‘Bachelorette’s Criminal Record Forces Big Change On Season 22
The next season of The Bachelorette will look a lot different for longtime fans. ABC brought in a new face for Season 22. Taylor Frankie Paul made a name for herself on TikTok and Hulu’s Secret Lives of Mormon Wives series. The divorced mom of three was chosen to be the next Bachelorette. The show also made another huge change just for her. Keep reading to find out what it is.
Fans Divided Over Season 22 Lead
The Bachelorette premiered in 2005 as a spinoff of the popular Bachelor show. Trista Sutter was a contestant on the first season of The Bachelor before becoming the first Bachelorette lead.
Since then, the lead has always almost been a former contestant from a Bachelor season. But amid cancellation rumors, ABC went in a new direction for the upcoming 22nd season. They picked Taylor Frankie Paul as the next Bachelorette.
She’s most familiar to viewers of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives show. Taylor Frankie Paul went viral in 2022 after she came out as a soft swinger with her ex-husband and others in their friend group.
After divorcing Tate Paul, she dated Dakota Mortensen until earlier this year. Now she’s ready to find love again on reality TV.
Bachelorette Makes Huge Change For Taylor Frankie Paul
Taylor Frankie Paul has three children. Two with her ex-husband and one with her ex-boyfriend, Dakota. She’s not the first single mom to be The Bachelorette. Emily Maynard was in Season 8 back in 2012.
Her season was filmed in Charlotte, North Carolina, instead of at the Bachelor mansion in California. ABC is doing something similar for Taylor Frankie Paul. The season is expected to start filming soon in Utah where she lives.
She said on the Call Her Daddy podcast that she expects the man she chooses to move to Utah. Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos made a similar demand, refusing to move away from her Maryland home.
No More Overseas Locations?
One reason Bachelor Nation fans don’t agree with casting Taylor Frankie Paul is her criminal history. She was arrested on domestic violence charges in 2023.
Blogger Reality Steve reported that since she has a felony record, Taylor Frankie Paul can’t leave the country to film at exotic locations like the show usually does.
He guessed that filming would stay in Utah, Los Angeles, and other cities in the United States.
Fans took to social media to react to the change in format.
One fan wrote, “Could have been a bachelorette without a felony.”
A second added, “She can’t leave the country, because of her FELONY. They should just film it at a fancy resort in LA.”
A third Bachelorette fan chimed in, “Sentences I never thought I’d read about the bachelorette. They can’t leave the country because she has a felony on her record.”
Taylor Frankie Paul is supposed to start filming the show this fall.
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