This past week, it was announced that we were getting a new Bachelorette, and this time one unlike never before. Different from previous seasons, this time the dating franchise will pluck a pre-existing reality TV star as its lead.

Indeed, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Taylor Frankie Paul has been tapped as the newest Bachelorette, giving the single mother of three a new shot at love. The news came as a surprise to many—especially to her ex, Dakota, who took to social media to share his reaction.

Dakota Was Thrown By The Announcement

Those who followed the first two seasons of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives will know that Taylor and Dakota had a tumultuous relationship. She became pregnant while the two were still dating, drawing criticism from others in their community for not being married. After their son, Ever, was born, the two broke up and were on and off again several times.

In the end, Taylor discovered Dakota had been talking to other women and had possibly dated someone else while they were together. Feeling betrayed, she called things off, though the pair were still occasionally hooking up while also co-parenting.

This past week, Dakota took to his personal Instagram to share his surprise over the Bachelorette announcement. On his story, he shared his candid thoughts about the unexpected news:

Dakota And Taylor Are Still Coparenting

Though Dakota and Taylor have given different accounts about their breakup (with Dakota claiming he never cheated), both reality stars are determined to healthily coparent their young son. Taylor noted that while the Bachelorette would obviously be a big change in her current life, the most important role to her was still being a mother to her three children.

Taylor shared with E! News that she remained committed to working with Dakota to coparent Ever as well as possible:

Through it all, Taylor says she doesn’t regret the way things ultimately transpired. “I feel like we’re here today because of it, and I’m the person that I am today because of it,” she explained. While Dakota may not be thrilled about Taylor’s new role, eager fans surely are.