Reality Star Opens Up About Trauma, Begins Intensive PTSD Therapy

The psychological scars often run deeper than the visible ones—and Taylor Frankie Paul is finally ready to talk about it.

The 32-year-old reality star, whose Bachelorette season was pulled from the air in March following the resurfacing of a 2023 domestic violence incident, shared a raw reflection on her mental health on Wednesday, May 27. In an Instagram Story paired with a photo of a bruise on her arm, Paul wrote that“the psychological torture damaged me way more than the physical,”adding that the emotional toll had reduced her to“a shell of a human.”

Paul’s candid posts come as she navigates the aftermath of a turbulent relationship with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, 33, a situation that has played out publicly through court proceedings and protective orders. Earlier this month, she reflected on years spent in“survival mode,”acknowledging her own role in staying within the relationship while also describing a cycle of love bombing, manipulation, threats, and physical harm.“Let’s look at how it ended for me when I finally did,”she wrote on May 14, detailing what happened once she said no—cops called on her, public humiliation, and worse.

The road to healing is now underway. Paul announced on Wednesday that she’s begun EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy, a treatment specifically designed for PTSD and trauma. She called it“intense and extremely effective,”signaling a commitment to processing what she’s endured beyond the surface-level awareness of her situation.

Meanwhile, the legal chess match continues. Paul and Mortensen were each granted protective orders against one another and remain locked in a custody battle over their 2-year-old son, Ever, with a court hearing scheduled for June 1. Paul, who is also mother to Indy, 8, and Ocean, 5, from a previous marriage, has been working to rebuild her life and identity outside the relationship that once consumed it.

What Paul’s transparency reveals isn’t just a celebrity scandal—it’s a reminder that trauma doesn’t announce itself loudly. The bruises fade. The headlines move on. But the psychological aftermath? That’s the fight that happens long after the cameras stop rolling.