She also said she "never intentionally did anything with my children" during the incident, following reports at the time that her daughter was hit with a chair that was thrown at Mortensen.
Taylor Frankie Paul might be stepping into her dating era with the news that she will be the next Bachelorette, but that doesn't mean the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star isn't still haunted by her past.
The 31-year-old reality star and influencer got candid during a lengthy interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast with host Alex Cooper, which was released on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
When asked by Alex whether she wants her future Bachelorette contestants to have watched SLOMW prior to competing for her love, Taylor was on the fence. She admitted to having some of her most painful moments play out on camera, like her 2023 arrest.
Discussing the misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child, Taylor said that it'll "never be a topic" she can approach without a "lump in my throat because it's just such a hard time in my life."
She continued, saying, "I never really think about me in that situation. Obviously, it's, like, my kids because they were involved, like, they were in the house."
Taylor went on to clarify that the charges "were all dropped" from the incident, adding, "I never had hurt my daughter. I never intentionally did anything with my children."
The reality star called the incident the "hardest time" in her life, saying that having the news out there was difficult, adding, "But in that moment that we see on screen, I see a lot of pain. And I didn't have any tools at that time, so I was, like, very lost."
The incident occurred in February 2023, when an argument between Taylor and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, with whom she shares 1-year-old son Ever, turned violent. According to reporting by CBS News at the time, Taylor faced child abuse charges after a chair that she was accused of throwing at Mortensen allegedly hit her daughter.
"I've never been through anything like that, so I didn't have the tools," Taylor said of the alleged incident, which led to her arrest.
Calling herself "selfish" at the time of the arrest, Taylor, who is also mom to daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul, added that she's worked hard to change her ways since.
"I did have a lot of time of grieving and loss that I don't want any more wasted time for my kids," she said. "They're only small for so long. So that is a hard topic and just due to the, you know, what we all know about it. But that was, yeah, one of my lowest nights on freaking TV, and it's embarrassing. But with that has come a lot of learning lessons, and I've become a better mom because of it."
The arrest played out on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives in late 2024. At the time she said she was grateful for it all having played out on camera.
"After the arrest, I was under so much stress. I was filmed leaving the jail and then that was immediately on the internet," she said on the show. "It was a blessing in disguise. It helped me wake up."
Taylor split from ex-husband Tate Paul in 2022 following their "soft swinging scandal," in which she broke the rules of their open marriage and slept with Dakota. She went on to have a lengthy romance with Dakota, which included two miscarriages and the eventual birth of Ever.