ABC is reportedly preparing to air the shelved season of The Bachelorette starring Taylor Frankie Paul in July, production sources told TMZ. The network had previously pulled the season the day before its scheduled premiere in response to resurfaced video from 2023 depicting Paul engaged in an altercation with her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.
The video showed Paul throwing metal chairs at Mortensen, with one chair accidentally striking her child. Following the incident, Paul and Mortensen sought dueling restraining orders against each other, with court appearances noted in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 30. Mortensen has since been granted temporary custody of the child.
Despite the public decision to pull the season, sources indicated that work continued behind the scenes, with editors allegedly working on future episodes. This suggests that ABC may have been holding onto the possibility of releasing the season at a later date. Unnamed sources also claimed the network had been polling potential audiences to gauge public sentiment toward Paul, potentially to assess if public opinion had shifted enough to allow for a safe release of the show.