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Originally appeared on E! Online
Dakota Mortensen is writing a new chapter in his story.
Amid his custody battle with ex Taylor Frankie Paul, the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star has begun dating show guest star Shinia Powell, multiple outlets confirmed.
E! News has reached out to reps for Mortensen and Powell for additional comment but has not heard back.
The confirmation comes following months of speculation about the two as Mortensen had previously apologized to Paul for hooking up with Powell, who was first introduced to SLOMW fans in season four as the best friend of cast member Miranda Hope.
"I do just want to say sorry for everything that I did. I know that caused a lot of problems," Mortensen told Paul over FaceTime during a season four episode. "I'm sorry for hooking up with Shinia. Was it dumb of me? Yes. Could I have picked someone else? Yes.”
“Who it was matters, and that's where I think I went wrong,” the 33-year-old continued. “I picked somebody that was obviously going to come with problems, and that was very s--tty of me to do."
READ Is Taylor Frankie Paul Returning to Secret Lives of Mormon Wives? The Truth
However, as Paul, 32, said in a confessional, she believed "the apology is just words, like it always is."
The news of Mortensen’s relationship comes amid his and Paul’s legal battle over the custody of their 2-year-old son.
Paul—who also shares an 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son with ex-husband Tate Paul—recently addressed concerns about her parenting after a petition was filed by Utah’s Department of Children and Family and obtained by People asking a court to find that her children are “abused, neglected or dependent.”
The reality star alleged there was “a lot of false information out there,” noting that as she lived through all the events in the documents, she hasn’t felt a need to read them in full.
“So, if there's something way off or misconstrued, that is something I'm taking up with my attorneys, and that will be handled in the courtroom,” she said in her July 19 Instagram video, before moving to the discussion of “some facts.”
“I tried to have this sealed from the beginning,” she explained. “It wasn't in protection of me. But honestly, just to keep it sealed for the children, and again, this was something I asked for and was denied from the beginning.”
And while she noted she might not “sway anyone” with her video, she wanted it known that she felt confident about her relationship with her children.
“If you were to put any of my children up on stand, they are choosing mom and mom's house every time,” she said. “And I say that with full confidence because I love my children.”
For a look at all of Paul’s legal troubles over the past year, keep reading.
