Taylor Frankie Paul Takes Sobriety Test to Reclaim Parenting Time

When a custody battle intersects with a voluntary rehab stay, the courtroom becomes the final arbiter. That’s where Taylor Frankie Paul found herself this week, navigating a judge’s ruling that could reshape her access to her two oldest children.

The Mormon Wives star agreed to submit to drug and alcohol testing in response to her ex-husband Tate Paul’s attempt to restructure their custody agreement. Court documents obtained by Us Weekly on July 2 detail the path forward: a 15-panel hair or nail test plus a Peth test for alcohol. If the results come back negative, Taylor gets her unsupervised parenting time restored. If they don’t, supervised visits continue. Simple in theory. Complicated in reality.

What triggered this? Tate filed for a temporary restraining order on Tuesday, June 30, after learning that Taylor had voluntarily checked into Alpine Recovery Lodge for a short stay. He submitted text messages and calls as evidence, arguing the admission—combined with what he claimed was dishonesty about the reason for her stay—signaled a pattern of behavior that threatened the welfare of their daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 6. The court initially denied his request on Wednesday, July 1, citing insufficient evidence and hearsay. But the judge didn’t dismiss his concerns entirely.

Here’s where Taylor’s response mattered. Rather than fight the accusations head-on, she made two strategic offers: she’d share her treatment records with the Department of Children and Family Services and submit to drug and alcohol testing. The court accepted. Taylor also initially requested that Tate take a drug test, but the judge found no legal cause to order him to do so.

Taylor has since defended her decision to seek treatment on her Instagram Story, framing it as a mental health reset rather than a substance abuse issue. She found an antidepressant that works for her and wanted space to decompress. Fair enough—mental health treatment carries real stigma, and facilities exist for many reasons beyond addiction. But in the court of public opinion and the actual courtroom, perception often outpaces intention.

The stakes here extend beyond one family. Taylor’s been navigating legal turbulence on multiple fronts: her ongoing custody dispute with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen over their son Ever, 2, involved domestic violence allegations that prosecutors declined to pursue. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 5 production was suspended in March because of those allegations. ABC even pulled her season of The Bachelorette from its schedule. Now, with Tate’s custody challenge, she’s fighting on yet another front.

The sobriety tests aren’t just about chemistry or toxicology—they’re about trust, credibility, and whether a judge believes a parent’s version of events. If Taylor’s results are negative, it’s a public vindication and a legal reset. If they’re not, the supervised visitation becomes a longer chapter in an already complicated story. Either way, the outcome arrives under a strict protective order, shielding the results from public view. That privacy, at least, is something the courts got right.