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Bachelor’s degree The franchise broke unspoken rules by casting Taylor as Frankie Paul, a decision that backfired when ABC made the final decision to cancel its season three days before it premiered.
When news of Paul’s casting was revealed in September, it was met with excitement from fans. It marked the first major breakthrough for the franchise: she was supposed to be the first heroine who had never appeared in a previous cycle of the franchise, but was known to various reality TV audiences. It was Hulu’s first naming choice for the already controversial star The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives To lead the veteran franchise.
Contestants who continue Bachelor’s degree or the Bachelorette They are supposed to be chosen because they want to find love. Influencer models have been featured across the chain before, of course, but never to this extent with someone like Paul who starred in another hit reality show and who came with over 7 million followers on her combined social media platforms.
Paul is also the first bachelor with a criminal background.
She has prior charges stemming from her 2023 arrest, where she ended up pleading guilty to one count of aggravated assault, according to local Salt Lake City Fox. She accepted a plea agreement, which dismissed two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, a first-degree misdemeanor charge of child abuse, and a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief.
It was triggered by the 2023 incident Mormon wives Career, as chronicled in the first episode of the Hulu reality show. But then it resurfaced in the news cycle last week via a leaked video, sparking a spark Bachelorette cancellation. This was combined with production being temporarily halted Mormon wives The fifth season, which was interrupted due to a new incident.
A spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department confirmed last week the people That there is an “ongoing domestic abuse investigation” between Paul and her boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, that has stalled again. THR Confirm it Mormon wives The production launched its own investigation into the conflicting claims. This investigation is still ongoing, and Mormon wives Filming is paused until finished. Then on Wednesday, NBC News reported that Paul was under investigation for a third alleged domestic violence incident. All of the incidents involved Paul and her ex-husband Dakota Mortensen, with whom she has a son named Ever True.
Paul was still on probation for the 2023 incident, which also involved Mortensen Bachelorette filming, leaving most of the season to be filmed in the United States.
But the video released last week, on Thursday, of the 2023 domestic incident that led to her arrest marked the tipping point for ABC to pull the season. Executives knew of the charges against her, the ramifications of which were depicted in detail Mormon wivesBut he did not see the footage until it leaked on Thursday. THR It was said.
Aside from Paul’s criminal history (which should have been enough to raise eyebrows for the network), she… Bachelorette The installment was scheduled to include other major changes to the long-running franchise.
Ring true to Disney roots, Bachelor’s degree Its spinoffs have always loved the fairy tale that the people in the franchise are there for the right reasons — to find love. But those days are over Bachelor’s degree and Bachelorette Dominate the real-life dating pool. Programs like Love Island in the USAwhich rewards obscenity, or Love is blinda unique social experiment, captivated audiences, drawing viewers away from ABC’s roster of less serious shows.
But in order to shake things up with Paul, they modified their usual rules to include everyone Mormon wives public. Throughout the recording Bachelorette For Season 22, the reality star frequently posts on social media, which has historically been frowned upon by the franchise in order to limit spoilers (although each season is typically spoilered online).
This rule was thrown out the door when the official Bachelorette The Instagram account shared an early teaser for the leading lady and her host Jesse Palmer in November, just weeks after filming began. “I think you’re doing things that no other bachelor has ever done before,” Palmer said in the clip.
Contents held as Bachelorette The lead was questioned online for her frequent posts while filming. Even now, with the show canceled and its future possibly uncertain (there’s speculation it could be revived on Hulu), Ball is still flooding social media with her reactions to the whole situation.
Under a video shared by a TikTok user suggesting that video of Paul and Mortensen’s 2023 domestic violence incident was leaked last week on their son’s birthday, the reality star commented on the comments, writing: “The worst part is that my daughter had to relive it and see it again years later after extensive work with her and apologizing to her for that night and my little boy’s birthday being taken away from it.”
On another TikTok, pop culture creator Holden Smith filmed a comment Paul left on a separate video. “I’m amazed she’s on her phone now,” one user wrote. Bachelorette The star replied: “Always… it’s my job… and yes, I still have a job.” Smith shared his own perspective on the matter, asking her directly, “Why are you commenting back on people, reposting TikToks? Her world has literally exploded. I would say her team should take her phone away from her.”
“Do you want me to stare at the wall instead?” Paul wrote directly in the comments on Smith’s video.
Paul also reposted content on TikTok amid the news, where he reshared a video repeating the claim that Mortensen leaked the 2023 video that led to her arrest. Another video she reshared simply had a text reading, “I’d rather hang out with sinners who admit their mistakes than hang out with people who pretend to be good people.”
THR She reached out to Paul’s representatives for comment, but did not hear back by press time. ABC and Hulu have also not commented on speculation about the case Bachelorette.
Paul said of her social media activity in the middle of filming THR That’s spreading all over [filming] “It was just something new that they allowed,” but she didn’t have unlimited access. “I wasn’t on my phone at all – it was just filming and posting. So I was still in the bubble.
“I didn’t talk to anyone, but to my kids, and also to co-parenting,” Paul added.
With season 22 of Bachelorettethe Bachelor franchise was finally planning to lean into chaos — until things went even further. But that desire may have sent the series as we know it forever.
