This article is for the pop culture lovers and those who can't figure out what everyone is talking about on X tonight. You may have seen the news the upcoming season of 'The Bachelorette' is cancelled. It was set to start on Sunday so this is a big loss to the franchise. Here are all the facts:
Taylor Frankie Paul is a Tik Tok star who gained popularity making videos with other young Mormon Moms and Wives. The group came to be known as 'Momtok'. They are all very attractive, thin and seemingly wholesome women.
Before long, it was revealed several of the couples had begun 'swinging'. Taylor was part of one of those couples. The group fell apart (not unexpectedly) and Taylor and her husband divorced. They have two children so her account became about being a single Mom and co-parenting with her ex. She eventually met a man named Dakota Mortensen. They fell in love and began making content together.
He admits to being a former addict who was just getting sober and getting his life on track. The couple ended up having a son together, but did not marry. Eventually, the group sort of reconciled and some of them were offered a reality TV show 'Secret Lives of Mormon Wives'. It was a huge success for ABC/Hulu and is now on its fourth season. Over and over again, the audience has seen the ups and downs of Taylor and Dakota's relationship as they break up and get back together. It's a mess.
The women have had breakout success doing other things, as well. One of them is on Broadway after a stint on Dancing with the Stars and Taylor taped a season of Bachelorette where she was the star.
Today, it was announced the season was called off because a video was released of Taylor abusing Dakota and throwing chairs at him. One of those chairs apparently hits her small child. That is HER child, not Dakota's child. This incident happened before Dakota and Taylor's kid was born.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Taylor Frankie Paul repeatedly attacked Dakota Mortensen during the 2023 incident in which she pled guilty to aggravated assault; video shows that one of her children was struck during the fight.
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 19, 2026
Trigger Warning. https://t.co/77CKYpLxvn pic.twitter.com/avr49EacY3
🚨 Exclusive: ABC and Warner Bros. Discovery are in meltdown, as a tidal wave of ripple effects from the cancellation of "The Bachelorette" is already being realized.
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 19, 2026
Read more: https://t.co/XBpbNhAIyD pic.twitter.com/GrsS7A1I65
ABC and Warner Bros. Discovery are in meltdown, as a tidal wave of ripple effects from the cancellation of "The Bachelorette" is already being realized.
Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... the show costs around $2 million an episode to produce, and there's already finger-pointing and, we're told, shouting over who's to blame and who should shoulder the costs.
We're told only one of the episodes -- the one that was supposed to air Sunday night -- is in the can. Three more are in the process of being edited, and the remainder pretty much haven't been touched.
Our sources say there's a huge post-production staff that will now have to be laid off.
There's an enormously costly problem the network is now facing. ABC has a number of "trade outs," where airlines, hotels and various other companies and brands pay money in return for facetime on the show. ABC will almost certainly lose that money, and we're told it's a fortune.
Listen, they knew well before casting Taylor as the star of the show she was problematic, had addiction and mental health issues and was obsessed with men. They chose to ignore all of that because they thought she had the ability to attract viewers and revive the series. They made a bad bet.
Taylor Frankie Paul is speaking out on the "Bachelorette" cancellation.
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 19, 2026
Read here: https://t.co/T6AZ6Napyc pic.twitter.com/g6AVGir4m6
Clearly, Taylor still isn't taking any responsibility for her actions. If there was a video of a man beating a woman and throwing stools at her, the internet wouldn't blame the victim.
Taylor needs to own her own behavior and finally get actual help. She's been saying she's medicated and seeking therapy for years but clearly it is not working.
It's time she takes a break from the public eye and Dakota should do the same. Thankfully, Dakota does have a career laying tile as well, so he, at least, has something to fall back on. They both need to reconsider their life choices and ABC should stop making stupid people famous.
