Taylor Frankie Paul, the star of Hulu’s “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” and #MomTok fame, is headed to Bachelor Nation.
Paul, 31, joined Alex Cooper on her “Call Her Daddy” podcast on Wednesday to announce the news, which was accompanied by an ABC release, the network that airs “The Bachelorette.” She also confirmed to Cooper that she will be returning to “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” for season three, which premieres in November on Hulu.
“After igniting ‘MomTok’ and going viral for pulling back the curtain on Salt Lake’s soft-swinging scene in Hulu’s Emmy Award-nominated series ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” ABC revealed that Paul is “ready to trade headline-making heartbreak for hometown dates as she begins making her mark on Bachelor Nation.”
Paul has been “captivating millions with her raw, unapologetic storytelling,” ABC added, noting that her “comedic, heartwarming and bitingly honest content has earned her a massive following.”
“As a single mother of three, Paul shares the highs and lows of her life with unfiltered candor. With humor, resilience, and a fearless openness, she inspires others to embrace life’s chaos and own their story,” ABC said.
On “Call Her Daddy,” Cooper pointed out that Paul is the first woman to be named the Bachelorette who is not already a part of the franchise.
Paul told Cooper she’s feeling “surreal” and that the news “has not hit me” yet.
“It’s not real, and it’s not going to be until, I think, the limo is pulling up,” she said. “In my head I’m like, ‘how is this happening?'”
Paul recalled making a TikTok years ago, joking about being on the ABC reality show after people told her she should be the next Bachelorette following a failed relationship. But she said she never thought it would actually happen.
The TikTok influencer added that she didn’t believe that she would be picked for the lead role of one of the most popular reality TV franchises until she got the invitation that said, “Will you be our Bachelorette?”
Paul recalled “shaking, pacing back and forth,” when she got the news.
Despite her excitement, Paul revealed to Cooper that she did have some hesitations before accepting the role, many of which were tied to the fact that she’s a single mom of three with two “baby daddies.”
“My home base is here. Can I travel that long? Can I be gone that long?” Paul said she asked herself. “Is this possible for me to do as a single mom? Can I make it work, realistically, no matter how much I want this?”
But ultimately, she told herself, “I can. If I want to, I can. You can do anything you want, if you want.” She added that she has a team of people she is relying on, including family members and nannies, to make it work.
Paul told Cooper that her family had a similar reaction to hers to the news, and she said it “took a minute” for them to realize this was actually happening. Once they saw all of the roses, it hit them that this was real, Paul said.
“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 … dating at the same time,” she said. “That will be new to me.”
Paul is expecting this experience to be an adjustment because she’s “not a reality TV girl,” but she said she’s watched the show in the past and is aware of some of the lore from the franchise.
“I don’t have notes of how this works,” Paul said, adding that she and her friends have done role-play scenarios of what she might end up in on the show. Still, she admitted, the format is foreign to her.
“You’re not going to ruin it,” Cooper said of the upcoming season. “You’re going to make it your own.”
Season 22 of “The Bachelorette” will air in 2026.
