ABC Cancels Taylor Frankie Paul’s Season of The Bachelorette

No rose for this Bachelorette. Days before The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of the long-running dating franchise was set to premiere on ABC, Disney has made the decision to pull the season entirely in light of the domestic-violence allegations against its Bachelorette. A Disney Entertainment Television rep said in a statement, “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.” No word on what will fill the Sunday slot at this time.

Filming of season five of Paul’s other series, TSLOMW, was paused after the allegations between Paul and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen came to light last week. Draper City police have since confirmed an investigation into the domestic-assault claims is currently ongoing. Paul appeared on (the Disney-affiliated) Good Morning America just yesterday to promote her Bachelorette season. “Honestly, it’s been a heavy time to see the headlines … But right now, just trying to be in the present moment and focus on this,” she said. Since then, a video was released by TMZ earlier today showing an intense altercation between Paul and Mortensen from 2023 in which she is seen throwing chairs around her home with her eldest child present.

That new evidence was the breaking point for Disney, and one wonders if that’ll reverberate through the ailing Bachelor franchise, which was supposed to have a fresh new star in Paul from one of Disney’s more recently popular reality series. Not every match proves successful.