REALITY TV NEWSTaylor Frankie Paul Promotes Petition to Have Her 'Bachelorette' Season Released by ABC Despite Complicated Custody Battle
Taylor Frankie Paul pushed for ABC to release her unaired ‘Bachelorette’ season amid an ongoing custody battle.
Aug. 20 2026, Published 10:32 a.m. ET
Taylor Frankie Paul wants viewers to see the Bachelorette season ABC decided not to air.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star amplified a Change.org petition on her Instagram Story on August 13 and said she signed it herself. The petition, started in March by Brooklyn resident Breanna Negron, has now drawn more than 25,000 signatures, with nearly 10,000 coming after Paul shared it.
She supported a petition that gathered more than 25,000 signatures calling for the season to air.
The Season ABC Shelved
ABC shelved Taylor Frankie Paul’s season after video of a 2023 domestic altercation resurfaced.
ABC pulled Paul’s Bachelorette season three days before it was scheduled to premiere after video surfaced of a 2023 domestic altercation. Paul had already faced criminal charges tied to the incident and had discussed it publicly on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, but the video brought renewed scrutiny.
Last week, Paul’s probation related to the 2023 incident ended, and the felony charge she originally faced was reduced to a misdemeanor.
Paul is also involved in an ongoing legal dispute with her ex-partner Dakota Mortensen over parent time for their shared child.
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Reality TV as Evidence
A family law attorney warned that footage from the show could receive scrutiny in Taylor Frankie Paul’s custody case.
“The airing itself doesn’t necessarily change her custody case. What it changes is access and public perception,” said family law and divorce attorney Hannah Hembree Bell.
“Once millions of people can watch the footage, [Mortensen’s] attorneys can watch it too,” she explained.
“Mothers are allowed to date. Mothers are allowed to have fun,” Hembree Bell noted. “But if the show captures behavior that her ex believes reflects on her judgment, substance use, relationships, stability, or anything that could arguably affect the children, you better believe his attorneys are going to take a hard look at it. If there’s a particularly messy moment, he may have just been handed Exhibit A.”
The Public Watches Too
A familiar double standard emerged as mothers faced greater scrutiny for dating after a breakup than fathers.
“The bigger impact of the season airing may be outside the courtroom,” Hembree Bell said.
“Now you have millions of strangers watching her date and forming opinions about who she is as a woman and a mother,” she explained. “That kind of attention can make an already difficult family situation even harder—and the court may ultimately have to consider how that level of exposure affects the children.”
That scrutiny, she added, reflects a familiar double standard.
“A dad can date after a breakup and people often see a single guy moving on. Put a mother on national television dating multiple men, and suddenly people want to have a conversation about her parenting,” she lamented.
She added that even non-celebrity moms should be aware of that reality before putting “anything on camera.”
“Your Instagram is your reality show. Your TikTok is your reality show. Your text messages are your reality show,” she said. “If you’re fighting over custody, assume anything you put into the world could eventually be looked at by the other side.”
