Immediately following the Oscars on Sunday night, ABC aired The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose, a special in which former Bachelorettes offered advice to the franchise’s new lead, Taylor Frankie Paul, ahead of her upcoming season.
While Paul is new to Bachelor Nation — and the first Bachelorette selected from outside the franchise — she’s already a reality TV star in her own right. The 31-year-old broke out on Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which recently debuted its fourth season. Paul first rose to fame as the founder of MomTok, the Utah-based mom influencer group. She is also a mother of three.
Following The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose, TMZ and People reported that filming for season five of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives had paused due to an alleged domestic incident involving Paul and her ex, Dakota Mortensen, the father of one of her children.
With an investigation reportedly ongoing, questions remain about how the situation could impact Paul’s upcoming season of The Bachelorette, which is slated to premiere on ABC Sunday at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET. (ABC has not yet commented.)
Sunday’s special, meanwhile, began with Paul preparing for night one of her journey. Admitting her nerves while speaking with producers, she pulls into the Bachelor mansion driveway, where she is greeted by host Jesse Palmer.
“I admire all the women who stood before me,” she said while walking into the house. “Stepping into this role as the Bachelorette will be new for me. There’s a lot of unknowns. I’m scared. I need some help.”
Inside, a group of former Bachelorettes — all dressed in matching red sweatsuits — were there to welcome Paul into their sisterhood. One of Paul’s first questions was how to handle potentially falling in love with more than one person during the process.
Kaitlyn Bristowe, the season 11 Bachelorette, explained how it’s possible to develop feelings for multiple men while navigating the show. “I did a few things wrong,” she admitted.
The moment then cut to a clip from her season when she invited Nick Viall to her hotel room after a one-on-one date, where the two had sex. The moment was controversial at the time since it happened weeks before Fantasy Suites week — the only point during the show when couples typically receive off-camera time together.
Coming into the experience as an outsider to the franchise, Paul admitted she wasn’t aware of what happens during Fantasy Suites and asks if that kind of situation really occurs. The women encouraged her to remain honest with the group of men throughout the process.
Hannah Brown, the lead of season 15, also reflected on one of the most memorable moments from her season. She recalled being pressured by contestant Luke Parker — widely considered that season’s villain — to reveal whether she had been intimate with anyone during Fantasy Suites week. Parker assumed she hadn’t and told her he would leave the show if she had.
The special also revisited moments from past Bachelorette seasons when contestants unexpectedly walked away near the end of the journey. Clips are shown from the seasons of Katie Thurston, Ali Fedotowsky, Desiree Hartsock and Rachel Lindsay, where men the leads had strong connections with voluntarily left the show.
“My biggest fear in this is that I’m the one who gets heartbroken,” Paul admitted.
Elsewhere, former Bachelorettes shared advice on identifying contestants who may be there for the wrong reasons. The special highlighted infamous moments from past seasons, including when Emily Maynard — the only other Bachelorette who was also a mother during her season — sent contestant Kalon home after he referred to her daughter as “baggage.” Another clip showed Fedotowsky confronting Justin after discovering he had a secret girlfriend back home.
The special then ended with a teaser for Paul’s upcoming season, showing her embracing the process of falling in love while also standing her ground when necessary.
“She’s gentle and sweet — until you piss her off,” says Shane, one of the men competing on her season.
In another tense moment teased in the preview, Paul confronts a contestant for allegedly sleeping with one of her friends before coming onto the show. The footage also shows her taking back roses during a rose ceremony.
Watch a sneak peek at the season, below.
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