Taylor Frankie Paul agreed to take a sobriety test in an try to resolve her ongoing custody dispute with ex-husband Tate Paul.
Court documents obtained by Us Weekly on July 2 outline a plan for Taylor, 32, to resume “unsupervised parent time” together with her and Tate’s two children after Tate recently sought to restructure their custody agreement. (Taylor and Tate share daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 6. The truth star also shares son Ever, 2, with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.)
On Tuesday, June 30, Tate filed a request for a brief restraining order in a Utah court to alter the terms of his and Taylor’s divorce and custody agreement. He submitted text messages and calls as evidence that Taylor recently checked right into a rehab center without telling him. (Us reported on July 1 that Taylor voluntarily entered a rehab facility for a brief stay and has since left.)
Tate’s request was denied by the court on Wednesday, July 1, because more information was needed. (Tate resubmitted an amended request the next day.)
“As Tate himself recognizes, lots of his supporting allegations are based upon inadmissible hearsay, with none corroborating evidence,” court documents from July 1 read. “Most of the concerns, like the youngsters not doing well in class and expressing sadness would require ongoing attention not remedied with an emergency order changing custody.”
The filing continued, “The court acknowledges that what he’s allegedly hearing can create anxiety, but contrary to the claim that the youngsters are in immediate danger, Taylor proffers that Tate left the youngsters together with her from June 11 through the 17, 2026, while he went to Iceland. The court cannot find an instantaneous and irreparable harm as contemplated by Rule 65A, and the motion is denied.”
These recent court rulings from a Utah judge addressed Tate’s assertion that “recent events” caused the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to look into the welfare of his and Taylor’s children.
“Not only is that this hearsay, the court needs some idea as to when and what happened and what steps DCFS has taken,” the filing read. “The one allegations are that ‘DCFS communications made the emergency nature of the danger clear.’ This can be a conclusion. The court needs facts as to what supports the conclusion that there’s an emergency.”
Tate’s affidavit claimed that he “learned” from a member of the family that Taylor recently had a voluntary stay in rehab.
Taylor Frankie Paul and Tate Paul Courtesy of Taylor Frankie Paul/Instagram
“Tate asks the court to contemplate the pattern of behavior over several years, arguing that the pattern is about to blow up,” a Utah judge responded. “He may be very concerned about Taylor’s admission to the Alpine Recovery Lodge, and Taylor’s allegedly lying concerning the reason for the stay.”
His affidavit also indicated that the production teams working with Taylor have “had it” together with her. (Mormon Wives producer Jeff Jensen said in May that he was “very hopeful” that she’d resume filming on the show soon following a break in season 5 production.)
“There are various reasons for a production team to develop into frustrated with the talent. Foundation and details are lacking,” the judge wrote.
The court acknowledged that Taylor “made two offers” in an try to resolve Tate’s concerns over “Taylor’s admission to the Alpine Recovery Lodge, and [her] allegedly lying concerning the reason for the stay.”
Taylor agreed to share her treatment records with the DCFS and offered to take a drug test. (Taylor initially asked for Tate to take a drug test as well however the judge found no cause to “order Tate to take a drug test.”)
The court accepted Taylor’s proposal, provided that the DCFS “wishes to review her treatment records” and that she undergo a “15 panel hair or nail test” in addition to a “Peth test for alcohol.”
Taylor Frankie Paul Bethany Baker – Pool/Getty Images
“Whether it is negative, Tate shall reimburse her. … She must take her prescriptions together with her and have a health care provider confirm that the degrees in her system are consistent together with her prescribed dosage,” the ruling read.
The outcomes of Taylor’s sobriety tests can be subject to “a strict protective order.”
“Until such time as the outcomes have been issued, Taylor’s parent time shall be supervised. It’s in each parties’ best interests that this supervision be skilled in order that there’s an independent third party observing the interactions between mother and child,” a judge ruled.
Nonetheless, the judge added, “If there’s a positive test for any unprescribed drugs or alcohol or a determination that the degrees in Taylor’s system are in excess of any prescription drugs, Taylor’s parent time shall proceed to be supervised … If the outcomes are negative, Taylor can be restored to her unsupervised parent time.”
Us has reached out to Taylor’s representatives for comment.
Following the court’s initial denial of Tate’s request for a restraining order, Taylor wrote via her Instagram Story on Friday, July 3, that she’d spent the day “crying and fighting for my 2 older children.”
“[The kids] had returned yesterday after being withheld and so they were expressing how excited they were to spend this yr with me doing fireworks,” she wrote “Their dad even told me we could EXTEND it to Monday so I relayed them the exciting news only for him to take it back? It was lies to them and my gut was wrenching to witness them cry, confused and asking why…”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul’s relationship timeline with Dakota Mortensen isn’t easy to pin down after quite a few breakups — but how long were they really together in between their public splits? Taylor and Dakota began dating before the show premiered on Hulu in September 2024. Dakota was Taylor’s first public […]
Taylor subsequently defended her decision to attend rehab, insisting that she desired to “clear up any rumors.”
“I knew that I used to be in a spot to take a step back and be like, ‘OK, we’d like to reset,’” Paul said. “But facilities should not for just substance. … There are a listing of the explanation why people go into that. Primary priority was only a reset for my mental health, and to get away, decompress, whether it’s in the future, whether it’s seven, whether it’s 30. I willingly did that.”
The Mormon Wives star clapped back at those that “judged” her for in search of treatment, saying, “It sort of bums me out that [it was] sort of weaponized against me, actually doing the suitable thing of noticing I needed extra help, and whatever which may be.”
“I ended up finding a very good antidepressant that has been working for me,” she continued. “I’ll share the meds eventually, nevertheless, I wish to trial and error before I speak about them since it takes some time to set in, and I’d hate to be recommending something that I don’t even like myself.”
Her legal battle with Tate comes amid her ongoing conflict with ex-boyfriend Mortensen. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 5 production was suspended in March when Utah’s Draper City Police Department investigated domestic violence allegations involving each Taylor and Morstenson. Prosecutors selected to not pursue criminal charges. (ABC also pulled Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette from its schedule on the time.)
Each filed restraining orders against one another, with a judge giving Mortensen temporary custody of Ever in March. A judge later lifted Taylor’s supervised visitation with Ever, though she and Mortensen were ordered to remain away 100 feet from one another for a period of three years. (Taylor and Mortensen are scheduled to look in court again on Wednesday, July 8.)