Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” will no longer air Sunday after 2023 footage, which featured the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star attacking her ex, Dakota Mortensen, surfaced online.
“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,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said in a statement Thursday.
In response to the news, Paul expressed her gratitude for “ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security,” with her rep adding in a statement to media, “After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse, as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm.”
However, the decision to pull Season 22 of “The Bachelorette” left a hole in ABC’s programming for Sunday, which they’ve since decided to fill with a different storied franchise.
Keep reading for details on ABC’s solution to the pulled “The Bachelorette” season.
What will replace “The Bachelorette” on Sunday?
In lieu of a new season of “The Bachelorette” airing on Sunday, March 22, ABC has opted to instead air a rerun of “American Idol” at 8 p.m. ET, according to People. A special preview for Hulu’s new dating competition, “Love Overboard,” starring former Bachelorette Gabby Windey, is also slated to air on the network at 10 p.m. ET, though it’s currently unclear whether the scheduling shakeup will impact that planned debut.
Why was “The Bachelorette” Season 22 pulled by ABC?
ABC scrapped “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star’s already filmed season of “The Bachelorette” just three days before it was scheduled to premiere on Sunday. The decision came about on Thursday after TMZ published a 2023 video of Paul throwing three metal barstools at her then-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. One of the chairs inadvertently hit her daughter.
The video was from a domestic violence incident that was previously covered in the first episode of her Hulu reality show, where Paul was arrested and pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault and put on three years probation. However, on Monday, a separate domestic violence investigation involving Paul and Mortensen made headlines, prompting production for Season 5 of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” to pause.
What has Paul said about the controversy?
After the 2023 footage published on TMZ, a representative for the Hulu personality seemingly blamed Mortensen for the leak, calling it “the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child.”
“Releasing an old video, which conveniently omits context, on their son [Ever]’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior,” the rep continued. “Thankfully, the public has seen this act before and knows who he is and sadly, many will recognize this pattern of manipulation, both in his actions on the show, and from their own experiences.”
However, reps for Mortensen claimed Wednesday that he did not “proactively” leak news of the domestic violence investigation ahead of Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette.” He said that his No. 1 priority was protecting their 2-year-old son.
Paul’s rep spoke out again following ABC’s decision to pull Season 22 of “The Bachelorette,” noting, “There are too many women who are suffering in silence as they survive aggressive, jealous ex-partners who refuse to let them move on with their lives. Taylor has remained silent out of fear of further abuse, retaliation and public shaming. She is currently exploring all of her options, seeking support, and preparing to own and share her story.”
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