Taylor Frankie Paul is trading in carpool runs and playdates for roses and reality TV cameras — at least temporarily. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star has officially been announced as the next Bachelorette, and fans are asking the question on everyone’s mind: how will the mom-of-three juggle filming with co-parenting her kids?
Paul, 31, is making history as the first-ever lead who has never appeared on a Bachelor Nation show. Her casting marks a bold move for the franchise, which typically chooses from past contestants. But while Paul may be new to the world of group dates and rose ceremonies, she’s no stranger to the spotlight, having starred on Hulu’s Secret Lives of Mormon Wives since 2024.
Still, she admits the decision didn’t come easy. On a September 10 episode of Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Paul confessed she had serious concerns about what saying “yes” to the role would mean for her family.
“My home base is here. Can I travel that long? Can I be gone that long?” she recalled asking herself. “Is this possible for me to do as a single mom? Can I make it work, realistically, no matter how much I want this?”
The reality star shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul, and son Ever, 1, with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen. She admitted she worried about leaving them for three months of filming.
Ultimately, though, she decided she couldn’t pass up the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “I can. If I want to, I can. You can do anything you want, if you want,” Paul explained, adding that she’s relying on a strong support system of family, friends, and nannies to keep things running smoothly back home.
Even her family needed a moment to let the news sink in. “It took a minute” for them to process, she admitted, but once they saw the roses, it felt real.
Paul also acknowledged how different this experience will be compared to her past relationships. “This is something so new for me because, obviously, I got married young, divorced, and then the first guy I met was the next relationship, so I have not done the whole meeting new people … dating at the same time,” she said. “That will be new to me.”
