ABC announced on Wednesday that Taylor Frankie Paul, a 31-year-old reality-TV personality known for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, will be the next lead on The Bachelorette for the show’s 22nd season.
Paul, who has three young children, said in an interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast that the announcement felt “surreal” and that she had already begun arranging childcare and household support to accommodate filming. “It has not hit me right now in this moment. I’m just thinking about it, and it’s not real. And it’s not going to be until I think the limo is pulling up, you know? And meeting the people,” she said.
Paul is a mother to daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, from a five‑year marriage to Tate Paul that ended in 2022, and a 17‑month‑old son, Ever, with Dakota Mortensen. She told the podcast she is a co‑parent to children with two different fathers and has questioned whether she could be away from home for the length of production. “Can I travel that long? Can I be gone that long?” she said, later adding that she had hired a family assistant and a nanny and intended to make the show work.
Paul also acknowledged a legal incident from 2023. She and her representatives have said she split from Mortensen about a year ago following an arrest in 2023 on an aggravated assault charge. Public records and court filings referenced by outlets show the 2023 arrest; the case’s current status was not disclosed by ABC or by Paul in the podcast.
Paul rose to public attention through the reality program The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and through social‑media content tied to Mormon‑community themes, sometimes described online as part of a #MomToker movement. In interviews she has discussed unconventional relationship practices that drew attention on social platforms, and she referenced peers who are participating in other television projects while bringing family members along.
Producers for The Bachelorette did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ABC has historically filmed The Bachelorette over several weeks at multiple locations, a schedule that can require extended travel and time away from participants’ homes. Contestants and leads on the series routinely arrange childcare, work leave, or other supports when filming coincides with family responsibilities.
The Bachelorette, a long‑running ABC dating competition, pairs a single lead with a group of contestants who are eliminated over several weeks until a final choice is made. The network has not disclosed a premiere date for season 22 or the roster of suitors who will compete for Paul’s final rose.
Reporting on the selection of reality‑television leads often focuses on candidates’ personal histories and public records. In this case, Paul’s announcement has prompted discussion about single parenting, past legal issues and how reality television production accommodates participants with young families. Paul said she felt compelled to take part despite the challenges and that logistical supports she arranged would allow her to try.
Further details about production dates, filming locations and how ABC will manage publicity and legal questions related to Paul’s past were not available at the time of publication.