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The Bachelor reality series is no stranger to drama or controversy.
Over the years, viewers have been stunned by unexpected plot twists, such as contestants changing partners at the last moment (remember Jason Mesnick?), abruptly ending the show after finding true love (like Clare Crawley), or uncovering hidden relationships (like Jed Wyatt’s secret girlfriend).
Even more alarming are incidents involving contestants’ problematic social media histories, accusations of sexual misconduct, and even convictions for indecent assault, often coming to light during or after the show airs.
However, never before has a scandal led to the cancellation of a season so close to its debut—until the case of Taylor Frankie Paul.
Just three days before the planned Sunday premiere of The Bachelorette’s 22nd season, ABC executives made the dramatic decision to pull the entire season due to mounting domestic violence allegations.
It was first revealed Tuesday that Paul, the 31-year-old star of the upcoming season, is currently being investigated by police for an alleged domestic assault involving her ex, Dakota Mortensen, 33, with whom she has a two-year-old son, Ever.
A spokesperson for the Draper Police Department in Utah confirmed to the Daily Mail that there is an active investigation and that allegations have been made on both sides and that ‘contact was made with involved parties on [February] 24 and 25.’Â
Then, on Thursday, TMZ published a video showing an explosive altercation between the couple in 2023.
The Bachelorette premiere, set for March 22, has been thrown into ‘chaos’ over Taylor Frankie Paul’s recent alleged domestic assault investigation, sources have told the Daily MailÂ
As seen in the shocking video and according to court records seen by the Daily Mail, Paul picked up a metal barstool before she ‘kick[ed]’ Mortensen and ‘put him in a choke hold and [struck] him multiple times.’
During the incident she also allegedly ‘struck [one of her kids] in the head.’ (Paul also shares a daughter and son with ex-husband Tate Paul. They were married from 2016 until 2022.)
After the 2023 fight, Mortensen was left with ‘redness and swelling around his eyes, swelling on his elbow, scratches on his fingers, and a laceration on his neck’, the court documents said.
Paul was charged with aggravated assault in the third degree, two counts of domestic violence charges in the presence of a child in the third degree, misdemeanor child abuse with injury, and misdemeanor criminal mischief. She pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault and the other charges were dismissed in August 2023. She is still on probation for the aggravated assault charge.
The ongoing investigation has also resulted in the temporary halting of production on the fifth season of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, on which Paul also stars.Â
But, clearly, the scandal was too much for bosses at ABC, who said in a statement of the scrapped season Thursday: ‘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.’
It was revealed on Tuesday that Paul, the upcoming star of The Bachelorette, is being investigated by police for an alleged domestic assault involving her ex Dakota Mortensen (pictured before their May 2025 split)
A source close to the network added: ‘ABC was not aware of the video until it was released [Thursday]. The decision to cancel the show literally just came in. The video is what pushed the decision over the edge because, as of yesterday, the show was still going on as planned. The [male contestants] are in shock and feel very violated by everything they’re seeing.’
Earlier this week, network bosses at ABC had been scrambling to come up with a crisis plan, as calls for a ‘Bachelorette boycott’ gained traction online, with some claiming Paul’s casting was ‘a terrible decision’ and ‘a desperate attempt for an audience grab’.
‘No one is happy,’ an insider told the Daily Mail on Wednesday. ‘It’s a crisis situation. The timing couldn’t be worse, and the network has been trying to decide what to do. There was talk about postponement, but it won’t work for a variety of scheduling reasons.’
After the cancellation, the insider now adds that there are fears the fallout could ‘derail the [entire Bachelor] franchise and cost everyone a lot of money. The ABC lawyers are involved.’
Meanwhile, the cast and crew are said to have been left blindsided. Another source told the Daily Mail that a meeting had been scheduled on Thursday with all 22 male contestants, but was then pushed back – presumably to allow time for the cancellation to be announced first.
