Dakota Mortensen Still Appears in Vanderpump Villa Season 3 — But Don't Blink

Lisa Vanderpump just explained why a familiar face is all but missing from Vanderpump Villa season 3, and yes, it ties back to that very messy off-camera situation you have probably seen trickling through your feed.

Lisa on cutting Dakota down to almost nothing

"He was not front and center of the story line... We just thought, 'Let's just cut it out, you know?' He is still in it a little bit. It was all a little bit delicate. We did not lose any story at all."

That was Lisa, 65, on Good Morning America on Thursday, April 16, talking about Dakota Mortensen, 33, and why his footage largely got pulled. Translation: he was not driving the plot, the situation around him got sensitive, and production trimmed accordingly.

Who was supposed to show up in season 3

Season 3 brings Lisa back to England to run a high-end hospitality summer that is equal parts luxe and chaos. Us Weekly had previously flagged that guest of honor Jordan Ngatikaura would be joined by several Secret Lives of Mormon Wives castmates: Dakota, Chase McWhorter, Mason McWhorter, Zac Affleck, and Jacob Neeley. So if you were expecting that crossover to be a big swing, you were not imagining it.

Why this turned complicated fast

Earlier this month, Variety reported that Dakota's storyline would be edited down amid his ongoing issues with ex Taylor Frankie Paul. In March, production on season 5 of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives paused following an alleged domestic violence incident involving the two. Around the same time, reports said ABC pulled Taylor's season 22 of The Bachelorette. None of that is normal background noise for a summer-in-the-country reality show, which helps explain the quick scissors.

Where things stand now

• Both Taylor, 31, and Dakota filed temporary restraining orders against each other.
• Dakota currently has custody of their 2-year-old son, Ever; Taylor was granted supervised visits for at least six hours per week until a protective hearing on April 30, when a judge will revisit her parenting time.
• Taylor is also mom to Indy, 8, and Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul.
• On Tuesday, April 14, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office declined to file charges against Taylor after reviewing reports and evidence from the Draper and West Jordan police departments.

Taylor reacts

After learning she would not be charged, Taylor posted on her Instagram Story: "Cried when I got the call 🙏 THANK YOU to those that have stood with me," alongside a photo of flowers and a card.

The bottom line for Vanderpump Villa

From Lisa's point of view, cutting down Dakota does not change the season's arc. If you spot him, it will be in the margins. It is a very producer-level tweak: keep the story moving, avoid turning the show into a court docket, and let the summer drama be about, well, the summer drama.