“Taylor Frankie Paul Never Saw This Coming — Inside the Shocking Journey From Secret Lives of Mormon Wives to The Bachelorette Lead”
Taylor Frankie Paul is about to trade Hulu drama for rose ceremonies — and she admits she never saw it coming.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star has officially been named the lead for Season 22 of The Bachelorette, a casting decision that shocked longtime fans of the ABC dating franchise. But according to Paul, no one was more surprised than her.
“I honestly thought it was a prank,” Paul confessed during an interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast. “Producers reached out, and I laughed it off at first. Then I realized they were serious — and suddenly my entire life looked completely different.”
Paul’s selection is historic. For the first time in franchise history, the Bachelorette has been chosen from outside the Bachelor Nation pool, breaking the tradition of recycling contestants from The Bachelor or Bachelor in Paradise.
At 31, Paul is a single mom of three, a TikTok personality with millions of views, and a polarizing figure thanks to her candid revelations about her personal life. She rose to prominence as part of the viral MomTok community before becoming a central figure on Hulu’s reality hit The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Along the way, she’s endured controversy, a public divorce, and constant online scrutiny.
ABC executives say that resilience is exactly why they picked her. “Taylor represents authenticity, vulnerability, and a real-world story of second chances,” one insider shared.
For Paul, the decision to say yes wasn’t easy. “I’ve been judged, dragged, and misunderstood — but I’ve also grown,” she said. “This time, I’m opening my heart to something new. And I’m just as curious as everyone else to see where it leads.”
Fans won’t have to wait long. The Bachelorette begins filming in early 2026 and premieres that summer. In the meantime, Paul is keeping busy with Season 3 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which returns to Hulu in November 2025 — meaning viewers will see her juggling both her old world and her new one.
Whether audiences embrace her or not, one thing is certain: Taylor Frankie Paul’s journey from viral scandal to rose ceremonies is one of the most unexpected turns in Bachelor Nation history.
