ABC has decided not to air Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” in light of the controversy surrounding a newly released video of a domestic violence incident involving Taylor and her ex-boyfriend Dakota.
“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,” producers Disney Entertainment Television said in a statement. (TVLine has reached out to ABC to see if the season may air at a later date.)
Taylor’s season of “The Bachelorette” was set to premiere this Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC, with her choosing a suitor from more than two dozen men. But earlier on Thursday, a video surfaced of Taylor throwing chairs at her ex-boyfriend Dakota with her young daughter present. (The incident, which happened in 2023, was covered extensively on the Hulu reality series “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” on which Taylor is a cast member.) In a separate incident earlier this year, Taylor and Dakota were involved in another dispute that is currently under police investigation for domestic assault — an incident that led “Mormon Wives” to stop filming.
Taylor was cast as the new star of “The Bachelorette” in September, marking a change for the franchise and stepping outside the tradition of casting former “Bachelor” contestants. But Taylor’s volatile relationship with Dakota led some, including her “Mormon Wives” co-stars, to question whether she was truly ready to be the Bachelorette and find someone new. (Read our full rundown of the situation here.)