Reality TV and social media darling Taylor Frankie Paul is the next Bachelorette. ABC made the announcement, ending the dating show’s brief pause. Paul is best known for #MomTok and starring in Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Meanwhile, her fellow cast members, Whitney Leavitt and Jen Affleck, were announced for Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars.
Shakeup To Bachelorette Franchise
For the first time ever, ABC looked outside Bachelor Nation to cast its next Bachelorette. On Wednesday, September 10, ABC News announced that Paul is the next lead for the dating reality series, which is reportedly in turmoil. This is also the first time that the lead is a mom.
Paul has two kids with her ex-husband, Tate Paul. The couple divorced in 2022 after they were the center of the “soft-swinging scandal” that was exposed on TikTok. Paul also shares a third child with her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. Though their relationship ended in early 2025, she’s still ready to find love.
“This is something so new for me because obviously I got married young, divorced, and then the first guy I met was the next relationship,” Paul told Alex Cooper on the podcast, Call Her Daddy. “So I have not done the whole meeting new people out, like dating at the same time. … I’ve never done that, so that will be new to me.”
Crossing Over From Hulu To ABC
ABC is going all in with Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which streams on Hulu. Season 3 was announced in late August. The season will premiere on November 13, and all 10 episodes will be available to stream.
Over the summer, ABC announced that Whitney Levitt and Jen Affleck would be joining the upcoming cast of DWTS. Fans are wondering how these casting decisions will affect the network and the future of the Bachelor franchise.
Producers were in “crisis mode” in July, so they hired a Real Housewives casting team to boost ratings. An inside source told The U.S. Sun that Wyldside Media would produce the upcoming season of The Bachelor.
What Does Bachelor Nation Think?
Ratings have been down for previous seasons, including Ellis Grant’s season of The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise. Bachelor Nation fans reacted on Reddit, and the response has been mixed.
Most vowed to boycott Mormon Wives and the Bachelorette. Meanwhile, others think Paul is the perfect kind of mess that the reality show needs. The Bachelorette Season 22 will premiere in 2026.
This creative risk could attract new fans or turn away their current fanbase. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