‘Advertisers were pulling out and shareholders were p**sed! They could lose millions,’ an insider said of the reasoning behind the cancellation.
But aside from the violent criminal allegations, one of the biggest hurdles producers reportedly felt unable overcome was how to ‘sell the story of finding true love and happy endings’.
Despite announcing their breakup in May 2025 following a three-year on-off relationship, Paul is said to still be ‘addicted’ to her ex – a secret that, if true, raises serious questions about her intentions on The Bachelorette.
‘No one is happy,’ an insider told the Daily Mail exclusively. ‘It’s a crisis situation’ (Paul pictured at Sunday night’s Oscars)Â
Similar issues are also being felt over on the set of Mormon Wives.
‘Production [on Mormon Wives] has been halted for a while now due to Taylor and Dakota’s volatile relationship… This has been a pattern for a few weeks,’ an insider said, adding that the other wives are ‘sick’ of how ‘difficult’ Paul has made their lives of late.
‘Taylor and Dakota have the most toxic relationship. She has this addiction to him that she can’t break. It’s so bad,’ the insider added.
‘Taylor may not come to terms with the fact that she has this “addiction” to Dakota but those in her inner circle are well aware. They can’t escape each other.
‘She has an addiction to a toxic relationship with Dakota and that’s going to cause a lot of tension in any new relationship she gets into.’
The pair clearly had unfinished business, with Mortensen revealing on season four of Mormon Wives, which dropped last week, that he and Paul had hooked up the night before she left for The Bachelorette filming.
In new photos obtained by The Sun, Paul was seen arriving at a residence in Los Angeles with a rumored Bachelorette finalist this past Saturday, reportedly to shoot additional scenes.
Filming for the series had officially wrapped in December, but when additional shooting has happened in the past it has been to film a break-up – suggesting Paul’s romance may have been short-lived.
A second source told the Daily Mail: ‘Taylor and Dakota have the most toxic relationship. She has this addiction to him that she can’t break. It’s so bad’
‘It’s extremely unhealthy for the both of them,’ they added (Paul pictured with her The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives costars Mayci Neeley and Miranda McWhorter)
Production for season five of Mormon Wives has been temporarily halted over the ongoing domestic assault investigation (Paul pictured second from left)
Paul first broke her silence on the ongoing domestic assault investigation during an appearance on Good Morning America on Wednesday, the day before the Bachelorette’s shock cancellation.
‘Honestly, it’s been a heavy time to see the headlines, especially during the time of the Bachelorette being released,’ Paul said. I’m a person that will always speak my truth – that’s what I’m known for. So, when the time is right, I will be.’
Then, following TMZ’s publication of the leaked 2023 fight video, a spokesperson for Paul said: ‘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 video, which conveniently omits context, on their son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior.’
In a statement, Mortensen’s representative said that ‘his number one priority’ is protecting their son, Ever.
‘[Mortensen] knew there was a possibility [the alleged domestic assault] could come out, but he was not going to be the one to proactively do that because he has always wanted a decent relationship with Taylor,’ the statement said.
‘It’s been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to co-parent well.’
Paul, who rose to fame posting TikTok videos with other Mormon mothers, remains on probation for her 2023 charge of aggravated assault in the third degree.
A judge informed Paul during a hearing that took place in February last year that she ‘is to continue on Good Behavior Court Probation’ and ‘is not to have any alcohol or illegal drugs while on court supervision.’Â
A new criminal charge would violate her probation.Â
‘We should never have built [the show] around her,’ a Bachelorette insider said. ‘We knew that she was volatile, there was the incident a couple of years ago. Why would we create a season around her? It’s just asinine.
‘She really f****d us over. Everyone is upset. Everyone feels like we put together such a great season, a satisfying season. And now this. It’s a nightmare.’
‘There are breakout bachelors, a lot of drama. Some sweet moments. Everyone was so happy with how it turned out, and now this has ruined everything.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for ABC, Hulu and Paul for comment.