Judge Expands Taylor Frankie Paul's Custody Time While Shutting Down the Drama

In a Wednesday court hearing that brought both victories and hard truths, a Utah judge gave Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul more unsupervised time with her 2-year-old son Ever — but not without calling out what he saw as a troubling pattern.

During the July 8 hearing, Taylor Frankie Paul, 32, and Dakota Mortensen, 33, faced a judge who appeared increasingly frustrated with their ongoing legal battle. Despite Mortensen’s legal team claiming Paul had used less than half her allocated parenting time, the judge expanded her weekend access, extending visits through Monday morning instead of ending Sunday evening. It’s a meaningful win for Paul, who has been fighting to rebuild her relationship with Ever since a domestic violence investigation triggered temporary custody restrictions in March. But the ruling came wrapped in stern language about accountability.

The judge also drew clear lines around behavior outside the courtroom. After hearing that Paul had posted disparaging comments about Mortensen on social media, he prohibited both parties from making negative remarks about each other online — a ruling that sided with Mortensen’s request to shield their child from parental conflict playing out in the public eye. The message was unmistakable: the judge wanted the focus back on Ever’s wellbeing, not headline management. He even took a moment to name what he suspected was really happening. I want to draw the line when it comes to negative comments about each other, he said. Eventually it could come back to the child and we want to shield him from that.

Safety concerns also factored into Wednesday’s decisions. After Paul’s attorneys presented evidence that Mortensen had transported Ever on a motorcycle more than three miles from his home, the judge issued an explicit order: no transporting the child on a motorcycle. Third-party exchanges will continue under the existing protective orders — with the parent picking up the child responsible for arranging the neutral third party present. The judge made it clear he didn’t want Paul and Mortensen alone together during handoffs, period.

What may have stung most came near the end, when the judge expressed concern that both parties seemed invested in keeping the conflict alive. I get a feeling like there’s a desire to keep the drama going, that it keeps it in the news. Keeps them relevant. He said that concerned him as it could possibly affect their child when he’s older. It was a direct challenge to both of them: co-parenting isn’t a performance. It’s a responsibility.

The custody timeline shows how much has shifted since March. After prosecutors declined to file charges against Paul, she progressed from supervised visits to unsupervised time on alternate weekends and one midweek day. Wednesday’s expansion signals judicial confidence in her stability — but the judge’s final order tells the real story. Everyone’s heading back to court on August 10 for another parent time review. The message: progress doesn’t mean the scrutiny ends.