“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” fans felt elated to learn that Taylor Frankie Paul would be the next star of “The Bachelorette.” However, that all fell apart in March 2026 after the video of Taylor throwing stools at her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, became public. ABC promptly canceled the season, leaving many unanswered questions.
Now that the Utah DA has declined to file charges against Taylor Frankie Paul, some think ABC should air her season as originally planned.
Right now, there are many ongoing discussions about the SLOMW star’s involvement with reality television moving forward.
See what one Disney executive said about the fate of Taylor’s unaired “Bachelorette” season.
There Are Still Many Unknowns About Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘Bachelorette’ Season
Amid the allegations against Taylor Frankie Paul, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” also stopped filming. This week, news broke that production could resume.
“In terms of what it took to get everyone back up, it was more just making sure everybody, from the producers and obviously the stars, who are also producers, and … just making sure everybody felt good about this and was in a good place to go,” Disney executive Rob Mills told TheWrap. “It really was just checking on everybody and making sure we didn’t do anything until everybody was in a good place.”
However, Mills wouldn’t discuss how much of SLOMW season 5 would address the domestic violence allegations or the “Bachelorette” controversy. He confirmed that production for the Hulu series was moving along one day at a time, which also seems true of Taylor’s season of “The Bachelorette.”
Mills wouldn’t completely rule out the idea of airing her season someday. But it will all depend on how things play out over the next several months.
“We’re sort of really still processing everything and figuring out … planning for the next cycles of ‘The Bachelor’ franchise, and really just kind of looking at everything, and first and foremost, honestly, just making sure that Taylor, her family, everyone is being taken care of, just on a personal and human front,” Mills continued.
He wouldn’t firmly confirm or deny what ABC will do in the future. But for now, the season remains shelved.
The future of “The Bachelorette” is up in the air, but he did confirm ABC would move forward with both “The Bachelor” and “Bachelor in Paradise.”
ABC Lost an Exorbitant Amount of Money Over the Canceled Season
ABC spent quite a bit of money promoting Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette.” Canceling a fully produced season mere days before the premiere cost the network dearly. One former “Bachelor” producer commented on the situation and offered her own opinions.
“I think they’re hoping to salvage it. Based on the statement, which said ‘for now,’ and based on her statement … My guess is they’re waiting to see what happens with these other [allegations] and how bad that is. Hopefully they’ll want her to share her side of the story, get empathy, and air it. If they can do that, they’ll do that,” Julie LaPlaca shared with Entertainment Weekly.
“It’s a complicated thing because it’s all very serious,” LaPlaca continued. “At the end of the day, though, it’s money and they have a season that they shot and they want to air. And if they can find a way, they will. That’s my prediction.”
