The Bachelorette (American TV series) season 22

The Bachelorette
Season 22
StarringTaylor Frankie Paul
Presented byJesse Palmer
No. of contestants22
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseMarch 22, 2026 (2026-03-22) (unaired)
Additional information
Filming datesOctober 26 (2025-10-26) –
December 19, 2025 (2025-12-19)
Season chronology

The twenty-second season of The Bachelorette was planned to premiere on March 22, 2026.[1] The season was to feature 31-year-old Taylor Frankie Paul, a reality TV star, influencer, and single mom from Herriman, Utah.[2] Paul, who is one of the stars of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, would have been the first ever Bachelorette to have not appeared on a previous season of The Bachelor.[3] On March 19, three days before the season premiere, TMZ published a video from a 2023 domestic violence case of Paul assaulting her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. The case was publicly known before Paul's season was announced, but the release of the video led ABC to pull the season.[4]

Production

Paul was announced as the next Bachelorette on September 10, 2025, on Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast.[5] Among the contestants cast were Lana Del Rey's ex-fiancé Clayton Johnson, and Paralympian Trenten Merrill.[6][7] Filming began on October 26, 2025, in Agoura Hills, California,[8] and concluded on December 19 in Saint Lucia.[9] The season included visits to Steamboat Springs, Colorado; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Miami, Florida.[10][11]

A special half-hour preview episode, "Before the First Rose", aired following ABC's telecast of the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026.[12] The special featured Paul meeting an ensemble of 18 Bachelorettes from past seasons to share their advice, accompanied by retrospectives of notable moments from their respective seasons.[13]

Domestic violence dispute and cancellation

Before she was announced as the Bachelorette and before filming began, a 2023 domestic violence case involving Paul was publicly known.[5][14] Paul was arrested on February 17, 2023, after her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, called police to report she was assaulting him.[14] She was charged with assault, criminal mischief, and domestic violence in the presence of a child.[15] The Salt Lake Tribune reported that police had viewed a video of the altercation, which showed Paul throwing heavy metal chairs towards Mortensen, one of which hit her five-year-old daughter.[16] Court documents show that she admitted to throwing the chairs. She entered a plea in abeyance in August 2023 to a third-degree felony count of aggravated assault. Four other charges were dismissed without prejudice.[14]

In March 2026, a spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department confirmed reports of an "open domestic assault investigation" concerning Paul and Mortensen.[17] Allegations of domestic violence were "made in both directions" and "contact was made with involved parties" in late February.[17] The investigation prompted The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives to halt production for their fifth season.[18] Cinnabon, a baked goods store chain, ended their partnership with both The Bachelorette and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives in the wake of the allegations.[19] Spokespeople for ABC initially said that The Bachelorette would air as planned.[20] Paul claimed that she would address the investigation "when the time is right" during an appearance on Good Morning America.[20] She was scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon afterwards, but her appearance was canceled by the talk show due to the investigation.[21]

On March 19, three days before the season premiere, TMZ published a video of the 2023 assault case.[15] That same day, Disney Entertainment Television announced that "in light of the newly released video," they would not broadcast Paul's season of The Bachelorette and wished to focus on "supporting the family."[22]

Contestants

26 potential contestants were revealed on October 23, 2025.[23] The final cast of 22 men was announced on February 23, 2026.[24]

