Disney Exec Described Taylor Frankie Paul’s Season of ‘The Bachelorette’ as ‘Wonderful’
Just days before its premiere date, Disney pulled Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette. The embattled reality star faced heavy criticism following new allegations of domestic violence in her relationship with Dakota Mortensen. After footage leaked of a 2023 incident between Paul and Mortensen, Disney decided to shelve the season. Despite this, a company executive hinted that the season may eventually see the light of day.
Disney canceled Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of ‘The Bachelorette’ shortly before it aired
Days before Paul’s season of The Bachelorette aired, footage leaked of a violent interaction between the reality star and her former boyfriend, Mortensen. In footage filmed by Mortensen, Paul repeatedly hits him before throwing metal chairs. Paul’s daughter was present in the room throughout the encounter.
The leaked footage led ABC and parent company Disney to pull the season.
“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,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson told NBC News.
This decision reportedly cost the company millions.
A Disney executive spoke about the future of Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of ‘The Bachelorette’
The decision to pull Paul’s season of The Bachelorette came as a costly blow to ABC and Disney, with some wondering if this might be the end of the historic franchise. Despite this, Disney executive Rob Mills feels confident in the future of the show.
“The Bachelor is almost a perfect format, and it is really powerful. It’s over two decades old, and it’s seen really good days and really bad days,” he told Deadline. “But it’s always had a lot of resilience, especially when the people making it really, really care about it, because that fan base also really cares about it. However, The Bachelor comes back next year, it will be done with a lot of thoughtfulness and care. I do think better days are ahead for the franchise.”
At this point, Mills did not have a definitive answer about the future of Paul’s season. He didn’t outright deny that it would ever make it to air, though.
“The day all of that stuff happened, really our first sort of concern was really for Taylor and the family and everyone involved in that, it was really more on a human level,” he said. “Now, we’re sort of taking it a day at a time. I think her season is a wonderful season, by Bachelor standards. If it gets seen, I’m sure people will absolutely enjoy it.”
She has stepped back from ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’
Before The Bachelorette, Paul appeared on the reality series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. After the recent allegations of domestic violence, filming on the latest season was paused. Now, Paul has announced she will not return to the show for its fifth season.
“Taylor is a taking a breather,” a source told People. “It’s been a lot last couple months to consume and will be back shortly to continue sharing her story. She’ll decide when the time is right to return to filming on Secret Lives.”
While Paul initially rejected suggestions to take time away from social media, she recently deactivated her accounts.
