Jessi Draper Reacts After Taylor Frankie Paul’s Bachelorette Contestant Shoots His Shot With Her
One man is hoping everything might still come up roses.
Though Taylor Frankie Paul’s Bachelorette journey was canceled, one of her suitors on the shelved season 22, Brandon Perce, decided to shoot his shot with her newly-single Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ costar Jessi Draper.
“This message is for Jessi, from Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” he began his March 31 Instagram post. “Now that you’re single, I have a friend who is interested. He’s a dad, he’s got tattoos, likes to work out. He has a job, doesn’t like to golf. He’s got history with one of your friends.”
All characteristics, it turns out, that happen to describe Brandon himself.
Asking Instagram users to “do what you do” in order to get his message in front of Jessi—whose estranged husband Jordan Ngatikaura filed for divorce in March—Brandon added, “Let’s make it happen,” later tagging the reality star in the caption of his post and writing, “Asking for a friend…”
And social media did indeed do its thing, with Jessi soon chiming in in the comments section with a simple, “Hi,” to which Brandon replied, “Oh hey there, I think my friend sent you a DM.”
As for how the other men from Taylor’s season are faring since learning their Bachelor Nation journey was being shelved—ABC canceled the season premiere amid domestic violence allegations involving Taylor and her ex Dakota Mortensen—one contestant aired his grievances.
“Part of me is just so f–king pissed,” the suitor exclusively told E! News in a March 19 interview. “We all gave up so much to go do this. We all came in with open hearts. We treated her kindly and respectfully and gave her a second chance.”
The cast member also shared that Taylor didn’t shy away from talking about Dakota—with whom she shares a 2-year-old son with—during filming, nor her ex-husband Tate Paul and their two kids.
“[We] tried to let her turn over a new leaf and we all believed her when she said she did,” he continued. “Obviously, the way she acted and the way she treated all of us in hindsight is just a waste of time, a waste of energy, a waste of emotional intelligence.”
As for the video itself, the cast member said he was growing “emotional just thinking about it.”
“It’s pretty heavy for all of us,” he added. “But at the end of the day I pray that she gets help. I hope she gets the help that she needs.”
Meanwhile, contestant Doug Mason—who some fans believed to have been the recipient of Taylor’s final rose—shared his well wishes for Taylor.
“Good morning, everybody. In light of everything that’s happened, I’m just sending out prayers to Taylor,” he said in a March 20 clip posted to his Instagram Story, “because that was her moment, and her moment was blocked.”
The 28-year-old also asked fans to be kind.
“All we can do right now is just be hopeful,” he said. “Hope you guys have a great day. Let’s stay positive and show nothing but support for people in need. Cheers.”
After the video was reshared to a fan account, Taylor commented, “Aw my heart goes out to him. So sweet.”