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A reality star’s fentanyl addiction was the subject of a popular podcast recently. Dakota Mortensen, star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, spoke candidly about how taking pain pills as a teenager led to one of the darkest periods of his life, People reports. The Mormon Wives fentanyl story has since drawn national attention and sparked conversations about addiction recovery.
A Life-Long Battle
On a June 4 episode of host Nick Viall’s popular podcast The Viall Files, 32 year old Dakota Mortensen took listeners back to how his experimentation with drugs first started on a basketball court when he was 17 years old. The show has alluded to Mortensen’s past addiction but the details of what occurred and how it affected his life before the show have not been shared.
Mortensen explained that his knees started hurting at one basketball practice and a teen working out nearby offered him some pills to help. He didn’t know what the pills were but he took them and discovered they alleviated his pain almost immediately. He became hooked from there.
He found out he’d been given prescription painkillers and began seeking out more. He started snorting the pills and smoking oxycodone at the advice of his dealer. That shift marked a transitional period in his addiction and Mortensen began seeking out harder drugs. He developed a heroin addiction and tried fentanyl for the first time on the day of his wedding.
His young wife knew of his addiction but she didn’t understand its severity or the toll it was taking on his life. He got sober for a brief period but began using heroin and fentanyl again shortly after they tied the knot. They divorced after a year and a half of marriage and Mortensen entered rehab. He relapsed briefly after five years of sobriety but he’s now been sober for more than three years.
Hope on the Other Side of Recovery
Mortensen is now focused on his personal health and wellness, though the reality star’s fentanyl addiction fight is central to his message of hope and healing. In addition to the podcast he’s also open about sharing his addiction journey on social media. His messages are filled with hope and encouragement to break barriers, reduce stigma and encourage others to seek the help they need.
