Ben Higgins Takes Aim at Alex Cooper Over Dakota Mortensen Casting
Ben Higgins questions Dakota Mortensen’s decision to join Unwell Winter Games, calling the timing odd amid his domestic dispute with ex Taylor Frankie Paul and headlines linking the mother of his child to a canceled Bachelorette season.
Reality TV worlds are crossing streams again. Ben Higgins is side-eyeing Dakota Mortensen joining a new YouTube competition show right as Dakota and ex Taylor Frankie Paul are still in the middle of a messy, very public situation that already sank Taylor's Bachelorette season.
So, what set this off?
Earlier this week, Dakota Mortensen, 33, was announced as part of the cast of Unwell Winter Games, a new reality series produced by Alex Cooper's Unwell brand for YouTube. The tease for the show has Dakota mixed up in a love triangle. Then, on Wednesday, April 1, The Bachelor alum Ben Higgins, 37, weighed in on his Almost Famous podcast, and he did not love the optics.
"It feels weird to me to know that you've been in the headlines because your ex and also the woman who birthed your child's season of The Bachelorette was canceled due to a situation that you're involved in."
Ben's point: Taylor Frankie Paul's Bachelorette season got yanked after a video of her 2023 altercation with Dakota resurfaced last month, but now Dakota is popping up on a different show just weeks later with far less blowback.
"Dakota is out here two weeks later on a new show that is not getting the same type of recourse or questions."
Why this is getting attention
- 2023: Taylor and Dakota, who both appear on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, had an altercation that led to Taylor's arrest. She later pleaded guilty to aggravated assault; additional child abuse-related charges were dismissed as part of the deal.
- Last month: Footage of that 2023 fight leaked online nearly three years later, showing Taylor physically assaulting Dakota and throwing chairs in front of her daughter, Indy.
- After the leak: ABC pulled Taylor's then-upcoming season of The Bachelorette.
- February this year: Amid a domestic violence investigation, Dakota was awarded temporary full custody of his and Taylor's 2-year-old son, Ever. (Taylor also shares Indy, 8, and Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul.)
- Ongoing: Utah police are currently investigating two separate incidents involving Taylor and Dakota from 2024 and 2026. Both deny wrongdoing.
Ben's take, in plain English
He basically says the timing is off. If Taylor's season is paused over the situation, he finds it hypocritical that Dakota is simultaneously getting a platform elsewhere. He also notes Dakota is not exactly untangled from all of this and, for now, has full custody of Ever because of the recent case developments. In Ben's words, it all feels "messy."
Where Alex Cooper fits in
Unwell Winter Games comes from 31-year-old Alex Cooper's Unwell banner, and it's rolling out on YouTube. Cooper has not addressed the cast list or the criticism around Dakota's inclusion.
TV-world wrinkle aside, this is still a serious situation with live investigations attached, so expect this story to keep evolving as Unwell Winter Games rolls out and law enforcement finishes its work.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.