Dakota Mortensen was scolded by a judge for driving his and Taylor Frankie Paul’s 2-year-old son, Ever, on a motorcycle.
During Wednesday’s custody hearing, the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” stars’ attorneys discussed an image of Mortensen, 33, and the toddler.
“We’re not gonna do motorcycles anymore,” Commissioner Russell Minas told Mortensen, advising the little one to ride on “nothing with anything less than four wheels.”
Mortense’s attorney replied, “The kid had a helmet. It is an e-bike. [It went] a short distance, a helmet was provided. In fact, the helmet is in the exhibit picture which is why it’s strange Taylor insisted [it wasn’t].”
The judge cut the lawyer off, asking, “The child is how old? 2?”
He doubled down, saying, “Not with a 2-year-old. Maybe with a 12-year-old. But even then. There’s no point, in my view. Basic safety, we generally require car seat or age-appropriate child restraints.”
Mortensen’s legal team confirmed the reality star would “do that moving forward.”
A source claimed to People on Wednesday that Mortensen “never rode far” with Ever.
An insider close to Paul, meanwhile, told the outlet the MomTok star, 32, was “happy” to have her parenting time expanded at the hearing.
Paul, notably, was granted Monday mornings with Ever on top of the alternating weekends she was given in June, as well as the single weekday visit.
The influencer is “look[ing] forward to continuing to make progress at the next hearing.”
The duo, whose on-again, off-again relationship began in 2022, have been engaged in a messy custody battle for months.
Mortensen was given temporary sole custody of Ever in March after accusing Paul of domestic violence — an investigation which, notably, led to prosecutors declining to press charges.
That same month, footage of the couple’s 2023 fight that led to Paul’s arrest resurfaced and her “Bachelorette” season was cancelled.
The Hulu personalities have each filed for protective orders against each other, which were mutually granted in April.
Taylor’s ex-husband, Tate Paul, filed for a restraining order against her earlier this month — but the request was denied.
The former couple, who were married between 2016 and 2022, share daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5.
Without naming names, Taylor implied Tate had “teamed up” with Mortensen to teach her a “lesson” via Instagram last week.
The judge reminded Taylor and Mortensen during Wednesday’s hearing not to speak ill of each other on social media.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
