Taylor Frankie Paul‘s season of The Bachelorette might have been canceled just days before it was set to air, but that doesn’t mean she’s given up hope on fans ever watching it.
“She has been doing the work behind the scenes, taken accountability and is focused on moving forward in a more positive way,” a source told Us Weekly in an article published on Thursday, May 7.
“The hope is that viewers would connect with that growth and see a different side of her, making this season feel like a true redemption moment rather than just a return to TV, but right now her priority is her family and her mental health,” that same source added.
On March 16, filming for season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was halted after Draper City Police confirmed to People that a “domestic assault investigation” had been opened involving Paul, 31, and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. Neither Paul nor Mortensen were ever officially charged.
The following day, TMZ published a video of the two involved in a brutal altercation that occurred in 2023. In the clip, Paul could be seen repeatedly attacking Mortensen, 33, before she threw multiple metal bar stools at him. One of those stools accidentally hit Paul’s daughter, Indy. (Paul shares Indy and son Ocean with ex-husband Tate.)
“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,” a Disney Entertainment spokesperson told TMZ at the time.
However, in April, ABC executive Rob Mills revealed there had been discussions about potentially airing the season.
“Everything with that is one day at a time,” Mills told Deadline in an interview published on April 22. “The day all of that stuff happened, really our first sort of concern was really for Taylor and the family and everyone involved in that … it was really more on a human level.”