Modern Dating So Dire, Men Competing For Cheating And Allegedly Abusive Single Mom Of Three

America’s most eligible bachelorette is a cheating single mother of three in the midst of a domestic assault investigation. 

That mother is 31-year-old Taylor Frankie Paul, the star of the twenty-second season of “The Bachelorette.” Paul shot to notoriety in 2022 after revealing that she and her now ex-husband were “soft-swinging” with other Mormons in Utah. 

“Soft swinging is when you do other things but you don’t go all the way,” she said in a TikTok Live in May 2022, according to Today. “That’s what happened with us.” 

“There was a group of us that were intimate with each other. All of us were pretty open to it and on board for it,” she reportedly said. “Obviously no one was forced. We did this on occasion. We would have parties and everyone by the end of the night would go and do all that … it happened several times.”

“The agreement was, we could do anything … as long as we were in front of each other and on the same page, it was fine,” Paul said during that TikTok Live, according to Today. “But the second you go separately, that’s not OK. And so I broke that rule.” (RELATED: Polyamorous Relationships Rapidly Gaining Gov’t Blessing) 

Cinnabon has cut ties with “The Bachelorette” and “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” following domestic violence allegations involving reality star Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.

“Cinnabon has made the decision to terminate its collaboration with… pic.twitter.com/9Zylo2QTzX

— Variety (@Variety) March 17, 2026

The scandal attracted the attention of reality television producers. Paul, and a crew of equally debauched Mormon women, are the subject of Hulu’s “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” which debuted in 2024. 

Paul has two children with her ex-husband. The couple sought a divorce in 2022, according to People. Paul had a third child with a boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, a few years later. Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2023, following an incident with Mortensen, according to the New York Post.

Paul and Mortensen are part of an open “domestic assault investigation,” a spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department told People, adding that “allegations have been made in both directions.” Filming for Season Five of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” has reportedly been halted due to the investigation. 

Abuse allegations aside, I’m confused by the very premise of Paul playing the Bachelorette. Paul has three children by two different men. She maintains an obnoxious and unflattering social media presence. She is in her early 30s and has an odd face. “The Bachelorette” wants us to believe that twenty-two men are fighting tooth and nail for her love. (RELATED: First Golden Bachelorette Announced) 

I suspect most men who appear on reality television shows are primarily attracted to the opportunity to raise their own profiles. Regardless, this season of “The Bachelorette” demands an even greater suspension of disbelief from its viewers than usual. 

Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC