Inside Disney's $70-million gamble on 'The Bachelorette' star Taylor Frankie Paul
In the summer of 2025, Walt Disney Co. executives placed a big bet on a reality TV star prone to high drama: messy personal relationships and allegations of domestic violence. Now, Disney’s ABC network could lose at least $70 million with a nearly finished season of “The Bachelorette” sitting on the shelf. Last week, ABC yanked this season of “The Bachelorette,” which features 31-year-old Taylor Frankie Paul, just three days before the premiere episode was set to air Sunday night. Disney pulled the plug after the emergence of a three-year-old video that showed Paul — the protagonist of Hulu’s massive hit series, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” — physically attacking her ex-partner.Paul can be seen screaming and throwing metal chairs, one of which apparently struck one of her children who witnessed the altercation. Her onetime partner, Dakota Mortensen, recorded the video of the attack on his cellphone. Trouble has been brewing around “The Bachelorette” for weeks as Paul was doing publicity for the show.Draper City, Utah, police have separately confirmed an investigation into a subsequent domestic violence incident in February between Mortensen and Paul. As part of that inquiry, Paul, 31, has temporarily lost custody of the couple’s son, Ever, who turned 2 last week — the day the troubling video came out. “Taylor is very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security. After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm,” said a spokesperson. Representatives of Mortensen could not immediately be reached for comment. In a statement to People magazine, a representative for Mortensen said that “his number one priority here is protecting” his son, Ever.Last month, Disney requested an investigation to sort out Paul’s and Mortensen’s differing accounts of the February incident, according to people close to the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive situation. The scandal has become the first big test for Dana Walden, who last week was installed as Disney’s president and chief creative officer — the day before the video showing a violent Paul was leaked to TMZ. The episode has raised uncomfortable questions about why Disney made Paul the face of one of ABC’s marquee franchises.It also has shined a light on the decision-making of Walden’s newly anointed ABC team: Debra OConnell, the chair of Disney Entertainment Television; Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich; and Rob Mills, Disney TV’s executive vice president of unscripted and alternative entertainment.Disney declined to comment. The network has not said whether it plans to eventually air Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette.”But the network made a huge investment, paying a license fee of about $5 million an episode for the season to Warner Bros., said sources familiar with the matter. The season includes nine episodes and other programming elements, including a special that ran immediately after ABC’s Oscar telecast this month that, according to Nielsen, attracted 5.5 million viewers. Dakota Mortensen, left, and Taylor Frankie Paul are stars of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” (Fred Hayes / Disney) ABC also orchestrated a huge marketing blitz — billboards for the show had sprouted around the country, social media channels were crackling and Paul appeared on ABC’s stalwart “Good Morning America,” where she discussed dating nearly two dozen men in search of her soulmate on “The Bachelorette.” She also acknowledged simultaneously facing domestic abuse allegations, calling it a “heavy time.”“For me, dating as a mom of three is extremely difficult,” Paul told ABC anchor Lara Spencer. “I was like, I get to go out, get away from my toxic cycle here in Utah, go date and also have my kids come out and visit me. That to me seemed like, why not?” Advertisers, including Cinnabon, have also pulled back in light of the controversy.Viewers have long been fascinated by Paul, who earned notoriety on TikTok and formed a community there called MomTok. Her combative relationships added to the intrigue. Hulu’s “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” has been a massive hit, developing a loyal following and offering an alternative to the “Real Housewives” franchise on the rival network, Bravo. A clip from the show was included in a Disney video montage of movies, TV shows and other headlining attractions shown to investors last week. Mills and other Disney executives who oversee ABC and Hulu programming had been looking for ways to reinvigorate “The Bachelor” franchise, and they had taken notice after fans latched on to a playful video that Paul had posted on TikTok, expressing her desire to join the long-running ABC show, which is produced by Warner Horizon. Comments posted about Paul’s video were intriguing, particularly for viewers who said that they would return to watch “The Bachelorette,” if it featured her.“I flew out to Utah and met with her and she was serious [about joining],” Mills told The Times two weeks before the controversy. “Then I sent her roses the next day and said, ‘Would you be “The Bachelorette”?’ and the rest is history.”Disney recognized that Paul’s relationship with Mortensen was messy. Disney executives were aware of the altercation in 2023 and briefly debated internally whether to move forward with Paul in a prominent role in “Mormon Wives,” according to a source close to the situation but not authorized to comment. Paul is an executive producer on that show.The first episode of the first season of “Mormon Wives,” which debuted in September 2024, featured Utah police bodycam footage from the February 2023 fight that was the subject of the just-released video. The final moments of the most recent season ended with Paul and Mortensen sleeping together again, the night before she was scheduled to fly to L.A. to begin filming “The Bachelorette.” She missed her initial flight, but took a later flight.Disney also has paused filming on “Mormon Wives” during production of its fifth season.Over the show’s four-season run, there have been tensions among the castmates, which accelerated as Paul and the other wives pursued fame in other venues, including on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” When the recent allegations of domestic violence surfaced, castmates expressed concerns about working with her, which contributed to the decision to hire an outside law firm to investigate.The firm was hired, at Disney’s request, by the show’s production firm, Jeff Jenkins Productions, based in Sherman Oaks. Times Staff Writer Yvonne Villarreal contributed to this report.
