Reading time: 3 minutes
UPDATE: TMZ is now reporting that “there’s an excellent chance” Taylor’s season will begin shipping in mid-July.
The site reports that the production staff never stopped editing footage from Taylor’s season, a clear indication that the team never gave up hope.
And months of audience testing have reportedly concluded that Taylor’s domestic violence scandal has been largely forgotten.
The news comes on the heels of a similar report from gossip outlet Deuxmoi, which published a report claiming Taylor’s season would air this summer.
However, the site’s editor noted that the information came via an anonymous e-mail and should therefore be taken with a grain of salt.
“Most of the season will only be released on Hulu between July and August, but the live finale will air on ABC at the end of August; it will also be where the new Bachelor is revealed,” the source said, adding:
“ABC hopes to close a deal with Robert Irwin to host the show this fall, but if not, the next choice is Taylor’s runner-up from her season. It should be an exciting next few months for the Bachelor Franchise.”
Read on for our ongoing coverage of reality TV’s most burning questions: Will we ever get to see Taylor’s search for love?
It really is a never-ending saga:
Get excited, fans of problematic reality TV!
There is reason to believe that Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelor maybe eventually see the light of day.
In a new interview, Rob Mills, Disney’s executive vice president of unscripted television, revealed that ABC is still open to the possibility of eventually airing Taylor’s episodes.
“Everything about it is one day at a time. There’s really nothing new to report right now,” Mills told Black when asked about the possibility that the season – which has already been filmed in its entirety – could eventually air.
Recent court decisions may have influenced Disney’s decision-making process. We know that now Paul will not face any further charges following an investigation into additional allegations of domestic violence.
Taylor pleaded guilty assaulted then-girlfriend Dakota Mortensen in February 2023. But it wasn’t until ABC executives saw footage of the incident that they decided not to air her season.
Still, Mills stands by the decision to cast her as the Bachelorette.
“I had met with Taylor. She had said, “Look, I’m raising three kids with different dads; I have a phenomenal parental relationship with one of them. The second one is a challenge, but I’m really looking for a partner and someone to help me,” he shared.
“Her motives were very sincere indeed,” he continued.
“Going into it, it was a really exciting story to tell through the lens of The Bachelorette. Obviously, with everything that happened and everything that everyone’s going through, that’s the hard part. Everything Taylor’s had to go through has been really hard. The season itself is really, really amazing. It’s been an amazing journey for her.”
Mills also confirmed that Paul’s other reality show, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wiveshas resumed production.
“There’s not much to say other than we’re ready to go back into production,” he said.
“It doesn’t mean we’re shooting tomorrow. It just means production is resuming and we’re trying to see how it looks.”
Mills added that the producers’ top priority is Taylor, and they are working to make sure that “as a person on a personal level, she is taken care of.”
“What the shooting looks like will be decided later,” he continued.
“Everything is still kind of day-to-day — this was just an announcement that we’re just going back into production. It’s a process. Because we’ve been down for so long, we have to figure out what this season is even going to be like. What are the storylines?”
Mills dismissed rumors that Disney was holding off on making a production decision until they knew whether Paul would face assault charges.
“It was simply making sure that we were really careful and thoughtful and worked with the whole cast, as well as the producers, and made sure that everybody felt like this was the right decision all the way around,” he said.
There are rumors on social media that ABC has already set a premiere date for Taylor’s season The Bachelorbut they appear to be baseless.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
