, waiting for the next court date to maybe get a little more time back.

The judge’s closing message to both parents was blunt: figure out how to coparent.“You have to put your child first and shield the child from this conflict,”the judge said. Whether Paul and Mortensen can actually do that remains to be seen. For now, Paul gets her expanded time—a win, certainly, but one that still comes with conditions and a next hearing looming.