ABC has officially canceled Season 22 of “The Bachelorette” just days before its scheduled March 22 premiere. The decision, announced on March 19 by a Disney Entertainment Television Spokesperson, comes amid the ongoing Utah police investigation into an alleged domestic assault case involving reality TV star Taylor Frankie Paul and her on-again, off-again partner, Dakota Mortensen. According to multiple reports, both parties have leveled accusations against one another.
The cancellation follows the release of a disturbing video published by TMZ, which allegedly shows a 2023 altercation between Paul and Mortensen. In the footage, Paul is seen yelling, hitting, kicking and throwing furniture, while a child can be heard crying in the background. The release of the video appears to have played a significant role in ABC’s decision to pull the season entirely, making a rare last-minute cancellation for one of the network’s iconic reality franchises.
According to NBC News, the situation stems from incidents that allegedly took place in late February 2023, when police made contact with the involved parties on Feb. 24 and 25. The investigation has since halted production on Season 5 of Hulu’s “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” the reality series that helped launch her into mainstream fame.
Sources close to the production say that Hulu executives, while visiting Utah during filming, witnessed discussions related to domestic violence among cast members. The concerns were serious enough to prompt a weeklong production pause. During that break, additional information reportedly surfaced, leading some cast members to refuse to continue filming unless action was taken.
As of now, production remains on hold, and it is unclear when, or if, filming will resume. One source described the situation as deeply concerning, adding that Paul “needs help,” and emphasizing that those involved hope the pause will allow her time to seek support.
The investigation remains ongoing, with few official details released. Three sources close to the matter confirmed to NBC News that both Paul and Mortensen are involved in a “he said, she said” situation, though they declined to elaborate further.
Paul first rose to fame as a central figure in “MomTok,” a group of Utah-based mothers who gained millions of followers through choreographed TikTok videos. Her popularity surged after she revealed that some members of the group were involved in a so-called “soft swinging scandal,” which later became a central storyline in the show. Today, she has over 6 million TikTok followers and more than 2 million on Instagram.
Viewers of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” have followed Paul and Mortensen’s on-again-off-again relationship. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Paul said she has
moved to strictly third-party communication when it comes to co- parenting their 2-year-old son, Ever. “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,” she added.
While speaking about the situation, Paul addressed the public nature of her life. “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 him,” she said.
Yet her past continues to resurface. In 2023, she was arrested and charged in connection with a separate domestic violence incident involving Mortensen, though she later stated that those charges were dropped.