In the weeks since video of Taylor Frankie Paul assaulting Dakota Mortensen was made public, Paul has maintained that footage of the altercation did not tell the whole story.
Now, it appears she’s been somewhat vindicated.
In photos obtained by TMZ, Taylor and Dakota are both sporting facial injuries that were allegedly caused by one another.
That doesn’t change the fact that Taylor is on camera hurling metal barstools at Dakota. But she may have been telling the truth when she claimed she was a victim as well as an aggressor.
Whatever the case, there’s more good news for Paul, as we now know that she will not face any new criminal charges in connection with further claims made by Mortensen.
According to People, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office announced on April 14 that it will not pursue charges stemming from additional alleged incidents involving Paul and Mortensen.
The office said some of the allegations fell outside the statute of limitations, while others either did not rise to the level of criminal offenses or lacked sufficient evidence and specificity to move forward.
As the DA’s office explained in letters obtained by People, some incidents lacked ‘specificity as to when and what actually occurred or corroboration.”
The office also noted that the case was reviewed by “multiple attorneys” due to Paul’s public profile.
Following the news, Paul took to social media with an emotional statement.
“Cried when I got the call. THANK YOU to those that have stood with me,” she wrote (per People).
Clearly, Taylor is grateful to those who supported her through the legal and personal turmoil of the past several weeks.
The reality star’s response reflected a sense of relief after weeks of uncertainty surrounding the investigation.
This latest decision applies only to the new allegations investigated in 2026.
As People notes, this does not change the 2023 case, in which Paul previously pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault after a separate incident involving Mortensen.
That earlier case remains a significant part of the public conversation surrounding Paul, particularly after leaked footage of the incident led ABC to cancel Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette.
For now, however, prosecutors have made clear that no new charges will be filed in connection with the most recent allegations.
And for Paul, that development appears to have brought at least some measure of relief amid what has been a deeply public and painful chapter.
“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,” a rep for the reality star said in a statement last month.
“Releasing an old and selectively edited video on their son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior.”
Hopefully, now Taylor and Dakota can both move on from this messy incident.