You may not haven’t watched “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” or, more recently, “The Golden Bachelor” ever. It may be part of a bucket of network reality shows that don’t appeal to you. What happened today, however, is genuinely newsworthy for anyone paying attention to the entertainment business. A little more than three days before its premiere, ABC has canceled the entire 22nd season of “The Bachelorette.” A season that featured Frankie Paul, from Hulu’s “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” as the single bachelorette looking for love among 22 eligible bachelors.
In a statement, Disney ABC noted, “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.”
The Disney-owned network pulled the plug after a video surfaced of Paul assaulting her partner at the time, Dakota Mortensen, in 2023. One of their five-year old children was stuck during the fight and listed with a minor injury in a police report of the incident. Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, and the pair continued to be involved until 2025.
Paul made a plea deal with authorities after being charged with one count of aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, a misdemeanor count for child abuse, and criminal mischief. The agreement put her on probation for three years, and the charges will be wiped from her record if there are no further incidents this August.
Currently, Paul and Morgtensen are involved in a custody dispute over a daughter born in 2024, and more incidents between the pair have come to light over the past few months. So much so, that Paul’s co-stars on “Mormons” have refused to film with her, causing production on the latest season of that global Hulu smash to be put on pause.
The video obtained by TMZ appears to have come from legal sources in Utah.
ABC has spent the past few months hyping Paul’s season, the first for “The Bachelorette” since 2024. Paul has done the gamut of Disney-ABC promo stops, including “Good Morning America” and walking the red carpet at the Oscars this past Sunday. Scuttling an entire season after shooting 10-12 episodes and this much marketing expense is eyebrow-raising.
Whether you care about any of these shows, the question you may want to consider is: How did it get this far? Out of all the “Mormon” stars, why pick Paul, who had a public history of legal incidents? (Police arriving at her home after an incident was depicted in season one of “Mormon Wives”). Who at ABC or Disney legal gave the green light? Did the company not investigate this fully? Were the “Mormon” producers genuinely unaware of how bad things were between two talents they spent months with over four seasons? These are the big questions, and will they lead to changes at ABC and Hulu moving forward?
Ponder.
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