Bachelor Nation Stars React to Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘Bachelorette’ Cancellation Scandal
What To Know
- Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette has been canceled amid her involvement in an alleged domestic assault investigation with her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.
- Several former Bachelor Nation stars have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the reality star’s Bachelorette casting and the season’s cancellation.
- Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette was supposed to premiere on Sunday, March 22.
Taylor Frankie Paul‘s season of The Bachelorette has been canceled in the wake of shocking allegations and a 2023 video that surfaced of Taylor fighting her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, which led to her 2023 arrest.
ABC announced on March 19 that the network had made “the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time” following the release of the 2023 video of Taylor and Dakota. Members of Bachelor Nation had started speaking out about the allegations surrounding Taylor prior to the season’s cancellation, and now a wave of alums have begun to weigh in following the unprecedented news.
Earlier this week, People reported that Season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives had paused filming amid a domestic assault investigation into Taylor and Dakota. A spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department confirmed to the outlet that “allegations have been made in both directions.”
Taylor broke her silence in an interview with the outlet on March 17. “It’s just heavy. It’s a heavy time, and it’s unfortunate. 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.”
Among the allegations surrounding the incident, TMZ reported that Dakota accused Taylor of being physically abusive to their son, Ever, which she denied. Taylor was previously arrested in 2023 on charges of assault, criminal mischief, and domestic violence in the presence of a minor following an altercation with Dakota. She entered a plea deal and only served one day in jail for her assault charge.
SLOMW returned for Season 4 earlier this month. On the show, Dakota alleged that he and Taylor slept together the night before she left to begin filming for The Bachelorette.
“It’s hard to see past this — I’m not going to lie — in this moment, it’s just so heavy,” Taylor said regarding the allegations on the March 18 episode of Good Morning America. “When your life is broadcasted out there in these headlines, it’s like the end of the world, that’s what it feels like, I’m not going to lie. I will say I’ve been here before and I got through it and I’ve shared my story and my light, and I’m hoping I can do that again.”
Scroll down to see what Bachelor Nation stars have said about Taylor’s recent controversies and the season getting pulled before its premiere.
Zac Clark
The Season 16 winner of The Bachelorette, who is known for his advocacy around mental health and addiction recovery, posted an Instagram video on March 19.
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“If ABC is canceling the show, there are millions and millions and millions of dollars tied to that production. It’s serious. Which leads me to my next thought, none of that matters. The other guys on the cast, doesn’t matter. The money being lost doesn’t matter at the end of the day. What matters are the human lives involved here. So there’s Taylor Frankie Paul, there’s this guy that she is in a relationship with, which is clearly very abusive and toxic. There are kids, and there are families. It is apparent to me that there is a lot of help that is needed, and the only thing I care about, and really I think anyone should care about, is that the people involved get the support and are given the permission to do the work that they need to do in order to heal.”
He had watched the 2023 video of Taylor. “I know that there’s a lot of underlying trauma and substance abuse and who knows what else here,” Zac said. “My hope is that there is a happy ending to this story, and my hope is that the internet and the people that have the ability to turn their phones around and give an opinion, take it easy on everyone involved, because that’s really what love and empathy and compassion looks like.”
Rachel Lindsay
The Season 13 lead of The Bachelorette was preparing for a guest appearance on the Bachelor Party podcast when the news broke that ABC had canceled Taylor’s season. Rachel, along with cohosts Juliet and Callie, reacted to the cancellation in real time to the show being pulled and the video that surfaced of Taylor that led to her 2023 arrest.
“There’s no way, under any brand, particularly Disney, that you can proceed when this video comes out,” Rachel said. She went on to say that Taylor “never” should have been cast as the Bachelorette. Rachel and the cohosts also expressed their concern for Taylor. “I’m worried about her,” Rachel said.
When discussing the future of The Bachelorette and the Bachelor Nation franchise as a whole, Rachel said she thinks it’s done. “I think it’s over,” she admitted, before going to say that the Bachelor and Bachelorette name has been “tainted at this point.”
Grant Ellis
The Bachelor Season 29 star told TMZ, “It’s an unfortunate situation. I think ABC needed to take a stance, and they did that.” He added, “I think if they would have aired this season, it would have left room for interpretation, and you know, they did the right thing.”
The former lead said the network “made the right choice” in pulling Taylor’s season. “Although it’s going to take some time to recoup, it’s the right thing to do morally,” he noted.
Blake Horstmann
The Bachelorette Season 14 runner-up was shocked to learn of Taylor’s season being canceled. “Wow never thought this would happen. I do think this is the right move,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories. “I feel terrible for the producers and all the people behind the scenes who worked 20 hr days through out her season. A lot of them really do care and put everything they have to make sure this show is successful.”
