The decision to cast Taylor Frankie Paul as the lead on ABC's The Bachelorette has unravelled spectacularly, with the network pulling the season days before its premiere after domestic violence allegations emerged. Paul, a star of Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, was set to make history as the first lead from outside the Bachelor franchise, but the move has been widely criticised as reckless.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that Paul and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen are under police investigation for domestic assault, prompting Hulu to pause filming for its fifth season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. The following day, leaked footage from a 2023 altercation showed Paul attacking Mortensen, for which she was charged with three misdemeanours, including assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child. She is currently on three-year supervised probation.
ABC's parent company, Disney Entertainment Television, stated: 'In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.' Paul's representatives countered that the video was part of a 'desperate, attention-seeking' campaign by Mortensen, but the damage was done.
Critics argue that Paul's casting was doomed from the start. She was selected from outside the Bachelor universe, breaking tradition, and was allowed special privileges such as keeping her phone during filming. Her troubled relationship with Mortensen was well-documented on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, where police bodycam footage of her 2023 arrest was shown. The network's desperation to boost declining ratings for The Bachelorette — which fell from 9.23 million viewers in 2010 to 3.7 million in 2021 — by capitalising on the success of SLOMW appears to have clouded its judgment.
This is not the first time the franchise has faced scrutiny over contestant vetting. In 2024, it emerged that the winner of Jenn Tran's season had a previous felony burglary charge and a restraining order. Similarly, a contestant from 2018 was found to have a prior conviction for indecent assault. The Paul scandal, however, marks a new low, raising serious questions about ABC's due diligence.
