ABC's midseason schedule will now have a large vacancy on it. Longtime staple The Bachelorette, which was set to premiere this Sunday, has now been pulled from the air. The decision comes amid reports that The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives paused production due to to a domestic abuse investigation tied to Taylor Frankie Paul, who stars on Mormon Wives and was set to be the lead on this season of The Bachelorette. ABC had proceeded with promotions for the new Bachelorette season, which included Paul appearing on talk shows and TV ads for the season, after the investigation was announced. However, advertisers began to back away, with Cinnabon dropping their planned ad partnership with the Bachelorette over the allegations. A video of an incident from 2023 that included Paul throwing a chair at her ex and seemingly hitting her child as well was released today. That dispute had been public knowledge since The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premiered, and it caused pushback against the Bachelorette producers when she was announced as the lead. However, the release of the video caused widespread outrage that has now led to the season being scrapped entirely. This decision means that the half-hour post-Oscars Bachelorette reunion special that aired last Sunday will be Paul's only appearance as a part of the Bachelor franchise to be aired on television. While the Bachelor franchise isn't any stranger to controversy, this is the first time an entire season of one of the franchise's series has been completely shelved. ABC has yet to announce what will air in The Bachelorette's place on Sundays this spring.
What do you think of this news? Did ABC make the right decision pulling this season of The Bachelorette? Let us know in the comments!
