Taylor Frankie Paul Is the Next Bachelorette: Fans Thought These 4 Women Could Have Landed the Job Instead
Alex Cooper is attached to the upcoming Netflix dating series, Let’s Marry Harry, but that doesn’t mean the host of Call Her Daddy can’t promote other shows. Cooper was assigned the task of revealing some major Bachelor Nation news. The network has shelved the next season of The Bachelor and is bringing back The Bachelorette instead. This season will offer fans a TV crossover with the casting of Taylor Frankie Paul, star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, as the lead. It’s a controversial decision for a plethora of reasons, but some fans are a bit bummed a Bachelor Nation alum won’t appear. Ahead of the big announcement, fans had guessed several other women were set to appear. One alum confirms she was on the shortlist. So, who did viewers really want to see as the next bachelorette?
Taylor Frankie Paul will lead season 22 of ‘The Bachelorette’
Last week, Alex Cooper began teasing a big Bachelor Nation announcement. Fans weren’t paying a ton of attention at first, after the “big announcement” during Bachelor in Paradise was a massive letdown. As the promos got more elaborate, fans began weighing in. Reddit users were quick to deduce that Cooper would be announcing the next bachelorette instead of an upcoming The Bachelor lead. They were correct.
On September 10, Taylor Frankie Paul was named the lead of season 22 of The Bachelorette. Paul is already a familiar face for reality TV fans. She has appeared on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives since its inception. Paul was a ‘MomTok’ influencer who revealed the “soft swinging” sex scandal that eventually led to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. According to People, the end of Taylor Frankie Paul’s marriage to Tate Paul led to the scandal. The couple shares two children, Ocean and Indy. She also has a young son, Ever, with her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.
Maria Georgas and Rachael Kirkconnell were common guesses
Ahead of Alex Cooper’s big reveal, fans already knew they were going to get a The Bachelorette announcement instead of a The Bachelor reveal. That much was obvious from the cake in promos. While Taylor Frankie Paul was on some people’s radar as the next bachelorette, there were a few other notable names bandied about.
Maria Georgas was the name that was mentioned the most. Georgas, who appeared on season 28 of The Bachelor, reportedly entered and exited talks to lead the show several times. She was set to lead the show before canceling ahead of the “pause.” Fans initially thought the big lead-up to the announcement was thanks to Georgas’ hype, but they were wrong.
Also heavily discussed was Rachael Kirkconnell, whose split from The Bachelor alum, Matt James, went viral earlier this year. While Kirkconnell is not without controversy herself, that’s never actually stopped the team behind the series. Her breakup story resonated with Bachelor Nation fans, and many people wanted to see her find love again. Her name was mostly mentioned because she appeared on Call Her Daddy to discuss her split.
Some ‘The Bachelorette’ fans assumed Litia Garr or Victoria Fuller would make a return
Sure, many people had already guessed that there would be a The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives crossover. That was largely thanks to cast members engaging with Cooper’s posts. Still, there was another possible explanation for their sudden interest. Some fans questioned whether the Salt Lake City ladies could be engaging with content about The Bachelorette, because Lita Garr would be named the next lead. Garr appeared on season 29 of The Bachelor. She headed home after her faith presented a potential roadblock to her future with Grant Ellis. Garr is part of the same community as the ladies featured in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
Lastly, but certainly not least, some online sleuths theorized that Victoria Fuller could be cast in hopes of reengaging past viewers. Fuller appeared on season 24 of The Bachelor and competed for Peter Weber’s heart. Fuller has a strong following and has remained active in the community since her time on the show. She also confirmed, during an appearance on The Viall Files several months back, that she was in talks to appear.
