Utah News

Prosecutors in Utah have declined to file charges in connection with allegations of domestic violence against “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul.

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The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said it has declined to charge Paul because of lack of evidence. She was under investigation over claims of domestic violence against ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, police have said.

In a statement, the DA’s office said some of the “misdemeanor offenses” happened more than two years ago and were barred by the statute of limitations.

More recent incidents not barred by the statute of limitations did not rise to the level of being considered crimes, and others lacked evidence, it said.

“The remaining incidents lack sufficient evidence to support filing criminal charges where the state must be able to prove such allegations beyond a reasonable date,” the office said. “Such incidents lack specificity as to when and what actually occurred or corroboration.”

Paul has made similar domestic violence allegations against Mortensen, and both have been the subjects of at least two domestic violence investigations in Utah, authorities have said.

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The story behind the NBC News story on Taylor Frankie Paul

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A spokesperson for the Draper Police Department confirmed last month that there was an open domestic violence investigation into a 2024 incident involving the two, with allegations on both sides.

Representatives for Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Mortensen did not immediately respond to a request for comment left on his voicemail.

Mortensen and Paul have filed temporary protective orders against each other, as well, according to court records. Paul has three children, one of whom she shares with Mortensen.

“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” premiered in 2024 and has depicted the pair’s on-again, off-again relationship.

According to court records, Paul pleaded guilty in abeyance to one charge of aggravated assault related to her 2023 arrest, while four other charges were dismissed. Body camera video of the arrest was shown on the first episode of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”

Mortensen has also made allegations of domestic violence against Paul related to incidents in 2024 and May 2025, police have said. In February of this year, both called police and lodged further allegations of domestic violence against each other.

The pair’s contentious relationship has affected the show and its filming, which was paused last month amid new domestic violence probes of Paul. Cast members told ABC executives at a meeting in March that they had concerns about continuing the show if Paul remained involved.

She was scheduled to appear in a new season of “The Bachelorette,” but executives canceled the season after leaked video of a 2023 incident went viral. Mortensen will be edited out of the upcoming season of “Vanderpump Villa,” a source familiar with the show told NBC News.

April 14, 2026, 5:31 a.m. ET

Utah Valley University (UVU) is facing backlash over its choice of commencement speaker as critics object to her past comments about Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk following his assassination on the same campus.

The university chose author and educator Sharon McMahon to address the graduating class. Days after Kirk was killed, McMahon wrote on X, “Millions of people feel they were harmed, and the murder that was horrific and should never have happened does not magically erase what was said or done.”

“To many Americans, especially if you are Black, LGBTQ or Muslim, Charlie Kirk was not a person who simply engaged in good-faith debates on college campuses.“

Turning Point USA chapter president at Utah Valley University Caleb Chilcutt called the selection of McMahon a “slap to the face” Monday on “Fox & Friends.”

“They could have brought any other speaker. If they liked Charlie, didn’t like Charlie — I honestly don’t really care. But the fact they brought someone who was so critical, literally days after the assassination on my campus, is just shameful for me,” he said.

Chilcutt said attitudes were divided on campus, with conservative students generally upset while some liberal students chose to “celebrate.”

Former Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz also joined the program and labeled McMahon a “horrific choice” of speaker just months after Kirk’s death, calling her a “liberal hack.”

He said Utah’s largest university should know better, but that there is still time to change course.

“Look, there’s still time to correct this. This hasn’t happened. And if the university is gonna step up and do the right thing, they’re gonna cancel her and put in somebody like an astronaut or an athlete or somebody, anybody, But this person, this partisan hack, she should not be addressing the students, not at the commencement.”

Lani White became the latest Utah women’s basketball player taken in the WNBA draft Monday night.

She had to wait until the end, as the shooting guard was taken with the 45th overall — and final — selection of the draft by the Minnesota Lynx.

It’s the second time in three years that a former Ute was selected. In 2024, former Utah power forward Alissa Pili was the No. 8 overall selection by the Lynx.

White played three of her four seasons for the Utes, with her junior year at Virginia Tech before returning to the Utes as a senior.

The 6-foot California native earned All-Big 12 second-team honors during the 2025-26 season, as she averaged a career-best 15.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

White spent her first two seasons at Utah, largely as a role player. She starred at Virginia Tech before returning to Utah, and she shot 46.2% from the field and 40.4% from 3 during her senior season.

That included 10 games of 20-plus points this past season.

In assessing White being taken by Minnesota, ESPN’s Charlie Creme wrote, “With Napheesa Collier sidelined for the start of the season, the Lynx need some offense. White can score and do it in multiple ways, and her 40.4% 3-point percentage is a good starting point.

“She is also a capable finisher at the rim. She might have a chance to serve behind Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams if some of Minnesota’s foreign players elect to stay away for another season.”

Former Ute Gianna Kneepkens a late first-round selection

White wasn’t the only former Ute taken during the draft.

Gianna Kneepkens, who played four years (including a medical redshirt season) at Utah before transferring to UCLA this past offseason, was taken No. 15 overall by the Connecticut Sun with the final pick of the first round.

The sharpshooting Kneepkens won a national title in her only season with the Bruins.

She averaged 12.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for UCLA and was the fifth Bruin taken in the first round of the WNBA draft, setting a record for number of first-round picks by one school in a single draft.

Kneepkens was one of Utah’s all-time greats, as she averaged 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game over her four seasons as a Ute.

She was a career 49.5% shooter in college and 43.1% from 3-point range.

“A consistent shooter throughout her career, Kneepkens will get playing time in Connecticut because of her ability to knock down open jump shots. She never shot below 38.4% from 3-point range in any season during her college career,” Creme wrote of Kneepkens’ selection.

“With the Sun, Kneepkens will have time to develop the rest of her well-rounded game. She will always be known for her shooting, but she did more rebounding and facilitating during her time at Utah.”