LOS ANGELES — ABC has canceled its already-filmed 22nd season of “The Bachelorette,” starring Taylor Frankie Paul, just three days before its planned March 22 premiere after a 2023 altercation video surfaced, March 19, 2026. In what The Associated Press described as an unprecedented decision for the franchise, Disney Entertainment Television said it would “not move forward” with the season and that its focus was “supporting the family.”
The immediate catalyst was footage published by TMZ showing Paul during a 2023 confrontation with former partner Dakota Mortensen. The video, which had not previously been public, landed after the season had been fully shot and instantly changed the tenor of ABC’s rollout.
Paul later responded through a representative in comments reported by People, alleging she had endured abuse and was now trying to protect herself and her children. Mortensen has denied wrongdoing in statements cited by AP, and as of Tuesday, April 7, a Utah judge was set to hear arguments over whether to extend a protective order he sought against Paul, according to that follow-up AP report.
How Taylor Frankie Paul’s past caught up with ABC
That background matters. People reported in February 2023 that Paul was arrested in Utah after an incident that drew allegations of domestic violence. AP has since reported that she later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge while other counts were dismissed, giving the leaked footage far more weight once it surfaced days before airtime.
The fallout was immediate. AP reported that ABC replaced Sunday’s planned premiere with an “American Idol” rerun, underscoring how abruptly the network moved once the video became public. For a show built on long lead times, cast reveals and carefully staged publicity, the reversal was extraordinary.
Why Taylor Frankie Paul was such an unusual “Bachelorette” choice
Paul was also a striking choice long before the cancellation. When AP covered her casting in September 2025, it noted that she had never appeared in the usual “Bachelor” pipeline. Instead, ABC and Hulu were betting that Paul’s reach beyond the franchise could inject new energy into a brand that had been searching for a fresh angle.
That reach came from a fame cycle that was always messier than a standard reality-TV launch. People’s 2025 explainer on the “MomTok” soft-swinging scandal traced how Paul’s 2022 divorce disclosure and the controversy around her Utah influencer circle helped build the audience that followed her into “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
That made Paul both valuable and volatile: she arrived with a built-in audience, but also with a public history that never fully receded. ABC’s gamble was that her notoriety could expand “The Bachelorette” beyond Bachelor Nation. Instead, the network is left with a shelved season, contestants without a premiere and fresh questions about how aggressively reality franchises should chase internet fame when controversy is part of the package.