Name Age Hometown Occupation Ref
Aaron Kahng 32 Bellevue, Washington Product Manager [25]
Brad Ledford 29 Asheville, North Carolina Cowboy [26]
Brandon Perce 28 West Allis, Wisconsin Loan Officer [27][28]
Casey Hux 30 Midlothian, Virginia Mechanical Engineer [29]
Christopher Wood 35 Rowlett, Texas Business Owner [29]
Clayton Johnson 36 Nashville, Tennessee Singer/Songwriter [6]
Conrad Ukropina 32 Pasadena, California Startup Founder [29]
Doug Mason 28 Hailey, Idaho Ocean Lifeguard [30]
Johnnie LaRossa 30 Massapequa, New York Former Professional Baseball Player [31]
Josh Harward 28 Provo, Utah Sales Manager [25]
Kevin Montero 32 Miami, Florida Physical Therapist [32]
Lew Evans 32 Salt Lake City, Utah Insurance Tech Founder [25][33]
Malik Evans 30 Brooklyn, New York Tech Executive [29]
Marcus Richardson 28 Elmont, New York Creative Director [31]
Matt Carroll 43 Carmel, Indiana Real Estate Broker [29]
Michael Baba 37 Lake Forest, California Chiropractic Healer [29]
Mike Turitto 36 Lavallette, New Jersey Brand Protection Manager [34]
Richard Van De Water 35 Charleston, South Carolina Photographer [35]
Rod Strozier 35 Apple Valley, Minnesota Entrepreneur [36]
Ronn Perez 28 San Francisco, California Account Executive [29]
Shane Parton 28 Roswell, Georgia Private Wealth Planner [37]
Trenten Merrill 35 Laguna Niguel, California Pro Athlete [7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Porter, Rick (October 28, 2025). "Scrubs Reboot, Bachelorette (But Not The Bachelor) Get Midseason Dates at ABC". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  2. ^ Colburn, Randall (September 10, 2025). "Who is Taylor Frankie Paul? All about her journey from #MomTok and Mormon Wives to The Bachelorette". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  3. ^ Walsh, Savannah (September 10, 2025). "Why Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Star Taylor Frankie Paul as Bachelorette Is a Franchise-Saving Move". Vanity Fair. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  4. ^ Moore, Julia; Esquibas, Liza (March 19, 2026). "ABC Cancels The Bachelorette 3 Days Before Premiere After Taylor Frankie Paul 2023 Attack Video Leaks". People. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  5. ^ a b Reinstein, Julia (September 10, 2025). "Taylor Frankie Paul Is the Next Bachelorette". The Cut. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Bonner, Mehera (October 23, 2025). "Lana Del Rey's Ex-Fiancé Clayton Johnson Has Been Cast on The Bachelorette". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Ormond, Cameron (February 25, 2026). "Paralympic sprinter cast in upcoming season of The Bachelorette". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
  8. ^ Behar, Deidre (October 27, 2025). "Taylor Frankie Paul Reacts to MomTok's Support as She Starts The Bachelorette Journey (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  9. ^ Harp, Justin (December 20, 2025). "Taylor Frankie Paul Promises Her Bachelorette Season Will Be 'Worth the Wait' as She Wraps Filming". Us Weekly. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  10. ^ Ricciardi, Tiney (November 4, 2025). "The Bachelorette is filming in Colorado and wants locals to join the drama". The Denver Post. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  11. ^ "Join us for a group date on Taylor's Season!". Bachelor Nation. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  12. ^ Longeretta, Emily (February 4, 2026). "Bachelorette Special With 18 Former Leads and Taylor Frankie Paul to Air After Oscars on ABC (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  13. ^ Carson, Lexi (March 16, 2026). "The Bachelorette Post-Oscars Special Showed How Taylor Frankie Paul Plans to Run Her Dramatic Season". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  14. ^ a b c Blackwood, Emily (March 19, 2026). "A History of Taylor Frankie Paul's Legal Trouble with Ex Dakota Mortensen". People. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  15. ^ a b Cohen, Rebecca; Melendez, Pilar (March 19, 2026). "Taylor Frankie Paul seen attacking ex boyfriend with chair in newly released video". NBC News. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  16. ^ Miller, Jordan (February 28, 2023). "'Mormon mom TikTok' star Taylor Frankie Paul charged with domestic violence, child abuse". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  17. ^ a b Chinman, Luke; Lyttle, Zoey (March 16, 2026). "Mormon Wives Halts Filming After Taylor Frankie Paul Involved in Recent Alleged Domestic Violence Incident (Exclusive Sources)". People. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  18. ^ Bonner, Mehera (March 16, 2026). "Production on Mormon Wives Season 5 Suddenly Paused Over Major Taylor and Dakota Drama". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  19. ^ Dunn, Jack (March 17, 2026). "Cinnabon Cuts Ties With The Bachelorette and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Amid Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen Domestic Violence Investigation". Variety. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  20. ^ a b Gonzalez, Shivani (March 18, 2026). "Taylor Frankie Paul's Bachelorette Controversy, Explained". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 19, 2026. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  21. ^ Carson, Lexi (March 19, 2026). "Bachelorette Star Taylor Frankie Paul Responds to Leaked Video of Domestic Incident as Tonight Show Cancels Her Appearance". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  22. ^ White, Peter (March 19, 2026). "ABC Pulls The Bachelorette After Taylor Frankie Paul Drama". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  23. ^ Hudgins, Ryan (October 23, 2025). "The Bachelorette Season 22 Cast: Meet Taylor Frankie Paul's Potential Contestants". Us Weekly. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  24. ^ Travis, Emlyn (February 23, 2026). "The Bachelorette: Meet the 22 contestants vying for Taylor Frankie Paul's heart". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  25. ^ a b c Jones, Abigail (October 23, 2025). "Sneak peek at Taylor Frankie Paul's season of The Bachelorette with four men from Utah". KTVX. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  26. ^ Jasper, Simone (February 27, 2026). "Bachelorette contestant tied to former US Rep. Madison Cawthorn of NC: Report". The News & Observer. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  27. ^ Kirby, Hannah (February 23, 2026). "This Bachelorette contestant is from the Milwaukee area". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  28. ^ Manika, Christine (February 24, 2025). "Meet The South Dakota Dad & 'Mama's Boy' On The Bachelorette". KKRC-FM. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g Bonner, Mehera (October 23, 2025). "Meet the Men Competing on Taylor Frankie Paul's Season of The Bachelorette". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  30. ^ Heart, Michelle (November 19, 2025). "This Hunky Idaho Native is Competing for Taylor Frankie Paul's Final Rose". KXLT-FM. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  31. ^ a b "New Bachelorette hopefuls include two Long Islanders". Newsday. February 23, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  32. ^ Feinstein, Naomi (February 24, 2025). "What We Know About the Miami Contestant on This Season of The Bachelorette". Miami New Times. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  33. ^ "Former Tennessee basketball player to appear on upcoming season of The Bachelorette". WBIR-TV. February 23, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  34. ^ Hunt, Kristin (February 23, 2026). "Jersey Shore man will compete on next season of The Bachelorette". PhillyVoice. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  35. ^ Errico Griffis, Teri (February 23, 2026). "Charleston photographer competes for Mormon Wives star on new Bachelorette season". The Post and Courier. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  36. ^ "Austin man to be featured on new season of The Bachelorette". KVUE. February 25, 2026. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
  37. ^ "An Atlanta man is heading to The Bachelorette on Channel 2 to find love". WSB-TV. February 23, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
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