ABC names 'Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' star, Taylor Frankie Paul as the next bachelorette

Taylor Frankie Paul, will lead The Bachelorette, breaking franchise casting traditions.

ABC has announced that Taylor Frankie Paul, star of the Hulu reality series Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, will be the next lead on The Bachelorette. Paul shared the news during an appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, saying the announcement “has not hit me” and describing the upcoming experience as surreal. “It’s not going to be until I have the limos [full of suitors] pulling up,” she added (Cooper podcast).

At 31, Paul breaks a long-standing tradition of the franchise, which typically selects leads from past seasons of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. While she is new to the franchise, Paul is no stranger to reality television. She rose to prominence on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, a Hulu series that follows Utah-based TikTok influencers navigating the conservative culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The show drew attention after Paul publicly discussed her separation from her then-husband and their participation in “soft swinging,” making her a notable figure on social media (Hulu series).

 

 

 

 

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Paul told Cooper that she initially viewed the Bachelorette opportunity as “unattainable” but credited her social media presence and fan support for the invitation. She noted that co-parenting responsibilities factored into her decision to accept the role. Paul shares a daughter and son with her ex-husband and another son with a former boyfriend, and she said she arranged for her support network to help care for her children while filming. “I want to make it work,” she added (Cooper podcast).

Paul is the latest Mormon Wives cast member to appear on ABC programming. Earlier this year, fellow #MomTok stars Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt joined Dancing With the Stars for Season 34. Both Hulu and ABC are owned by Disney, facilitating the crossover between platforms.

The Bachelorette is not scheduled to return until 2026, but fans can see Paul in Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 3, which premieres on Hulu on November 13 (Hulu).

This selection continues ABC’s trend of integrating reality TV personalities from other Disney-owned platforms, highlighting the network’s interest in leveraging social media-driven stars for high-profile programming.