‘Bachelorette’ Producers Reportedly Looked Past Taylor Frankie Paul’s Troubled Past Amid New Allegations

It seems producers of The Bachelorette might have turned a blind eye to Taylor Frankie Paul’s problematic history in an attempt to secure a larger viewership for this upcoming season — which may come back to bite them in the wake of new domestic violence allegations.

A source with “direct knowledge” of the show told TMZ on Tuesday, March 17, that producers of the hit ABC reality show desperately wanted the reality star, 31, as the lead in hopes that she would be able to expand the series’ audience, prompting them to allegedly “cut corners” during casting.

Paul was previously arrested for alleged domestic violence in 2023 following an argument with her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, which was heavily chronicled during the first season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. (The charges “were all dropped,” Paul said on Call Her Daddy last year.)

TMZ described the show’s top brass being “guilty of willful blindness” amid reports of more alleged legal woes as her season of The Bachelorette is set to premiere on Sunday, March 22.

On Monday, March 16, news broke that filming of season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives had been halted due to another altercation between Paul and Mortensen, the father of her youngest son, Ever, who turns 2 later this week.

“They are not filming,” a source told People on Monday, March 16. “Taylor has some pretty serious stuff happening regarding her past, and they will see what happens. Until that resolves, they are off.”

Utah’s Draper City Police Department later confirmed to the publication that there was an active domestic assault investigation connected to Paul and Mortensen.

That same day, a separate source claimed to TMZ that Mortensen had called the Utah Division of Child and Family Services multiple times alleging that his ex had been abusive to Ever.

Though the source said that the influencer denied the allegation, Mortensen had allegedly become frustrated that nothing had been done about the situation.

However, there are conflicting reports regarding the incident that prompted the domestic assault investigation.

One source previously claimed to the outlet that the former couple was driving in their car a few weeks ago when an argument ensued, prompting Mortensen to call the police. However, another source claimed the incident happened more than a year ago.

Neither Paul nor Mortensen have specifically addressed the alleged incident.