It’s been over a month since ABC decided to pull Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette from the 2026 TV schedule after a 2023 video of a violent fight with her then-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen went viral in March, and the network has maintained radio silence since then. The lack of an update had me worried this might be the end of The Bachelor franchise, but now Disney’s unscripted TV boss has finally responded to the speculation.
The Bachelorette Season 22 was officially “paused” way back on March 19 — just three days before Taylor Frankie Paul’s premiere was set to air. That’s a long time to leave fans in reality TV purgatory, especially with all of the conjecture that this could be “the beginning of the end” of the franchise. Rob Mills, executive vice president of unscripted and alternative entertainment at Walt Disney Television, firmly rejected that narrative, telling THR:
The Bachelor franchise is not going anywhere. The Bachelor is back midseason, Paradise will be next summer. So I don’t think we need to talk about something that is a year off. Hopefully, next year’s Get Real [annual unscripted programming presentation] is where we’ll be talking more about it.
It sounds like ABC has chosen to hold off on a new season of The Bachelorette altogether and will focus on The Bachelor Season 30, which Rob Mills suggests will air early in 2027, with another season of Bachelor in Paradise also in the cards for next summer.
Article continues belowHe went on to say that the different iterations will air “when we have the right people,” including more possible seasons of The Golden Bachelor.
There’s also a chance we’ll still see Taylor Frankie Paul’s season someday, as Rob Mills refused to rule that out, saying:
I think everything really is a day at a time. Everything concerning Taylor, first and foremost, is that we’re making sure anything she needs on a human level is taken care of, and then we can talk about anything from the show perspective.
This news comes as The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is set to resume production — though without Dakota Mortensen or Taylor Frankie Paul (for now, at least). Filming of Season 5 was paused in March as new allegations of domestic violence came to light between the exes from a reported incident in February. A third incident was also under investigation from 2024.
Last week, the MomTok leader learned she would not face charges in the most recent incident due to a lack of evidence, and Utah’s statute of limitations prevented prosecutors from pursuing legal action for some “misdemeanor offenses” in the 2024 incident.
I’m still wary that The Bachelorette Season 22 will ever see the light of day, but anyone who was worried that the franchise as a whole was dead in the water should find some comfort in Rob Mills’ words — even if it means we’ve got a pretty long wait before any more roses get handed out.
If you want a peek into the events that led to this whole brouhaha, check out The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives with a Hulu subscription.
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