ABC’s decision to pause the release of Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette has been one of the biggest stories in reality TV this year. It’s been undeniably horrifying to watch — her toxic bond with Dakota Mortensen, her daughter having to relive the events of that 2023 video, the custody battle, restraining orders and questions about if The Bachelor franchise would (or should) survive this. What’s also undeniable, according to Demi Burnett, is that it’s been “absolute cinema.”
Bachelor Nation first met Demi Burnett on Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelorette, before she joined Bachelor in Paradise Season 6 and became part of the franchise’s first on-air, same-sex relationship. She joined the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast to discuss the latest drama, and she wasn’t afraid to admit how entertaining the whole thing has been:
I mean absolute cinema. I am, I’ve never been so hooked and locked in on something for so long. I mean it’s very unfortunate for everyone involved, but as a bystander objectively, it’s been very entertaining and of course it’s also been very sad. I have very complex feelings about it.
It’s definitely a complex situation. Anyone who watched The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 4 (which aired earlier on the 2026 TV schedule and can be streamed with a Hulu subscription) saw how toxic Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen’s situation was. We knew about Paul’s history of domestic violence and her 2023 arrest.
Is it tragic? Yes. Is it fascinating? Absolutely. But is it surprising? No, and that’s what bothers Demi Burnett the most — taking The Bachelorette away from Taylor Frankie Paul at this point, after it was already filmed, seemingly only benefits one person. The Bachelor vet said on what she believed to be "so sick" regarding the controversy:
We already knew that something, I mean we saw it on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, like, we already knew this really bad moment happened. The thing that makes me so sick is that I know this is exactly what Dakota wanted. I hate that he’s winning. I hate that her not – like the season not being aired is like a win for him.
Watching The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, it did feel like Dakota Mortensen wanted to sabotage TFP’s Bachelorette season. They slept together multiple times in the weeks leading up to her doing the show (including the night before she left, which caused her to miss her flight), and he told her to save a rose for him at the end.
However, after she returned and there were more accusations of violence from both parties, a judge issued mutual protective orders in April, forbidding the former couple to be within 100 feet of each other for the next three years.
None of this should be entertaining, of course. But, ethical questions aside, Demi Burnett said if ABC decided to move forward with airing The Bachelorette Season 22, she’d definitely be tuning in:
I’m dying to see it, me and all my friends are dying to see it. And we got the promo, and the promo was stunning. I love someone who’s gonna come in here and be like I don’t care what you think the value of this flower is. I’m taking it back, or whatever… I like to see how she’s breaking the 4th wall almost but not. It’s like she’s going against what you’re supposed to do on this show, and it’s fantastic.
Demi Burnett said not only did Taylor Frankie Paul and her cast put a lot of time and work into the season, but the whole crew deserves to have their work shown.
Bachelor Nation can always count on Burnett to tell it like it is. And, as for whether or not we should be watching all of this controversy play out, many of us have to admit (myself included) this train wreck has been one that’s hard to turn away from.