Sam McKinney
The Bachelorette Season 21 contestant posted a video on his Instagram Stories and detailed his thoughts on the cancellation. “What did you expect? What did anybody expect?” he began. “Imagine getting the villain edit on her season… America’s not buying that s**t. If anybody watched my season, if there’s one thing that you can learn from, it’s that you reap what you sow. The truth will always come out.” He went on to say that he had “zero sympathy” for The Bachelorette.
Carolina Quixano
The Bachelor Season 29 alum shared a reaction video on Instagram with the caption, “The most dramatic season yet indeed 😩 #thebachelorette.” She wrote “thoughts and prayers” over the video, which included audio that sad, “I’m not saying she deserved it, but God’s timing is always right.”
Clare Crawley
Clare Crawley / Instagram
Ahead of ABC’s announcement, the Season 16 Bachelorette lead posted a long message on her Instagram Stories. She acknowledged that the public scrutiny involved with being the lead of the show is “extremely intense.” She had seen the 2023 video and said, “The truly heartbreaking part is that a child was present during the incident, which clearly makes it even more serious and sensitive.”
She continued, “I truly don’t believe this season should air. For her benefit and for everyone else involved. The responsible decision is to pull it and prioritize accountability, support, and real healing — away from the spotlight. I also believe ABC and Hulu should stand firmly behind a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to abuse — regardless of who it is.”
Sydney Warner
The Bachelor Season 24 contestant took to her Instagram Story on March 15 to criticize Taylor’s Bachelorette casting. “This is so upsetting. I am a result of being on The Bachelor, I owe a lot to that franchise,” she wrote alongside a photo of herself watching SLOMW, per People. “The Bachelor is one of the most iconic shows of all time & was so highly respected because they held the contestants to such a high standard. It was such an honor to be on the cast, let alone be casted as the LEAD. That’s life changing.”
She continued, “To watch this and see the soon to be lead completely disrespect the stage that she has been given, the men who put their entire lives on hold to come and meet her is horrible. What has happened to morals and values? Clearly this person is not mentally well and for them to cast someone like this just to get views is beyond me.”
Claiming that The Bachelor is a “dying franchise,” Sydney said the show should be allowed to “die out with class and dignity and not stoop down & claw and scrape just to get views.” She concluded, “I feel so so bad for those guys. Seriously this is hard to watch someone completely not care about something so prestigious that so many girls would do anything to be given.”
Charity Lawson
@charity.lawsonmental health >>> ratings this is not shade, but rather a psa 💕♬ original sound – Charity Lawson
The Bachelorette Season 20 lead, who is a licensed child and family therapist, indirectly addressed Taylor’s controversy in a TikTok video and said the show may not have been the best decision for Taylor’s mental health.
“Dating shows are not for you to come on to find your healing,” Charity stated without mentioning Taylor or The Bachelorette by name. “You would think that that’s almost, like, common sense at this point, but we as a society have really normalized enjoying/ridiculing chaos and confusion over, essentially, prioritizing and celebrating healthy examples of love and someone who’s emotionally available for love should represent.”
Charity noted that everyone has “off days” when it comes to their mental health. “But patterns and repetitive behaviors are not off days,” she added. Speaking from her own Bachelorette experience, Charity added that Bachelor Nation stars have “no excuse but to show up as the best version of yourself on a mental health front” given the “emotional,” “mental,” and “physical” toll of the show.
“The reality of all this is that people, like, genuinely need help, and we are seeing that. We are witnessing that live,” she concluded. “I say this all to say that my hope is that we can see that there’s a much bigger issue here at hand, and that the mental health of contestants should never be compromised so severely for ratings.”
DeAnna Pappas
DeAnna, who starred on Season 4 of The Bachelorette, came to Taylor’s defense on the March 18 episode of the Almost Famous podcast, stating she feels “so sad” for Taylor, Dakota, and their child. “It doesn’t feel good the way they’re releasing things and making this woman — the lead of a show — making her live through it over and over and over again,” she stated.
DeAnna continued, “ABC has this whole thing about the show, this whole glow-up and it’s this fairytale ending, and this good show, this good, wholesome show of people finding love, and I feel her on the part of just wanting to be chosen — are you joking? I’ve searched for it my whole life. But it doesn’t feel good to me, what is happening. It doesn’t feel good the way things are being released.”
DeAnna noted that Taylor sounded “broken” while attending a Bachelorette promotional event in New York City on March 17. “She went to an event, she showed face, because she is trying to promote a show that she has done, and she sounds broken. I almost cried, Heather, listening to it, because you can hear the pain in her voice when she is speaking — that it took all she had to get there that night,” she said on the podcast. “I don’t have to say, can you imagine? Because I can. I’ve been there. I’ve been there and that’s so hard.” (Pappas was previously arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in February 2025.)
If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic abuse, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
