"The Bachelorette" Premiere Replaced with "American Idol" Rerun After ABC Cancels Taylor Frankie Paul&x27;s Season Brenton BlanchetThu, March 19, 2026 at 9:32 PM UTC 0 Taylor Frankie PaulCredit: Fred Hayes/Disney via Getty ABC will air a rerun of American Idol on March 22 instead of the premiere of Taylor Frankie Paul's Bachelorette season Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said Thursday, "We have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time" The new reality show Love Overboard is scheduled to air after, in the 10 p.m.
"The Bachelorette" Premiere Replaced with "American Idol" Rerun After ABC Cancels Taylor Frankie Paul's Season
Brenton BlanchetThu, March 19, 2026 at 9:32 PM UTC
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Taylor Frankie PaulCredit: Fred Hayes/Disney via Getty -
ABC will air a rerun of American Idol on March 22 instead of the premiere of Taylor Frankie Paul's Bachelorette season
Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said Thursday, "We have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time"
The new reality show Love Overboard is scheduled to air after, in the 10 p.m. ET timeslot
After pulling the season premiere of Taylor Frankie Paul's The Bachelorette days before it was set to air, ABC has made alternative broadcast plans.
Paul's two-hour premiere episode was set to air this Sunday, March 22, at 8 p.m. ET. However, it was canceled on Thursday, March 19. PEOPLE can confirm that instead, a rerun of the singing competition show American Idol will air in its place.
A brand-new dating show Love Overboard was intended to premiere directly following The Bachelorette season 22 kick-off in the 10 p.m. ET timeslot.
A Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson announced Thursday, March 19, "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."
Taylor Frankie Paul at 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' season 2 premiereCredit: JC Olivera/Variety via Getty
The news arrived hours after TMZ published footage from 2023 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, 31, throwing chairs at her ex Dakota Mortensen while a child was nearby. Paul shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5½, with ex-husband Tate Paul. She shares son Ever, 2, with Mortensen.
A spokesperson for Paul told PEOPLE on March 19, "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. 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."
Paul was previously arrested in 2023 for alleged domestic violence following an argument with Mortensen and faced misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child, with CBS News reporting at the time that she faced child abuse charges after a chair that she was accused of throwing at Mortensen allegedly hit her daughter.
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On Monday, March 16, a Draper City Police Department spokesperson confirmed that there was an open "domestic assault investigation" regarding Taylor and Mortensen, 33. The spokesperson confirmed "allegations have been made in both directions" and "contact was made with involved parties on [Feb] 24th and 25th." The spokesperson declined to share more amid the ongoing investigation.
Mortensen's rep later told Entertainment Weekly that his "number one priority here is protecting Ever," their son, and that "he was just hoping that if he says nothing, as he usually does, it would go away." The rep also denied any suggestion that Mortensen was responsible for the investigation being made public.
A source told PEOPLE on March 16 that filming had been halted on season 5 of Mormon Wives due to "some pretty serious stuff happening regarding [Paul's] past."
On Tuesday, March 17, Paul spoke with PEOPLE during a press preview for the since-scrapped season, saying that "the timing is hard, and it's a big deal" regarding the investigation.
"It's just heavy. It's a heavy time, and it's unfortunate," she said at the time. "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. I just feel like it was the right thing to do... show up even though it's hard."
Paul had already filmed her Bachelorette season with 22 men as her contestants.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: March 19, 2026 at 05:45PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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