If you have been avoiding reality TV Twitter this week, you probably missed the absolute meltdown happening over at ABC.
To answer your question directly: Yes. It is entirely, unprecedentedly canceled. Season 22 of The Bachelorette was supposed to premiere tonight (March 22, 2026). They already filmed the entire thing. The guys were cast, the roses were handed out, and the finale was shot in St. Lucia. But just three days before episode one was supposed to air, Disney officially pulled the plug and scrapped the entire season.
Here is the brutal breakdown of exactly what happened and why this footage is probably never seeing the light of day.
The Casting Mistake from Day One
ABC decided to cast Taylor Frankie Paul as the lead. If you don’t know who she is, she is the influencer who blew up “MomTok” by exposing Utah’s soft-swinging scene and currently stars in Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
The network clearly cast her to chase a viral ratings bump. But there was a massive red flag they just casually ignored: she was arrested in 2023 for domestic violence against her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, and eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated assault.
The TMZ Video Leak
ABC executives knew about her legal history but filmed the season anyway. But on Thursday, TMZ leaked the actual video footage of the 2023 incident.
It was bad. The video showed Taylor punching, kicking, and hurling heavy metal barstools at Mortensen while her young daughter was crying in the room. On top of the leaked footage, news broke that there is actually another active domestic assault investigation involving the two of them from a completely separate incident in February 2026.
Once the video hit the internet, the PR optics became instantly radioactive. Disney panicked, dropped a brief statement about “supporting the family,” and permanently shelved the season.
The $50 Million Fallout
The financial damage here is insane. Industry insiders are estimating ABC is going to eat a $40 to $50 million loss between sunk production costs and lost advertising revenue.
And then there are the 22 bachelors who competed (which randomly included Lana Del Rey’s ex-fiancé). They all quit their jobs, bought expensive new wardrobes, and filmed for weeks, only to find out they aren’t even getting their 15 minutes of fame. A few of the guys have already started posting on social media about how entirely wasted their time was.
What is Taylor saying?
Her reps put out a statement claiming she has suffered years of mental and physical abuse from her ex, and that the leaked video is a desperate attempt to distract from his own behavior. Meanwhile, Hulu has officially paused production on the next season of Mormon Wives.
ABC got exactly what they asked for. You can’t cast a highly controversial influencer with a known domestic violence record just for the drama, and then act shocked when the baggage actually catches up with you.
Do you want me to pull up the spoiler list of who Taylor’s final pick actually was before the show got scrapped, or are you just completely over this entire reality TV mess?
