Ahead of The Bachelorette premiere, Taylor Frankie Paul is addressing the domestic violence allegations she is involved in that halted production of Hulu‘s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
Multiple media reports inform that there is an open investigation following an incident involving ABC‘s new Bachelorette star and her ex, Dakota Mortensen, who has been featured on the Hulu reality series since its premiere.
At a press preview event for The Bachelorette in NYC, Paul addressed the allegations amid the show’s premiere.
“Honestly, just like, my heart hurts to see it, to go through it, especially at this time,” she told People. “Just the timing is hard, and it’s a big deal. I feel like every premiere that I’ve experienced, I’ve never enjoyed fully, so this is another one… It’s extremely hard, and it took everything to get me here today.”
She continued, “It’s just heavy. It’s a heavy time, and it’s unfortunate. I’m struggling for sure, but also at the same time I feel like if I don’t show up, then I’m just giving these opportunities away and not enjoying what we’ve worked on and something super exciting that’s coming. I just feel like it was the right thing to do… show up even though it’s hard.”
The news that there’s an investigation centered on Paul forced filming for Season 5 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives to be suspended. Paul has been the center of drama on the show, and it regularly features bust-ups and reunions with Mortensen.
The timing of the investigation was also days before ABC premiered The Bachelorette (set for March 22) and following a special for the dating series that aired following the Oscars on Sunday night.
