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On the Call Her Daddy podcast, Taylor Frankie Paul confirmed her casting as the next Bachelorette — an unprecedented move for the ABC franchise as she will be the first Bachelorette lead who did not previously compete on The Bachelor. Many Bachelor Nation stars praised the move, believing it would revitalize the struggling TV series. However, several former contestants on The Bachelor, including beloved Season 17 alum Sarah Herron, criticize the choice.

Sarah Herron gives her ‘unfiltered’ response to Taylor Frankie Paul as the next Bachelorette

Sarah Herron first appeared on The Bachelor in 2013, dating Sean Lowe throughout much of Season 17 before being sent home during a one-on-one date. She went on to compete on Bachelor in Paradise during seasons 1 and 3 before pivoting to social media work. Supporters love following along as Herron details marriage, pregnancy loss, parenting twins, and more. After Taylor Frankie Paul’s casting was announced, Herron addressed the choice while caring for her daughters.

“Since I haven’t slept in two nights, I am unfiltered,” the 38-year-old stated on her Instagram stories. The mom of two was alluding to her sick twins who’d kept her up with bad colds. “In regards to The Bachelorette thing, it’s very simple,” she continued.

“I think if they wanted to get viewership back, it is super easy. Just bring back Chris Harrison. Probably unattainable at this point because he ain’t coming back for cheap. Would you? No. But I do think viewership would skyrocket if they went back to the show that they had in circa 2012 to 2018.” Herron called those years “primetime” for the dating competition. She added, “Bring back genuine people in their late 20s to mid-30s looking for love, and maybe include some — I don’t know — contestants with disabilities, more representation, and just bring Chris back. Solved. You’re welcome.”

Herron went on to post a comment from a follower that reads, “Hey just checking here but if ABC cast a man with a history of domestic violence and child abuse would there be just as much excitement for this? For a fanbase that loves their performative outrage (until it’s a crossover they think is fun?) this is just unreal to me.”

Then, Herron added a screenshot to her Instagram stories that summarized Paul’s domestic violence charges with the sarcastic caption, “Let’s platform this behavior. Cool @bacheloretteabc.”

The former Bachelor contestant acknowledged Paul’s felony charges for aggravated assault, which occurred after her arrest following a February 2023 domestic disturbance involving her then-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star threw several objects, including heavy metal chairs, a wooden playset, and a phone. A chair allegedly struck her 5-year-old daughter, who witnessed the altercation.

Other Bachelor Nation stars have criticized Paul as the next Bachelorette

Despite a lot of positive responses from Bachelor Nation, a few former contestants have spoken out negatively. Elyse Dehlbom, who appeared on season 23 of The Bachelor, shared some criticism via Instagram. She expressed frustration that ABC decided to cast someone who “has had a previous instance of intimate partner abuse.”

Dehlbom elaborated, “What makes me frustrated as someone who experienced an abusive relationship, is that on a DATING show, [watched] by millions, the choice was made to elevate someone who has previously been physically abusive to a ROMANTIC partner.”

Lexi Young, who appeared on season 28 of The Bachelor, didn’t address Paul’s felony charges. Instead, she explained via TikTok that the show is special “because they take regular people and then they give them a platform that’s completely uninterrupted to find love.”

Young continued that organically meeting “incredible people” and “falling in love with the characters on the show” is one of the joys of the Bachelor franchise. Using someone who already has a following — Paul has 1.7 million followers on Instagram and 5.7 million followers on TikTok — essentially takes this away. Young expressed the same concerns as Herron, adding:

“We need to get back to what made the franchise so special in the first place. If you look at like Trista and Ryan, they’re just two normal people. They’re two normal people who are deserving of love, wanna find their partner, and they’ve been so successful because they were able to find that in an environment that had no distractions.”

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