Inside Disney’s $70-million gamble on ‘The Bachelorette’ star Taylor Frankie Paul

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In the summer of 2025, Disney made a risky move by choosing a reality TV personality known for their chaotic personal life and accusations of abuse as a key figure in their plans.

Disney’s ABC network is facing potential losses of at least $70 million because the current season of “The Bachelorette” is completed but unable to air.

ABC cancelled the upcoming season of “The Bachelorette,” starring Taylor Frankie Paul, just three days before it was scheduled to premiere. Disney, ABC’s parent company, made the decision after a video surfaced showing Paul, known from the Hulu series “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” physically assaulting a former partner three years ago.

Paul was caught on video yelling and throwing metal chairs during a fight. One of the chairs reportedly hit one of her children who was watching. Her ex-partner, Dakota Mortensen, filmed the incident on his phone.

There’s been growing concern about “The Bachelorette” ever since Paul started promoting the show publicly.

Police in Draper City, Utah, are investigating a separate incident of domestic violence between Mortensen and Paul that occurred in February. As a result of the investigation, Paul, age 31, has temporarily lost custody of their two-year-old son, Ever, just days after a concerning video was made public.

Taylor is thankful for the support she’s receiving from ABC as she focuses on keeping her family safe. After enduring years of hidden mental and physical abuse, and fearing further threats, she’s now finding the courage to confront her abuser and protect herself and her children from future harm, according to a spokesperson.

Mortensen’s representatives were unavailable for immediate comment. However, in a statement to People magazine, a representative said his main concern is protecting his son, Ever.

Disney launched an investigation last month to clarify conflicting reports from Paul and Mortensen about what happened in February, sources familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation.

I’ve been watching Dana Walden’s start as Disney’s president and chief creative officer, and this scandal feels like her first major challenge. It’s incredibly unfortunate timing, really – she just stepped into the role the day before that video of Paul surfaced on TMZ. It’s a tough situation to walk into right away, and I’m curious to see how she handles it.

Television

The reality star was about to appear on a new dating show, but that plan was disrupted when someone from ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ tried to join the show and it didn’t work out. Now, it’s unclear what will happen next.

This episode has brought up difficult questions about Disney’s decision to feature Paul so prominently in one of ABC’s most important shows.

The situation has also brought attention to how Walden’s new leadership team at ABC – including Debra OConnell, Craig Erwich, and Rob Mills – makes decisions.

Disney declined to comment.

The network has not said whether it plans to eventually air Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette.”

As a big fan, I was surprised to hear how much ABC invested in this season! Apparently, they paid Warner Bros. around $5 million per episode. We’re talking about nine episodes total, plus some extra content, like a special they aired right after the Oscars this month. That special alone brought in 5.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen – which shows they were really hoping to make a splash with this show.

As a total reality TV fan, I noticed ABC really went all out promoting the show. Billboards were everywhere, social media was buzzing, and they even had Paul on “Good Morning America” to talk about her experience on “The Bachelorette” – you know, where she was trying to find ‘the one’ among almost twenty-four guys! It was a full-on campaign to get everyone watching.

She also admitted to being accused of domestic abuse, describing it as a very difficult period in her life.

Look, as a mom of three, dating is tough. I was telling Lara Spencer that I really saw moving as a chance to break out of a really difficult situation I was in back in Utah. I thought, ‘Why not try to date again, and maybe even have the kids come visit me?’ It just seemed like a good way to start fresh and have a little bit of everything.

Advertisers, including Cinnabon, have also pulled back in light of the controversy.

People have been captivated by Paul, who became well-known on TikTok and built a large online community, often referred to as MomTok. The drama in her personal relationships only made her more interesting to watch.

Hulu’s show, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” has become very popular, attracting a dedicated audience and offering a different kind of reality TV compared to Bravo’s “Real Housewives” series. Last week, a short segment from the show was featured in a video Disney presented to investors, showcasing their various movies, TV programs, and attractions.

Disney executives like Mills, who are in charge of shows on ABC and Hulu, were trying to boost ratings for “The Bachelor.” They noticed a fun TikTok video posted by a fan, Paul, where she said she wanted to be on the show, which is made by Warner Horizon.

People left interesting comments about Paul’s video, with many saying they’d start watching “The Bachelorette” again if he was on it.

Mills said that he traveled to Utah to meet with her, and she seemed genuinely interested in being on the show. He then sent her roses with a proposal: would she be ‘The Bachelorette’? As it turned out, she said yes, and the rest is history, he told The Times just before the recent issues came to light.

Disney recognized that Paul’s relationship with Mortensen was messy.

According to a source with knowledge of the matter, Disney leaders knew about the incident in 2023 and considered whether to continue working with Paul on “Mormon Wives,” where he serves as an executive producer. The source was not permitted to speak publicly about the internal discussions.

The new show “Mormon Wives” began with footage from a February 2023 incident involving Utah police, which was recently made public. The episode, the first of the series, premiered in September 2024.

The season concluded with Paul and Mortensen sharing another night together just before she was set to leave for Los Angeles to film “The Bachelorette.” She ended up missing her original flight, but was able to catch a later one.

Voices

Commentary: ABC thought Taylor Frankie Paul would amp ‘Bachelorette’ ratings. It was playing with fire

Look, reality TV thrives on drama, but ‘The Bachelorette’ really pushed it with Taylor Frankie Paul. Honestly, it felt like they were asking for trouble, and sure enough, things blew up. It wasn’t a shock at all that the season became so controversial – they were playing with fire, and got burned.

Disney also has paused filming on “Mormon Wives” during production of its fifth season.

Several actors on the show voiced worries about working with Paul, and this led to Disney asking Jeff Jenkins Productions, a production company in Sherman Oaks, to hire an outside law firm to investigate. The law firm’s review was initiated at Disney’s request.

Television

After five years of marriage, Jessi Draper and Jordan Ngatikaura, known from the show ‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,’ are getting divorced. Jordan has reportedly filed for divorce in Utah.

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2026-03-24 02:02