The Bachelor reality franchise is no stranger to stirring up controversy or becoming embroiled in scandal. However, never before has a scandal led to a complete series being canceled just before its premiere—until the case of Taylor Frankie Paul.

On Thursday, just three days before the anticipated Sunday launch of The Bachelorette’s 22nd season, network executives made the dramatic decision to pull the entire season. This move followed several days of troubling allegations of domestic violence.

There had been mounting pressure for such a decision to be made.

Taylor Frankie Paul, a 31-year-old who gained notoriety on TikTok and later appeared on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, is currently under police investigation. She is accused of assaulting her former partner, Dakota Mortensen, in an incident that occurred in February.

The couple, who share a two-year-old son named Ever, have had a tumultuous history. In 2023, Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault after an incident in which she threw a chair at Mortensen, unintentionally striking one of her children.

The pair, who share a two-year-old son, Ever, have a checkered past. In 2023, she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault after throwing a chair at him and inadvertently hitting one of her children.  

Despite knowing of her conviction, ABC still pushed ahead with a lucrative contract offer and promotional campaign. The series was filmed earlier this year. Frankie Paul was even pictured at the Oscars on Sunday night, rubbing shoulders with A-list stars. 

Behind the scenes, anger was growing over why ABC – which has been quick to cancel male stars over less violent controversies – were standing by her. 

The final straw came on Thursday, when TMZ released a disturbing, unignorable video of the 2023 incident. 

It shows Paul seemingly attacking her ex, and her young child crying after being caught in the cross-fire. 

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 Mail 

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)

The shock and outrage among fans was immediate. Within hours, ABC announced it was canceling the show.  

‘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 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.’

The Daily Mail can reveal that the decision came after a frenzied week full of hasty and tense meetings. 

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) 

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.

When police arrived at the scene in a Salt Lake City suburb in 2023, the influencer told them she was so scared she had ‘peed’ herself, the video shows

‘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.’ 

A new criminal charge would violate her probation. 

‘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.