Ben Higgins Calls Alex Cooper ‘Hypocritical’ for Casting Dakota Mortensen on New Show 

Former Bachelor Ben Higgins thinks Dakota Mortensen joining Unwell Winter Games amid his ongoing domestic dispute with ex-girlfriend Taylor Frankie Paul feels odd.

“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, 37, said on the Wednesday, April 1, episode of his “Almost Famous” podcast. “You’re still involved in [the situation and] you hold full custody of the child right now because of this situation that just happened. … That feels messy [to me].”

News broke earlier this week that Dakota, 33, is among the reality TV alums competing on Unwell Winter Games, a new reality TV show produced by Alex Cooper’s namesake Unwell company for YouTube.

In his personal life, Dakota was recently awarded temporary full custody of his 2-year-old son, Ever, amid a February domestic violence investigation with Taylor, 31. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars’ first altercation occurred in 2023, leading to Taylor’s arrest.  Taylor pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in exchange for the dismissal of additional charges surrounding child abuse.

Footage of Taylor and Dakota’s 2023 fight was leaked nearly three years later, in which Taylor was seen physically assaulting Dakota and throwing chairs at him in front of her daughter,  Indy. (Taylor shares Indy, 8, and Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul, as well as Ever with Dakota.)

After the 2023 video resurfaced online last month, ABC pulled Taylor’s then-upcoming season of The Bachelorette. Ben, for his part, thinks it’s “hypocritical” that Dakota is given a platform on Unwell Winter Games when Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette was pre-empted.

“I look at this cast, I’m like, ‘OK, there’s some stuff here that, I would assume, that society still takes very seriously,” Ben said. “It feels to me almost hypocritical for Taylor Frankie Paul. I don’t agree with what happened there. I think it should have ended. I don’t think the show should have aired.”

He added, “Dakota is out here two weeks later on a new show that is not getting the same type of recourse or questions.”

While Ben acknowledged that the 2023 video was “really bad” for Taylor, Dakota allegedly is “not clean in all of this either.”

Utah police are currently investigating two separate incidents between Taylor and Dakota from 2024 and 2026, respectively. Both Taylor and Dakota have denied wrongdoing on their sides.

Cooper, 31, has not addressed the cast list for Unwell Winter Games.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.