The new season of ABC's reality TV series The Bachelorette was all filmed and set to premiere on Sunday. But parent company Disney now says it will not air as planned.
The decision to shelve the show's 22nd season came on Thursday, after TMZ published a video it says shows would-be bachelorette Taylor Frankie Paul physically attacking her then-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, in 2023.
"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," Disney Entertainment said in a statement reported by the Associated Press, New York Times and others.
The video, filmed by Mortensen, appears to show Paul hitting, grabbing and throwing three barstools at him. A child can be heard crying on the couch nearby, and Mortensen says at one point: "Your daughter is sitting right there."
Paul has three children: two with her ex-husband Tate Paul and one, born in 2024, with Mortensen. She confirmed the end of their three-year on-again, off-again relationship in May 2025. NPR has reached out to both of their representatives.
In a statement shared with NBC News, Paul's representative called the video the "latest installment of [Mortensen's] never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child."
Paul's representative told People in a statement that Paul is "exploring all of her options, seeking support, and preparing to own and share her story," and "very grateful for ABC's support as she prioritizes her family's safety and security."
Mortenesen told Entertainment Weekly that he categorically denies "these baseless claims about me and our relationship," calling it "a deeply upsetting situation."
"I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same," he added.
NPR has not independently verified the authenticity of the video, which TMZ says was used as evidence in legal proceedings. But it matches Utah's Herriman City Police Department's description of a February 2023 incident that led to Paul's arrest on charges of assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
Court records obtained by NPR show that Paul agreed to plead guilty to the third-degree felony of aggravated assault and has been serving 36 months of probation. When asked about the incident on a 2025 podcast, she acknowledged that her kids were present but said she "never had hurt" her daughter and "never intentionally did anything with my children."
The couple's turbulent relationship was a central plot point of the other reality TV show that made Paul famous: The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which premiered in 2024 and just released its fourth season last week.
Earlier this week, People and other entertainment outlets reported that filming of the show's fifth season had been halted amid reports of an investigation into domestic assault allegations involving Paul and Mortensen — presumably a separate incident, though details are scarce.
An unnamed spokesperson with Utah's Draper City Police Department told People that "allegations have been made in both directions," and "contact was made with involved parties" on Feb. 24 and 25, though declined to elaborate as the investigation is ongoing. NPR has reached out to Draper police, but did not hear back in time for publication.
There's a lot we still don't know. But if you're just tuning in, we can help fill in some gaps.
Who are we talking about?
At the center of the controversy is Taylor Frankie Paul.
She's a 31-year-old influencer best known as the self-proclaimed creator of "MomTok," a friend group-slash-collective of Utah-based Mormon moms that rose to social media fame in 2020.
They posted dance trends, beauty routines, skits and lifestyle videos to TikTok, promoting a more modern side of Mormonism and challenging its traditional gender roles. But it didn't take long for controversy to strike, in the form of the 2022 "soft swinging scandal."
The what scandal?
Paul revealed in a May 2022 livestream video that she and her then-husband, Tate Paul, had been "soft swinging" with other couples in their social circle. She described it as "when you hook up but don't go all the way."
"The agreement was just like, as long as we were both there and we saw it and we knew it, it was okay, and the second it goes behind without each other, then you've stepped out of the agreement," she said. "And I did that."
Paul and her then-husband, who had been in an open relationship, divorced later that year (she called the swinging situation "the tip of the iceberg" of their problems). Her confession also caused rifts in the MomTok community, since she had claimed — without naming names — that other members were involved in the swinging group.
When did Mortensen enter (and leave) the picture?
Paul and Mortensen confirmed their relationship on TikTok in September 2022, several months after she hinted at it online. It quickly turned rocky.
The couple broke up in December, then got back together in January 2023 — a month before the domestic violence incident that prompted Paul's arrest. The relationship, while turbulent, continued, and Paul announced her pregnancy in September. Their son, Ever, was born in March 2024.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, the documentary-style show following Paul and her #MomTok circle, premiered on Hulu later that year.
The first season ended with the birth of Paul's son and cliffhanger claims about Mortensen's alleged infidelity, raised by another cast member, which he has denied. The two split in December 2024, but sparked reconciliation rumors the following spring. Their dynamic has remained a focus of the TV show, including in the most recent season.
What about these Mormon wives?
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, aka SLOMW, follows eight Mormon moms-slash-influencers (and their families) as they navigate marriages, friendships, faith and increasingly, the personal and professional pressures of fame.
"I feel like if anything, it's had a positive impact and it shows people that they don't have to be perfect to be part of a religion, and be close to God and Jesus," cast member Macyi Neeley told NPR last year.
Filming for the first season began in 2023, though paused and resumed after Paul's arrest.
The first episode of its first season, which premiered in September 2024, shows Paul trying to smooth things over with the moms after the swinging scandal. It also covers the domestic violence incident, featuring body camera footage of police arresting a tearful Paul outside the house (though no footage of what transpired inside).
Hulu said the show's premiere was its most-watched unscripted season debut of 2024, surpassing The Kardashians and leading to a rapid renewal of more episodes.
SLOMW has maintained a near-constant filming schedule, releasing two 10-episode seasons in 2025 and another earlier this month. Season four covers the fall of 2025, as Paul was preparing to film The Bachelorette.
The show's popularity has catapulted several of its stars, not just Paul, into other high-profile roles. Two cast members, Whitney Leavitt and Jennifer Affleck, appeared on Dancing with the Stars. Leavitt is now doing a stint as Roxie in Chicago on Broadway, and helped the show smash its box-office record this week.
How did Paul become The Bachelorette?
Paul confirmed her relationship with Mortensen was officially over on a September 2025 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. That's also where she announced she had been chosen as the bachelorette.
It was an unusual pick, not only because of Paul's complicated relationship with her ex and her high profile, but because she hadn't previously competed in the Bachelor franchise. That's a first: Each bachelorette so far has been a fan-favorite contestant from the season of The Bachelor before it.
Disney is the parent company of both Hulu (SLOWM) and ABC (The Bachelorette). The choice to bring in an existing influencer-slash-reality star was seen as a move to revitalize the Bachelorette, which has seen a sharp decline in viewership in recent years. Part of that is, ironically, due to casting controversies including unexpected, post-season revelations about contestants on both sides of the rose.
What's next for each show?
ABC plans to air a rerun of American Idol in the show's place on Sunday. It's not clear if Paul's season of The Bachelorette will ever air. NPR has reached out to Disney for comment.
It's also not clear when or whether filming of SLOMW will resume. At a press event for The Bachelorette earlier this week, Paul weighed in on the production pause, telling People: "my heart hurts to see it, to go through it, especially at this time."
"It's a heavy time, and it's unfortunate," she continued. "I'm struggling for sure, but also at the same time I feel like if I don't show up, then I'm just giving these opportunities away and not enjoying what we've worked on and something super exciting that's coming."
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