What To Know
- Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette is facing controversy due to 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.
- Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette premieres on Sunday, March 22.
Taylor Frankie Paul‘s season of The Bachelorette is being shadowed by drama before its premiere.
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 her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.
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 ahead of The Bachelorette Season 22 premiere.
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
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.)
The Bachelorette, Season 22, Sunday, March 22, 8/7c, ABC
