The world of Bachelor Nation was set to return on March 22 in the 2026 TV schedule with the Season 22 premiere of The Bachelorette, with ABC even hyping the arrival with a special post-Academy Awards broadcast the week before. Now, plans have changed, as a controversial video featuring leading lady Taylor Frankie Paul has gone public, prompting the network to pull the season from the schedule just days before launching.
The news comes after a video went public on March 19 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star reportedly getting violent with Dakota Mortenson in the presence of a child, leading to a domestic assault investigation and the pause of filming on the Hulu reality show (per Deadline). Via a statement to the outlet, Disney addressed decision to pull Frankie Paul's season of The Bachelorette:
In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.
The statement is light on details regarding plans for Taylor Frankie Paul's season, which already finished filming in full with the exception of any live specials that are the norm towards the end of a season in Bachelor Nation. Since she's the lead, it's hard to imagine a way for ABC and Disney to salvage the season unless something major changes.
It does also raise the question of the next season of The Bachelor, given that the franchise often pulls the new Bachelors from the previous season of The Bachelorette, but it's encouraging to see that the public focus from the network is on the family rather than the future of the franchise.
The decision to pull Season 22 comes less than a week before the premiere was set to air on March 22, wfith Taylor Frankie Paul doing the press rounds to promote the show one day earlier. The abuse allegations did result in rumors spreading after technical difficulties during an interview, but the show wasn't removed from the schedule until today.
ABC and Disney wasted little time in making the call about Season 22. Hours after the video involving Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortenson began to spread across the internet, Bachelor Nation spoiler guru Reality Steve posted that there was "strong possibility ABC is going to scrap the Bachelorette season and not air it," with the official statement being released to confirm the rumor just over an hour later.
This is the latest of a series of changes for the 2026 season of The Bachelorette, although certain the most significant. The casting of an existing reality star who hadn't previously appeared in the franchise was a change of pace for Bachelor Nation, as Taylor Frankie Paul was coming in with an existing fandom due to the intense (and very popular) Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, available streaming with a Hulu subscription.
ABC was also moving Season 22 to air on Sundays despite traditionally airing on Monday nights. It remains to be seen what the network will air in The Bachelorette's place after removing it from the lineup. At the time of writing, Taylor Frankie Paul has not publicly commented on her season of The Bachelorette being pulled from primetime.
