Doug Mason Said He Felt Like a ‘Replacement’ for Dakota Mortensen During ‘the Bachelorette’
The Bachelorette fans never got to see Taylor Frankie Paul make her final pick. Her season was iced, and the further out from the original premiere date we get, the less likely it seems that we’ll ever see it. That doesn’t mean fans don’t know how it ended, though. Doug Mason, the man who left The Bachelorette engaged to Taylor Frankie Paul, is speaking out, and it sounds like his experience was pretty subpar. He just revealed he felt like he was constantly compared to Paul’s ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.
Doug Mason said he felt like he was being compared to Dakota Mortensen on ‘The Bachelorette’
Doug Mason appeared on Bachelor Happy Hour this week, just weeks after he addressed the end of his run on the defunct season of The Bachelorette via Instagram. In his podcast interview, he opened up about feeling like he was living in Dakota Mortensen’s shadow. He noted that his feelings grew during his time in the famed Bachelor Mansion alongside nearly two dozen other men vying for Taylor Frankie Paul’s attention.
Mason admitted that he wrote in his journal multiple times about feeling like Paul wasn’t over Mortensen during the show, but admitted the true breaking point came during a group date. When a guest on the date brought up Mortensen’s name and compared Mason to him, he said Paul’s energy shifted, and she began seeing him as the bad guy. Mason walked off the date.
Looking back, he summed up his place in her life bluntly: “I realized that I was the replacement for that two-month period.” His proof, he said, was that Paul went back to Mortensen the night she ended their engagement.
Mason also revealed that Paul told him, on camera and right before Fantasy Suites, that she had slept with Mortensen just before leaving to film the show. She said she felt guilty and needed to get it off her chest. The admission caused plenty of doubt for Mason. He told hosts Charity Lawson and Rachel Recchia that heading into the finale, “I definitely wasn’t about to propose.” He noted that the experience didn’t feel like one that merited an engagement. So why did he propose? Mason admitted that he got caught up in the romance. After the engagement, he said Paul chose to leave the next day.
Fans learned about the split on ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’
It wasn’t until The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 5 premiered in September that fans learned how Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette ended. Paul confirmed she accepted Mason’s proposal in the finale. Her co-stars had hoped she wouldn’t choose him, saying he reminded them too much of Mortensen.
After filming, Paul returned to Utah and reconnected with Mortensen. She admitted to her castmates that she slept with him while still engaged to Mason. According to Reality Steve, Mason flew to Utah around January, about a month after the proposal. Paul ended the engagement then. Filming for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was thrown into flux in February when additional domestic violence allegations between Mortensen and Paul surfaced. Paul has since left the series. She and Mortensen are locked in a custody dispute.
