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Things just keep getting worse for Taylor Frankie Paul.
Just two days after Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was cancelled by ABC, the embattled reality star has been dealt yet another blow.
Multiple outlets have now confirmed that Taylor’s ex, Dakota Mortensen, has been awarded sole physical custody of their 2-year-old daughter.
As of now, the ruling is only temporary, and Taylor will have the chance to plead her case to a judge on April 7.
But until then, she will not be permitted to see her daughter at all.
“No parent time is allowed until the scheduled hearing,” reads a court order obtained by People magazine.
Like every recent setback in Taylor’s life, the custody decision is the result of video that shows Taylor assaulting Dakota and hurling kitchen barstools at him.
To the shock of many viewers, one of the stools apparently struck Taylor’s five-year-old daughter.
“This is called physical abuse,” Mortensen could be heard saying as he filmed the physical altercation.
“Your daughter just got hit in the head by a metal chair,” Mortensen remarked later in the clip.
Needless to say, that’s the sort of thing that’s likely to impact your custody situation.
Paul has two children from a previous relationship, but it doesn’t appear that there’s been any change in that custody arrangement.
And Taylor’s situation might soon get even worse, as she could be forced to return the salary that she received during her time as Bachelorette.
Legal experts tell Page Six that Paul may be required to return some or all of her paycheck after ABC made the last-minute decision to pull the already-filmed season.
The reasoning is fairly straightforward: contracts for reality TV leads often include clauses tied to conduct and the ability of a network to actually air the finished product.
If that’s the case with Frankie’s contract — which it almost certainly is — the network could potentially demand repayment, or even pursue additional damages tied to the cost of production.
“When working with a public person for any project, companies almost always include a morality clause in the contract,” attorney Ashlee Difuntorum of Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir LLP tells Page Sic.
And the costs for something like a full season of The Bachelorette are not small.
As previously reported, ABC had already spent millions producing and promoting the season before pulling it from the schedule, leaving the network with little opportunity to recoup its investment.
And that could mean more trouble for the hard-luck Mormon Wife.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
