In domestic violence cases, women can be aggressors

Season 22 of The Bachelorette should have made its debut on March 22^nd, 2026, but due to a case of domestic violence, the season has been cancelled.

Three days before the season was set to premiere, a 2023 video was released to TMZ of the season 22 star, Taylor Frankie Paul, who is also the founder of MomTok and a cast member of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, attacking her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.

In the video, which Mortensen recorded, Paul is seen placing Mortensen in a headlock before backing off and charging at him and attempting to kick him. The altercation escalated when Paul grabbed a metal barstool and hurled it at Mortensen, who warned her that her daughter, one of two children she shares with ex-husband, Tate Paul, was nearby. She refused to listen to Mortensen and proceeded to throw more stools at him, with one of them hitting her daughter, who was heard crying after being struck and later had a goose egg on her head.

Police arrived at the scene later that night after they received a complaint from a neighbour. An officer was heard in the video as they tried to separate the two of them.

Paul faced misdemeanour charges of assault, criminal mischief, and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child after the stool that she meant to throw at Mortensen struck her daughter. She pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to three years of probation, which is scheduled to end in August 2026.

The two reconciled after Paul was released from police custody, and the two welcomed a son in March 2024. The two continued to date on and off before their final break-up occurred in 2025.

Three days before its scheduled premiere, ABC decided not to air season 22 of The Bachelorette in response to the video being surfaced.

“In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision not to move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” said a spokesperson for Disney Entertainment Television in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

A representative for Paul made a statement to TMZ in response to the video footage being made public.

“It’s sad to see the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child,” said the spokesperson in part of their statement.

On March 24^th, 2026, NBC broke the news that there is a third case of domestic violence allegations involving the former pair under investigation. In February 2026, Mortensen informed the West Jordan Police Department in Utah of another alleged case of domestic violence against Paul from an incident in 2024. A spokesperson for the department told NBC that a review is underway involving multiple videos connected to the incident and couldn’t provide further details as the case was an open investigation.

In response to the most recent allegation, filming for season five of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has been halted until the case is wrapped up. The cast members of the show have distanced themselves from Paul in the wake of the investigation.

With this news, it proves that Mortensen is not running a smear campaign against Paul, who shared that he was used to “Baseless claims about him and his relationship with Paul” in a statement to E! News.

Domestic violence against men is often overlooked because society views men as the stronger gender. Although Mortensen recorded Paul attacking him, he was not aggressive towards her in any way in the video and did not face any charges in the case. However, some still want to paint him as the person in the wrong. If the roles were reversed, Mortensen wouldn’t have received any grace.

We must stop turning the other cheek when it comes to women being aggressive towards men. We cannot be so quick to paint a person as the suspect or the victim because of their gender. When more people begin to understand that it’ll make it easier for more men to come forward and receive justice.