ABC canceled “The Bachelorette” after Taylor Frankie Paul was caught on video beating her then-boyfriend with a metal chair.
The 2023 video footage shows Taylor punching, kicking and throwing a metal chair at then-boyfriend Dakota Mortenson.
? EXCLUSIVE: Taylor Frankie Paul repeatedly attacked Dakota Mortensen during the 2023 incident in which she pled guilty to aggravated assault; video shows that one of her children was struck during the fight.
Trigger Warning. https://t.co/77CKYpLxvn pic.twitter.com/avr49EacY3
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 19, 2026
Throughout the video, Dakota begs her to stop abusing him in front of her then-toddler daughter.
In February 2023, she was arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
Taylor, 31, pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault in August 2023, while the other charges were dismissed.
Taylor and Dakota broke up in 2024, a few months after they welcomed their son named Ever True.
TMZ published the shocking video from the 2023 domestic violence incident on Thursday, March 19. The video went viral and execs at Disney and ABC saw it for the first time.
A source connected to “The Bachelorette” tells TMZ that no one at ABC had seen the video before TMZ posted it Thursday morning.
A Disney Entertainment spokesperson tells TMZ, “In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of ‘The Bachelorette’ at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.”
Taylor (3rd from right) is best known as a cast member on the reality TV series “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
She was previously married to Tate Paul. They welcomed two children, a son and a daughter, before they divorced in 2022.
“Mormon Wives” has also paused production in light of the scandal.
Taylor was picked to be The Bachelorette after breaking up with Dakota. She was the first Bachelorette who did not previously appear on “The Bachelor.”
Her season of “The Bachelorette” was set to premiere on Sunday, March 22, on ABC, but it is now cancelled.
Taylor has over 6 million followers on her #MomTok page on TikTok, where she posts original content of her Mormon swinger friends in Utah.
During a September 2024 appearance on Nick Viall’s podcast, Taylor cleared up rumors that she cheated on then-husband Tate Paul with her best friend’s husband.
The single mom described her “soft-swinging” sessions with married Mormon friends.
“We do this for a while with this couple, cabin parties, making out in the same bed, intercourse in the same bed next to each other, the girls kissing and the husbands touching the other’s wife,” Taylor said. She added that as things progressed, “you could kind of see people are creating feelings at this point. People are getting jealous and weird.”
During her appearance on Nick’s podcast, Taylor said her three children are her “top priority”. “All I want is them to be happy.”
