"Something so new for me" - Taylor Frankie Paul on being announced the next Bachelorette

The Bachelorette season 22 has officially found its new leading lady in Taylor Frankie Paul, star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and well-known MomTok influencer, as announced by the ABC Network.

It was first revealed by Taylor herself on September 10, 2025, during her appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast hosted by Alex Cooper.

It’s the first time Paul is taking on something like this, as she told host Alex Cooper,

"This is something so new for me because obviously I got married young, divorced, and then the first guy I met was the next relationship. So I have not done the whole meeting new people out, like dating at the same time … I’ve never done that, so that will be new to me."

Why The Bachelorette is a whole new experience for Taylor Frankie Paul

Taylor Frankie Paul, 31, is breaking the pattern for the franchise as she is the first The Bachelorette lead who has never appeared or competed in any Bachelor Nation show.

Typically, the leads have been selected from the former contestants of The Bachelor or Bachelor in Paradise. Therefore, her casting signifies a major shift in the pattern of the show.

When asked about her reaction to being cast in The Bachelorette:

"It feels surreal. I can’t quite grasp it at this moment. I’m just contemplating it, and it feels unreal. It won’t sink in until I see the limo arrive, you know? Meeting everyone makes me nervous," she said.

She further expressed:

"I learned there were some discussions, and then we had a meeting. Still, I couldn’t accept it until I received the invitation asking, ‘Will you be our Bachelorette?’ I was overwhelmed, shaking, and pacing. I thought, ‘This can’t be real. No way".

Taylor Frankie Paul confesses that this experience of stepping into The Bachelorette will be a major adjustment, as she is not a reality TV girl.

While she has watched the series in the past and picked up on some of its franchise lore, she admits to entering this journey without a playbook.

"Yeah. Like I don't have like I don't have notes of like how this works or what cuz my friends have seen it."

Though she and her friends have jokingly role-played scenarios to prepare for situations she might encounter on the show, Paul admitted,

"Oh my gosh, I’m going to ruin it."

Despite her doubts, Cooper reassured her, "You’re not going to ruin it. You’re going to make it your own."

Taylor opens up on motherhood, parenting, and more

Taylor Frankien Paul is a mother of three, out of which two - Indy and Ocean - are from her first marriage to Tate Paul, and a son, Ever True, with her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.

Her relationships had been widely publicized, including the divorce from Tate Paul, a soft-swinging controversy within her Mormon community in Utah, and more recently, her public breakup with ex-boyfriend Mortensen. 

Paul made clear when she accepted the offer that,

"I can’t even envision it happening for me. I question people’s motives, whether they are genuinely interested in me or just want to appear on the show. It’s tough to discern intentions."

Taylor Frankie Paul opened up about the challenges she has to face as a single mother stepping into The Bachelorette.

Co-parenting with two fathers, mothering three young children, and managing a home, Paul admitted she initially questioned if it was realistic to leave for the show, expressing,

"Okay, how do I make this work? I’m a co-parent. I have two baby daddies, not one. So I’m dealing with two different people, right? My children, my home base is here. Uh, can I travel that long? Can I be gone that long?"

However, she decided to embrace the opportunity with the support of her family and an assistant. 

"I can. If I want to, I can. You can do anything you want if you want. And that’s it, it comes down to that.’ So I was just like, ‘I will make it work."

With this mindset, Taylor Frankie Paul is stepping into this new journey of The Bachelorette to find love and showcase her authenticity to the viewers, embracing her strengths and vulnerabilities.

The Bachelorette season 22 is set to premiere in 2026.

Stay tuned for more updates.