Former Bachelor Ben Higgins he thinks Dakota Mortensen to join Bad Winter Games amidst his ongoing domestic dispute with an ex-girlfriend Taylor Frankie Paul he feels strange.
“It's strange for me to know that you have been in the headlines because your ex is with him
a woman [who] you gave birth to the season of your child The Bachelorette canceled due to a situation you're involved in,” Ben, 37, said on the Wednesday, April 1, episode of his “Almost Famous” a podcast. “He is still involved [the situation and] she has full custody of the child right now because of this recent situation. … That sounds dirty [to me].”
News broke earlier this week that Dakota, 33, is among the reality TV stars competition Bad Winter Gamesa new reality TV show produced by Alex CooperUnwell's YouTube company name.
In her personal life, Dakota was recently granted temporary custody of her 2-year-old son, Ever, amid a February domestic violence investigation with Taylor, 31. Secret Lives of Mormon Wives The first conflict of the stars occurred in 2023, which led to Taylor's arrest. Taylor pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in exchange for dismissal of other child abuse charges.
Footage of Taylor and Dakota's 2023 fight was leaked nearly three years later, where Taylor was seen punching Dakota and throwing chairs at her in front of her daughter, Indy. (Taylor shares Indy, 8, and Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Father Pauland Ever and Dakota.)
After the 2023 video resurfaced online last month, ABC pulled Taylor's season The Bachelorette. Ben, on the other hand, thinks it's “hypocritical” for Dakota to be given the platform Bad Winter Games where Taylor's season of The Bachelorette released earlier.
After The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 4 showed Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen together just hours before she went on The Bachelorette, the question on everyone's mind is: how open was she to the contestants about how recent that relationship was? “I feel like I was very open with them in particular […]
“I look at these characters, and I'm like, 'Okay, there's something here, I would think, that society still takes seriously,'” Ben said. “To me it's almost like pretending to be Taylor Frankie Paul. I don't agree with what happened there. I think it should have ended. I don't think this show should have aired.”
He added, “Dakota is going to be out of here two weeks later on a new show that doesn't get the same kind of response or questions.”
While Ben admits that the 2023 video was “really bad” for Taylor, Dakota is said to be “not clean about all of this.”
Utah police are currently investigating two separate incidents between Taylor and Dakota from 2024 and 2026, respectively. Both Taylor and Dakota have denied wrongdoing on their part.
Cooper, 31, has never spoken to the cast Bad Winter Games.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
