ABC pulled the season Thursday afternoon. Three days before it was supposed to air.
“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 told TMZ.
Season 22 of The Bachelorette, starring Taylor Frankie Paul, was set to premiere Sunday, March 22. It will not air. The network has not said whether it will air at a later date.
The decision came hours after TMZ published video from a 2023 fight between Paul and her ex Dakota Mortensen. In the video, recorded by Mortensen, Paul punches and kicks him before picking up a metal barstool and hurling it at him.
One of the barstools struck Paul’s daughter Indy, who was five years old at the time and was sitting on the couch in the same room.
Indy cannot be seen on camera but can be heard crying. Mortensen can be heard saying, “Your daughter just got hit in the head with a metal chair.”
A source connected to The Bachelorette told TMZ that no one at ABC had seen the video before TMZ posted it Thursday morning.
Paul had spent the week doing press for the show. She appeared on Live with Kelly and Mark. She did a press dinner in New York on Monday. She gave multiple interviews.
She attended the Oscars on ABC’s red carpet. She told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, “I think it’s been really difficult and heavy given all the headlines and what’s going on. But I would say I am handling it like any normal human would, struggling, but trying to show up at the same time.”
What Happened In 2023?
The video TMZ published Thursday came from a February 2023 incident at Paul’s home. Mortensen recorded it.
In it, Paul attacks him physically, punching, kicking, before throwing the barstool that struck Indy.
Authorities arrived at the home after the incident. The arrest and police response were later documented on Season 1 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, the Hulu reality series where Paul became famous.
Paul was arrested on February 17, 2023. She was charged with one felony count of aggravated assault, two felony counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, and one misdemeanor count each of child abuse and criminal mischief, five charges total.
She accepted a plea deal in August 2023. She pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree felony aggravated assault. The other four charges were dropped with prejudice.
Under the terms of the agreement, the felony would drop to a Class A misdemeanor if she adhered to the conditions for three years, including abstaining from alcohol and illegal drugs. Her probation is scheduled to end in August 2026.
TMZ also obtained a 2023 substance abuse and mental health assessment filed as part of her criminal case.
A counselor who interviewed Paul noted that her score on an alcohol screening test indicated she was an “intermediate problem drinker.”
Paul told the counselor she had been drinking vodka the night of the 2023 incident and did not recall much of what happened.
What Happened Between Mortensen and Paul in 2026?
The 2023 video did not emerge in a vacuum. The week leading up to the cancellation had already been unraveling.
In late February 2026, Paul and Mortensen got into a heated argument while in his car. According to TMZ sources, a drink was spilled on the seat and on Mortensen.
He became enraged. Sources connected to Paul said he got physical with her. Mortensen called police and said Paul was the one who got physical.
The Draper City Police Department confirmed an open domestic assault investigation, with a spokesperson saying “allegations have been made in both directions” and that “contact was made with involved parties on Feb. 24 and 25.”
Mortensen had also called the Utah Division of Child and Family Services multiple times alleging Paul was physically abusive to their son Ever, who turns 2 this week.
Paul denied those allegations. No action had been taken. A court ordered both Paul and Mortensen to undergo psychological evaluations.
Production on Season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was paused. Hulu executives had visited Utah and reportedly witnessed discussions of domestic violence during filming.
Cast members distanced themselves from Paul. “None of the women want to be associated with her,” one insider told People. Another source said, “They kind of all decided, as a unit, that they’re taking the production pause, that they don’t want to film right now.”
Paul kept promoting The Bachelorette through all of it.
Who Is Taylor Frankie Paul?
Taylor Frankie Paul, 31, is a Utah-based TikTok creator and the central figure in MomTok, a group of Mormon mom influencers who built large followings on TikTok beginning around 2020 posting lifestyle content, parenting humor, and dance videos together.
In 2022, Paul ignited what became known as the soft-swinging scandal. During a TikTok livestream she revealed that she and her then-husband had participated in “soft swinging” with other couples in their social circle, romantic interactions with other partners but not full sexual relationships.
She later admitted she had crossed that boundary.
The confession sparked massive speculation about which MomTok members had been involved, led to Paul’s divorce from her first husband Tate Paul, and fractured friendships within the group.
That scandal became the premise for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which debuted on Hulu in September 2024 and became the platform’s most-watched unscripted premiere of that year.
Paul has 6.1 million TikTok followers and 2.3 million on Instagram. She has two children with ex-husband Tate Paul and a son, Ever, with Mortensen.
Her casting as the Bachelorette was controversial from the start. The 2023 arrest was already public knowledge, it had aired on the Season 1 premiere of Mormon Wives.
Fans circulated a petition to have her removed before the video surfaced Thursday. The casting decision was made with full knowledge of her past.
What Was Both Their Reactions To The Release?
Paul’s representative told TMZ,
“It’s sad to see 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 and selectively edited video on their son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior.”
The statement added: “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.”
The video was released on Ever’s birthday.
ABC’s statement said its focus was on “supporting the family.” The premiere date was Sunday. The season is done.
