No one is getting a rose for “The Bachelorette” season 22 — and Bachelor Nation isn’t happy about it.
In the less than 24 hours since ABC pulled Taylor Frankie Paul’s upcoming — and heavily promoted — season of “The Bachelorette,” alumni of the hit show and its sister show, “The Bachelor,” have erupted in shock, disbelief and anger.
“This is bad for Disney. This is bad for Hulu,” said Rachel Lindsay, who was the show’s first Black lead in 2017. “This is bad for Hulu because somebody is going to have to take the blame for not vetting this out.”
The decision to pull the season came amid reports that the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, are involved in an ongoing domestic violence investigation. On Thursday afternoon, TMZ published a video showing Paul attacking Mortensen in front of her young daughter during a 2023 incident.
Paul was charged with assault, criminal mischief and domestic violence in the presence of a child for the 2023 incident. Court records indicate that she pleaded guilty in abeyance to an aggravated assault charge in August 2025, and the other four charges were dismissed with prejudice.
“How did this pass the threshold?” added Lindsay, who said she was recording a podcast episode of “Bachelor Party” on Thursday when the news broke. “Because I would just assume that it was okay.”
The podcast episode was titled “The End of The Bachelorette.”
While the news has garnered national attention, Bachelor Nation is no stranger to controversy.
In 2017, “Bachelor in Paradise” temporarily stopped filming due to sexual misconduct allegations made against one of its contestants. In 2021, photos of Rachael Kirkconnell — who received the final rose from the first Black “Bachelor” Matt James — surfaced, showing her at an antebellum plantation-themed fraternity party in 2018. Colton Underwood, the “Bachelor” for the show’s 23rd season, came out as gay later that year.
But a season has never been fully pulled from airing — until now.
On Thursday, Arie Luyendyk, the star of season 22 of “The Bachelor,” wrote on Instagram, “What a mess.”
“I feel for the entire production and the contestants that put their lives on hold,” he added. “So much goes into this you have no idea,” he wrote. “I’m in no way supporting her and I feel it’s the right decision. In hindsight she wasn’t the right choice for the role.”
At least one alumnus was disappointed she didn’t get to see the “mess” play out on screen.
Kelley Flanagan, a contestant on the 24th season of “The Bachelor,” said in a video she posted on Instagram on Thursday that she felt bad for Paul, Mortensen and the children, but confessed that she “a little bit bummed” because “it would have been entertaining.”
“I wanted to watch this train wreck. I wanted to watch this mess,” she said. “I think it would have been something different from what I’ve seen in the past.”
The West Jordan Police Department in Utah confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday that it received a domestic violence allegation via phone call involving Paul, but declined to give details about the allegation or any potential charges. It also did not know the exact date or time of the reported incident.
A police department spokesperson said detectives are working on establishing the facts of the case.
The Draper Police Department in Utah told People magazine earlier this week that there is an open “domestic assault investigation” regarding Paul and Mortensen and that “allegations have been made in both directions.” The police spokesperson said that “contact was made with involved parties on [Feb] 24th and 25th.”
Several contestants from the canceled season have put out statements on social media in the wake of the news.
Contestant Clayton Johnson wrote on his Instagram story on Thursday that he “can honestly say this was one of the best groups of men I’ve ever been around.”
“Any woman would be lucky to be with any of these guys. Real integrity,” he wrote. ‘Real respect. Real men. Love you boys.”
Contestant Doug Mason urged his Instagram followers Friday to “stay positive.”
“In light of everything that’s happened, I’m just sending out prayers to Taylor, because I was her moment and her moment was blocked,” he wrote.
Some alumni of the series questioned why Paul was cast in the first place, citing her criminal past.
“As a former Bachelor contestant, I can tell you that ABC thoroughly vets every part of your personal history,” Jillian Anderson King, a contestant on the 19th season of “The Bachelor,” wrote on X. “Given that Frankie Taylor Paul already had a public profile, it’s hard to believe they didn’t know exactly who she was going in to this season.”
Paul’s 2023 arrest played out in the first episode of Hulu’s “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” a series that follows a group of Mormon mothers in Utah who popularized the online subculture known as “MomTok.” The episode ends with police bodycam footage showing authorities putting Paul in handcuffs in front of her home. Ever, Paul and Mortensen’s son, was born about a year after her arrest.
In a brief phone call with NBC News on Thursday, following the release of the TMZ video but before ABC announced it was pulling her “Bachelor” season, Paul said, “I will have my truth.”
There are currently no public allegations against Mortensen. But a spokesperson for Paul said she’s “gaining strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm.”
The last season of “The Bachelorette” aired in 2024. Paul’s upcoming season was scheduled to premiere Sunday.
“We also don’t know all the details,” Lindsay said in the recording of “Bachelor Party.” “But what I will say is this is bad.”
