Taylor Frankie Paul was set to break through to the next level of fame with her run as “The Bachelorette.”
But it all came crashing down after video surfaced of her hurling chairs at her partner, Dakota Mortensen, one of which hit her five-year-old daughter, Indy, who could be heard crying in a clip obtained by TMZ.
ABC pulled the plug on the show, which was set to premiere March 22, in its entirety on Thursday.
“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 network told Page Six.
The episode has rapidly become a cautionary tale for networks chasing ratings.
It’s not like the warning signs to producers weren’t there: The incident happened in 2023 and, since then, the ever-volatile Paul pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault.
The show which catapulted Paul into living rooms, Hulu’s “Secret Lives of Mormon Lives,” even opened its very first show with her getting arrested over the incident in police bodycam footage. (Both Hulu and ABC are owned by the Walt Disney Company.)
If viewers had no problem continuing to support Paul on their screen then, ABC execs likely thought the same would be true for “The Bachelorette,” Page Six Hollywood reported.
But it’s also true that its much harder to ignore the footage, which was originally recorded on Mortensen’s phone.
Indy can be heard crying after seemingly being struck, with Mortensen later claiming, “Your daughter just got hit in the head with a metal chair.”
During the argument, Paul had accused Mortensen of starting the fight, yelling “You did this. You threw me,” repeatedly.
A spokesperson for Paul slammed the “selectively edited” clip, saying it is part of Mortensen’s “never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor.”
The couple split in December 2024.
Despite the controversy, Paul was recruited to become the next Bachelorette, even though she had not appeared in “The Bachelor” franchise previously — a first in the show’s history.
Industry insiders have speculated ABC wanted to freshen up the franchise and feature someone who could potentially attract a younger, TikTok-loving demographic; Paul has seven million followers on social media.
“There’s this certain stigma, if you will, that ‘The Bachelorette’ should be a little bit more classier, more maybe than I am.
“I’m like, ‘Do I need to clean up my mouth?’ … But then, I’m like, uh, no,” Paul told The Hollywood Reporter of landing the show.
“For me, it’s like, [I have to] be who I am — [it’s a] take it or leave it kind of thing … People can either love it or hate it, but at least I was just being me.”
But who exactly Paul is seems increasingly chaotic. A rep for the Draper City Police Department clarified Friday “allegations have been made in both directions” between her and Mortensen.
Paul lost temporary custody of her two-year-old son, Ever, whom she shares with Mortensen, after Mortensen filed for an order of protection against her on Thursday.
Adding to the drama, earlier this month, several “Mormon Wives” stars told ABC executives at a meeting they had concerns about continuing the show if Paul remained involved, according to audio obtained by NBC News.
During the call, cast members voiced their concerns over the future of their careers, the show’s brand and the allegations surrounding Paul and Mortensen.
The fifth season of “Mormon Wives” premiered March 12. That same day, Mortensen claimed he spent the night with Paul before she left to film “The Bachelorette.”
The hit show has since halted production, according to reports.
“They are not filming,” a source told PEOPLE of the show. “Taylor [Frankie Paul] has some pretty serious stuff happening regarding her past, and they will see what happens. Until that resolves, they are off.”
Now, with “The Bachelorette” off the air, too, it leaves Paul in a tough position.
Before becoming a reality TV star, Paul was a Utah-based influencer who built a massive following on TikTok as one of the faces of “MomTok,” a loosely affiliated group of Mormon moms who turned suburban life into viral content.
Despite their wholesome subject matter, it was ultimately scandal that put Paul on viewers’ radars.
In May 2022, she caused waves when she revealed she was getting divorced in a viral TikTok livestream.
She later revealed that she and then-husband, Tate Paul, had been experimenting with non-monogamy — what she described as “soft-swinging,” with strict rules that couples couldn’t go “all the way” with someone else, unless their spouses were present.
In an explosive twist, Paul also claimed other members of the MomTok circle — and their husbands — were part of the arrangement, though she stopped short of naming names.
“Everyone has hooked up with, like, everyone,” Paul said at the time.
The revelation shattered the carefully curated image of squeaky-clean Mormon domesticity and the fallout was brutal.
Several members of the MomTok circle distanced themselves from her, and, according to reports, some outright refused to film with her in any capacity. Their reasons went beyond embarrassment: insiders claimed trust had been broken, boundaries crossed and friendships irreparably damaged.
Paul, however, leaned into the chaos. She rebranded herself as a messy, unfiltered truth-teller — a move that only grew her audience.
“Swinging — that’s such a scandal headline — but it’s also a very traumatic time in my life. That was one of my rock-bottom points,” she told US Weekly earlier this month.
“I lost my family, my husband. It’s so much deeper than that to me, and deep conversations were had. I think anyone that actually cares about me would definitely be asking those.”
Seeing Paul’s potential, Hulu then developed “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” centered around her and following the lives of a group of Mormon influencers in Utah. It premiered in 2024, making Paul a fully-fledged reality TV star.
By that time Paul had made a plea deal over the three felonies and one misdemeanor count each of criminal mischief and child abuse she faced as a result of the 2023 incident.
Under her plea deal, the felony charge she pleaded guilty to will be reduced to a misdemeanor, provided she satisfactorily obeys the terms of her three-year probation and the other charges were dismissed, per reports.
Now, her whole career hangs in the balance, over the very incident which launched it.
Meanwhile, ABC stands to lose millions if “The Bachelorette” is fully shelved. The network will have to eat the costs of production and marketing, plus lost ad revenue, and, per Variety, it’ll also owe license fees to Warner Bros. Unscripted TV.
The network sunk even more money into additional programming promoting the new season, including an HGTV “Bachelor Nation Takeover” and a “Before the First Rose” special that ran in the coveted slot immediately following the Oscars, as reported by Page Sic Hollywood.
Paul’s history of volatile behavior — and Disney brass’ willingness to bet big on her in spite of it — could now tank not just one, but two key franchises.