Paul's season was set to debut on Sunday, March 22. ABC pulls Taylor Frankie Paul's season of The Bachelorette amid domestic violence investigation Paul's season was set to debut on Sunday, March 22. By Sarah Hearon March 19, 2026 3:54 p.m. ET :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/TaylorFrankiePaul8840909259af78d8ce87b4494ad5b71dbba148b06.jpg) Taylor Frankie Paul on 'The Bachelorette'. Credit: Michael Kirchoff/Disney Taylor Frankie Paul's season of The Bachelorette will no longer air as planned.

Paul's season was set to debut on Sunday, March 22.

ABC pulls Taylor Frankie Paul's season of The Bachelorette amid domestic violence investigation

Paul's season was set to debut on Sunday, March 22.

By Sarah Hearon

March 19, 2026 3:54 p.m. ET

Taylor Frankie Paul on 'The Bachelorette'. Credit:

Michael Kirchoff/Disney

Taylor Frankie Paul's season of *The Bachelorette* will no longer air as planned.

"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 said in a statement to ** on Thursday.

Back in September, ABC announced that the *Secret Lives of Mormon Wives* cast member would star on season 22 of the long-running dating series, making her the first non-franchise Bachelorette. Paul subsequently filmed season 4 of *Mormon Wives* — during which she hooked up with her on-again, off-again ex Dakota Mortensen — before leaving to film the dating show in late October. She announced on Dec. 21 that she wrapped *The Bachelorette**.*

Less than a week away from the scheduled March 22 premiere, however, news broke that an alleged incident involving Paul and Mortensen, who share son Ever, was under investigation with Utah police. The Draper City Police Department confirmed at the time that there was an "domestic assault investigation" involving the exes, revealing "allegations have been made in both directions" and "contact was made with involved parties on [Feb.] 24th and 25th."

While production on season 5 of *Mormon Wives* was halted, Paul resumed promotion for *The Bachelorette*, telling EW* *on Tuesday that she had gone "no contact" with Mortensen.

"I actually took action about a few weeks ago," she said. "I'm just doing third-party everything — pick-up, drop-offs, communication — so no contact right now for me. I think that's the best case, honestly, because clearly it's just not to a point of us getting along, so I wanted to take the best action I could… I didn't want to bring anything to the public eye, making it a bigger deal for the sake of my son, and just everything about to come out. But that wasn't the plan for [Mortensen]."

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A source later replied to the implication that Mortensen might be responsible for the investigation going public. "He knew there was a possibility it could come out, but he was not going to be the one to proactively do that because he has always wanted a decent relationship with Taylor," the source told EW. "It's been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to co-parent well."

Paul and Mortensen's relationship previously made headlines in 2023 when she was arrested following a separate incident. She pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault. As part of her plea deal, Paul was placed on three years' probation, which ends in August, and prosecutors dropped four other charges, including domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse, and criminal mischief.

On Thursday, TMZ published footage from the past altercation, in which Paul could be seen throwing a chair at her then-boyfriend in the presence of her oldest child. (Paul shares two kids with her ex-husband Tate Paul. The pair split following a soft-swinging scandal.)

"It's sad to see the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child," Paul's rep told EW in a statement about the 2023 footage. "Releasing an old video, which conveniently omits context, on their son's birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior. Thankfully, the public has seen this act before and knows who he is and sadly, many will recognize this pattern of manipulation, both in his actions on the show, and from their own experiences."

Cinnabon breaks silence on Taylor Frankie Paul drama, cuts ties with 'Bachelorette' and 'Mormon Wives'

Taylor Frankie Paul breaks silence on domestic violence investigation ahead of 'Bachelorette' premiere

TMZ subsequently reported that Mortensen had filed for a restraining order against Paul, stating he is "genuinely concerned for my safety and the safety and well-being of my child" following the alleged February incident.

*The Bachelorette* has aired on ABC since 2003, following the successful debut of *The Bachelor* in 2002.

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Source: Bachelor

Published: March 19, 2026 at 04:57PM on Source: PRIME TIME

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