The announcement that the next lead of The Bachelorette was coming not from a previous season of the dating franchise but from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was shocking, prompting all kinds of reactions from Bachelor Nation — and from Taylor Frankie Paul’s ex-boyfriend. You just know the co-hosts over at The View had thoughts as well, including Joy Behar, who threw some shade at the reality TV star.
Taylor Frankie Paul, 31, has three children — 8-year-old Indy and 5-year-old Ocean with ex-husband Tate Paul and 17-month-old Ever with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen. After watching a clip from the future Bachelorette’s interview on Call Her Daddy, in which she talks about informing her children’s fathers of her new role, Joy Behar cracked a joke about Paul having multiple baby daddies, saying:
So will these bachelors line up to be baby daddy No. 3? Isn’t that the whole point of the show? To find your lover and get married? But, she’s got a little bit of baggage.
Oof, I doubt I’m the only longtime Bachelor Nation fan who cringed a little at the “baggage” comment. Back in Season 8 of The Bachelorette, contestant Kalon McMahon received a quick and unceremonious boot from the show when lead Emily Maynard learned that the luxury brand representative had referred to her young daughter as such.
Alyssa Farah Griffin refused to disparage Taylor Frankie Paul for the same reason Joy Behar did, but she had her own thoughts on Paul’s “colorful past” that left her “conflicted” about the season. For one thing, Griffin said, there’s just a lot of uncertainty with ABC’s decision to recruit from outside of Bachelor Nation. She continued:
I don’t judge women for having kids with different men. She’s had actually a pretty challenging life, and you get a glimpse into her family if you watch Mormon Wives. It’s tough. They navigate a very restrictive religion. She’s stepped out of the faith and now is trying to find herself.
Alyssa Farah Griffin appears to like the casting decision, and not just because she gives grace to Taylor Frankie Paul regarding her past. Griffin said:
What I do love about her and why I think she’ll be excellent: She’s super authentic and she’s extremely chaotic, and those are both great for reality TV.
There are definitely a lot of opinions about what’s to come on The Bachelorette in 2026, but one thing seems universally agreed upon — Taylor Frankie Paul will bring the drama.
The View co-hosts also recently shared their opinions on the upcoming season of The Golden Bachelor, which hits the 2025 TV schedule at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, September 24, on ABC. Mel Owens, a 66-year-old former NFL linebacker, raised some eyebrows by saying on a podcast that he planned on eliminating any women over the age of 60.
One can imagine how well this went over on The View, with Alyssa Farah Griffin saying he sounded like “a dog,” and Sunny Hostin pointing out that just because he wants to date 45-year-old women does not mean that 45-year-olds want to date him.
The Golden Bachelor will air before Taylor Frankie Paul’s appearance on The Bachelorette — expected to premiere in January 2026 — as will the third season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (streaming with a Hulu subscription), in which we’ll apparently see how Paul ends her on-off relationship with Dakota Mortensen for good. Tune in when it premieres Thursday, November 13.
