Hold onto your roses, because The Bachelor franchise is about to get chaotic good. In a move that’s got fans and ex-contestants alike clutching their metaphorical pearls, ABC announced on September 10 that Taylor Frankie Paul, the viral star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, is officially the next Bachelorette — and, mate, Bachelor Nation is spiralling.
If you’re wondering why this choice broke reality TV convention, here’s the tea. Taylor isn’t even part of the franchise’s usual alumni club. Historically, ABC picks a runner-up or a fan-fave from the previous season to front The Bachelorette, but this year, execs burst out of their comfort zone and plucked Taylor — a Mormon single mum of three with messy exes, a swinging scandal and a trip to jail under her belt. There is no denying this is going to up ratings significantly and consider me sat!
Speaking of exes, according to Taylor’s official announcement on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, Taylor did not tell her baby daddy Dakota Mortensen about the news. In Taylor’s words: “I have not confirmed it with him. So I don’t know if he knows or if he knew I had the opportunity. So he’ll know Wednesday.”
In terms of what she thinks will be Dakota’s reaction, she’s thinking “sad”.
“If anything he says is real, I would say sad,” Taylor added.
“He does know that I was dating and, you know, meeting people, so that we’ve already had that first hurt, I guess. I think that’s the hardest part is when you see their first dating or hookup or whatever it is. That’s gonna always take a toll no matter what.”
Alex also pressed Taylor on when the last time she slept with Dakota was, to which Taylor responded that it happened at Stagecoach this year and once after that, to which Dakota commented on the clip, “One or two times….Got it lol.” Guess that group chat is about to go off!
Lexi Young, who was a contestant on Joey Graziadei’s season of The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise, didn’t mince words on TikTok about her feelings. Instead of airing out Taylor’s headline-grabbing moments, Lexi took a swing at the franchise itself: “I truly believe the reason it’s such a special show is because they take regular people and then they give them a platform that’s completely uninterrupted to find love.” Translation: Lexi is not into the fanfare of this year’s pick.
However, she gets why ABC picked Taylor “from a business perspective” aka she’s got 1.7M Instagram and 5.7M TikTok followers. What’s not to get?
Rachael Kirkconnell who was rumoured to be snagging the gig wished the Mormon wife luck with the new season. “I’m very excited for her. I think that it’s fun for a little refresh, someone not from the show already. I’m wishing her well, wishing her the best, and I think she’s going to rock it. It’s going to be fun,” she told E! News.
What is Taylor Frankie Paul looking for in a man on The Bachelorette?
Taylor laid out her checklist for future suitors on Call Her Daddy: blokes need to be 27–43 years old, open to moving to Utah, “hardworking and motivated,” and, please, not another influencer unless he’s keen to join her family vlogs. Also, she’s done with the whole “soft swinging scandal”: “It was a very short-lived learning lesson…” and not a chapter she plans on re-reading.
She’s also open about being Mormon but doesn’t care if her future man is — she’d even prefer he’s not, just to spice things up.
Taylor’s casting is the franchise’s answer to slumping ratings — think of it as a Hail Mary pass. Will viewers tune in? Who’s to say, but I certainly will be!
If you can’t wait for Taylor to return to our screens, relive her OG reality TV drama by watching all two seasons of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Disney+.
The post Mormon Wives’ Taylor Frankie Paul Is The Next US Bachelorette & People Have Thoughts appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
