Dakota Mortensen Seen with Shinia Powell During Taylor Drama
Dakota Mortensen and Shinia Powell have sparked dating rumors after being seen together at a baseball game.
The star of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, 33, was photographed alongside Shinia on Thursday, July 23, at The Ballpark at America First Square in South Jordan, Utah.
In the images, captured by TMZ, Dakota was seen with his hand on Shinia’s back, enjoying the game from the lawn. In another picture, Dakota was seen snuggling up to Shinia as she relaxed on a blanket in the grass.
Both were sporting cream-colored baseball caps in the photos. Dakota wore a black T-shirt and khaki pants, while Shinia opted for jean shorts, high-top sneakers, and a silky top.
She shared the outing on her social media on Thursday, posting a picture with two friends but didn’t include Dakota in her recap.
This outing comes after several outlets reported earlier this month that Dakota and Shinia are dating amid Dakota’s ongoing custody battle with ex Taylor Frankie Paul.
Following months of speculation, People reported on July 22 that Dakota and Shinia’s “close friendship” has evolved “into something more” during his ups and downs with Taylor, 32, whom he dated from 2022 to 2025. (The former couple shares a 2-year-old son, Ever, whom they welcomed in March 2024.)
Us has reached out to Dakota’s representative for comment.
Their rumored romance has attracted additional attention because Dakota previously faced backlash from Taylor for his hookup with Shinia during season 4 of SLOMW. (Shinia made her debut on the Hulu reality series as one of Miranda McWhorter’s best friends.)
“I just want to apologize for everything that I did. I know it caused a lot of issues,” Dakota told Taylor during a FaceTime call in a season 4 episode. “I’m sorry for hooking up with Shinia. Was it a bad choice? Yes. Could I have chosen someone else? Yes.”
Dakota, who has experienced a tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship with Taylor, acknowledged her feelings due to Shinia’s connection within their friend group.
“I picked someone who was clearly going to bring complications, and that was very wrong of me,” he added.
At the time, Shinia’s relationship with Dakota also created tension for Miranda, 28, as she felt caught between Shinia and Taylor.
Speculation surrounding Dakota and Shinia’s current status comes as he and Taylor are in a custody dispute over their son.
Earlier this year, both Dakota and Taylor were issued restraining orders against each other after allegations of domestic disputes. Dakota was awarded temporary custody of their son in March amidst their legal challenges, but Taylor has since gained more parenting time with Ever.
On July 13, Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) filed a petition requesting that a juvenile court determine that Taylor’s three children are facing “abuse, neglect, or dependency,” while seeking protective supervision and the appointment of a guardian ad litem for the children. (Taylor shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 6, with ex-husband Tate Paul.)
Following the DCFS inquiry, Taylor issued a statement supporting the involvement of the organization.
“It was recently determined that the ongoing custody matters would be best handled in juvenile court, which is a common step for families in highly contentious custody disputes,” she stated to Us on July 16. “Taylor is not deterred by this transition; she embraces the added structure and oversight it brings, and looks forward to continuing her journey toward normalizing custody and becoming the best version of herself.”
The statement concluded, “Taylor is fully committed to doing whatever is necessary to achieve that goal and will not be swayed. She appreciates the professionalism of DCFS and its representatives.”
Dakota and Tate subsequently released a joint statement in response to Taylor’s comments, expressing to Us their “deep concern that Taylor’s statement downplays the seriousness of the action taken by DCFS and the many underlying actions that led to it.”
Their attorney stated in a July 17 remark that both Dakota and Tate “share significant concern that the family court system, law enforcement, prosecutors, and child welfare agencies need to work together more effectively to understand the situation and act in a way that best protects the children.”
