If you were waiting to enjoy this latest season of ABC’s “The Bachelorette” this spring, then you’ll be sad to know that it won’t be airing after all, thanks to a shocking scandal with the current pick, Taylor Frankie Paul. And now, former star Rachel Lindsay is weighing in on the controversy.
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If you haven’t been keeping up, allow us to bring you up to speed. Paul, who many came to know as a star on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” was selected as the bachelorette for the upcoming 22nd season of the show in September 2025. Months went by, and the show was filmed and ready to air in late March.
However, days before the season’s premiere, reports came out that she and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, had prior domestic disputes. Things were further exacerbated when footage of an incident from 2023 was leaked online, showing Paul acting belligerently and seemingly throwing a metal chair at Mortensen. As if that wasn’t bad enough, a later leaked video hit the internet that showed an alleged intoxicated Paul speaking with local authorities before eventually getting arrested and pleading guilty to an aggravated assault charge, per Entertainment Weekly.
As a result, ABC made an executive decision to pull the season, which has no doubt angered some diehard fans but also made for serious questioning as to the vetting process behind it all.
Now, Lindsay has decided to share her thoughts on the matter, and let’s just say: she’s not holding back. Speaking in the latest episode of “E!’s Hot Goss,” she explained that while she’s sure the franchise will eventually find a way forward, the show is now “tainted.”
“I’m very logical, and I keep trying to figure out, ‘How can you move around this?’ And I’m sure they’ll find a way, they are a business,” Lindsay said. “[But] I cannot see a road forward with the franchise.”
Lindsay later added, “Maybe some people didn’t know the history [between Paul and Mortensen]. So, I think that there are some people who are disturbed by it. When you think of the name now, you’re going to think of this.”
She went on to say that the season’s outcome was unfair to some of the male contestants who put their lives on pause and were banking on a positive shift in their livelihoods by appearing on the show.
“It’s unfair. There were fathers on this cast that left their families. Some people quit their jobs, some people took a pay cut. So, I understand the sentiment of, ‘What do we do now?’” Lindsay questioned.
The former bachelorette said she felt as if the network left things somewhat open-ended, but she didn’t rule out the possibility of them just choosing another bachelorette altogether.
“I don’t know who would want to step in after this. Maybe with time, sure. Will I watch? No. But it could be another ‘Mormon Wife.’ Why not a Housewife? I love my Bravo world,” she said.
Perhaps, ABC should look towards the former girlfriend of NFL star Travis Kelce, a.k.a. Kayla Nicole, as an option. After all, she just jokingly (or maybe not) threw her hat in the ring as a potential replacement, as noted by a recent TikTok video. In it, she pretended she was submitting a fake audition tape for the show.
But while she may have been keeping things lighthearted, her followers were actually here for that option.
“This is exactly what the people want,” wrote one user on X/Twitter.
“@abc How do we make this happen!? QUICKLY!” said another.
One other user wrote, “Omg do it!!! I would be TUNED in.”
Added another: “I would pay good money to see this.”
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