ABC cancels Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘Bachelorette’ season
Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette has been canceled following the revelation of a “domestic assault investigation” by Utah State Police.
Taylor Frankie Paul appears to be distancing herself from her Mormon upbringing.
In an April 5 Instagram Story, Paul wrote that while he would “always have love and respect” for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “the time has come for me to leave the church.”
The “Secrets of the Mormon Mrs.” star and content creator was raised as a member of the LDS Church. She was born in Pueblo, Colorado and later moved to Utah.
The 31-year-old opens up about her evolving relationship with the religion on the show, which follows Paul and a group of Mormon influencers known as MomTok.
Paul, a mother of three, was scheduled to appear on the latest season of The Bachelorette until it was canceled last month. Just days before the show was scheduled to air, ABC announced it was canceling the show after new domestic violence allegations surfaced involving Paul and his ex-girlfriend Dakota Mortensen.
Utah State Police confirmed they are investigating a possible domestic dispute between Paul and Mortensen. The former couple have each publicly made accusations against the other.
Will Taylor Frankie Paul leave the LDS Church? Let’s see what she said.
Paul said in an Instagram Story that he is “separating” from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Being a Mormon by birth and upbringing, I have always had love and respect for Mormonism. I will continue to attend with my family from time to time, but with that said, the time has come to separate myself from Mormonism,” she wrote.
“I believe strongly in Christ, God, the Bible, and the sacred. I believe that whether we are praying in a church building or praying from the bathroom floor at home, we are loved,” she continued. “I’ve also experienced grace and love from amazing people who have no idea what they believe, and that’s okay too. There’s more to learn. And I’m writing this as a release.”
She also shared a post on Instagram describing the 40 days before Easter as “hell on earth.”
“Each time I had a panic attack, I prayed for strength as I felt my body break down and pull me out of the pain,” she wrote.
While appearing on “Mormon Wives,” Paul has been open about his evolving relationship with religion.
“People are doing all the things that Mormons would say, ‘Oh, that’s not how we live. That’s not the case.’ Yes, that’s right. Some of us do that. It’s behind closed doors. We don’t try to show it,” Paul said in an interview on “Call Her Daddy” last year.
“It doesn’t matter if I drink or not, it doesn’t make me a bad person. If I smoke or take a sip of coffee or break some other crazy rules, it doesn’t make me a lesser person than you,” she added.
Melina Khan is USA TODAY’s national trends reporter. Contact her at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
