After My Intense Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives Binge, I Have Questions About The New Bachelorette Season

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It’s certainly been a wild year for the women of MomTok since The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was released last September. They’ve become bigger than their social media accounts, dominating Hulu and even spilling into other reality TV universes. Just one example of that is Taylor Frankie Paul being named the next Bachelorette, and after an intense binge of all three seasons of her Hulu series, I’ve got some big questions about what’s to come on the ABC dating show.

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has been on my radar but never made it to the top of my watchlist. However, as a longtime fan of The Bachelor franchise, I knew I needed to get on it after the Taylor Frankie Paul announcement, because I wanted to watch and react to SLOMW Season 3 as soon as it hit the 2025 TV schedule. For reasons that defy logic, I procrastinated still, and ended up cramming all 29 episodes into the span of two weeks. So how am I doing?

29 Episodes Of The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives In 14 Days: 0/10 Do Not Recommend

My solo watch party spanned from November 5 to 19, and I am coming to you now a changed person — probably not for the better. Much of the Season 1 drama was mind-numbingly petty, and I almost quit after three episodes. Taylor Frankie Paul kept me going, though, and not just because of The Bachelorette.

She’s kind of magnetic, and as much as I’m obsessed with the idea of her on the ABC’s longtime dating show, I found myself just waiting to see what she’d do or say next. (For the record, I feel the same way about Whitney Leavitt, and I’m not sorry.)

I’m ultimately glad I stuck with it, because it’s fascinating to see the couples navigate a dynamic where the wives are the breadwinners in a culture that celebrates the patriarchy. Those relationships are exponentially more interesting than an argument over a flask at a graduation party — scandalous!

My hyper-binge came at a price, though. At least once I spontaneously yelled, “I hate toxic men!” to no one, and I know my blood pressure suffered from hearing the women justify manufacturing drama at every public function. God knows it’s not a birthday party until the tears start falling.

OK, time for a deep breath.

In the end, I’m just so excited and curious about how Taylor Frankie Paul is going to absolutely upend Bachelor Nation. So my first question is:

How Will Taylor Frankie Paul Avoid Spoiling Her Season Of The Bachelorette?

Practically since the beginning of time, The Bachelor has premiered in January, so it was pretty wild news that Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was usurping its spot on the 2026 TV schedule. However, come to find out her journey won’t hit our screens until March 22. What’s more is that her season started filming in October.

Is there any world where Taylor Frankie Paul gets engaged in November or December and then keeps it a secret until the finale airs half a year later? She is a public figure. It is her job to be on social media. How will she pull this off? Less public-facing leads have spoiled their own season, and we expect different from an influencer?

Will The Bachelorette Adapt Its Format To Feature Taylor Frankie Paul More Prominently?

I’m really interested to see if and how The Bachelorette’s format is changed to accommodate its celebrity lead. Whereas The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives follows Taylor Frankie Paul and the rest of MomTok to whatever appearance, party or weekend getaway they’ve arranged for shit to inevitably hit the fan, The Bachelorette has way more structure.

Each episode of The Bachelorette typically features three dates, a cocktail party and a rose ceremony, and while the lead is certainly around for much of this, I’d say the rest of the cast is often more prominently featured.

It can’t be that way for Taylor Frankie Paul. She’s the one we’re tuning in to see, and I’d love for The Bachelorette to adjust its format and let us behind the scenes a little more. I want GRWM videos before group dates and to hear her decision-making process before a rose ceremony. I definitely need her teaching Jesse Palmer more TikTok dances.

How Much Will Taylor Frankie Paul’s Mom Be Involved?

Oh Liann. What a national treasure she is. I fear Taylor Frankie Paul’s mom may just love the spotlight as much as her daughter. She got quite the glow-up between Seasons 1 and 2 (which was so jarring when you’re binging as fast as I was), and the way she injected herself into Taylor’s feuds had me watching through my fingers but praying she didn’t stop.

I don’t even have to ask if she’ll be making an appearance on The Bachelorette Season 22, because we already saw her having a conversation with her daughter ahead of TFP’s interview with Jesse Palmer at The Golden Bachelor Season 2 finale (which, like all three seasons of Mormon Wives, can be streamed with a Hulu subscription). My question is simply how much will she be involved?

Will she help out on a group date? Drop by the men’s living quarters to get the tea? Whatever it is, my guess is we’ll be seeing a lot of Liann, even before the finalists’ “meet the family” dates.

Are Taylor And Dakota Really Broken Up For Good?

This is a big one. Taylor Frankie Paul’s Bachelorette announcement came about four months after filming ended on Season 3 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Of course the most recent season saw her seemingly end things with Dakota Mortensen for good after it came to light that something had happened between him and one of Liann’s friends, who Taylor considered family.

I’m sorry, I’m just not sure I buy it. Taylor and Dakota weren’t super stable at any point in these three seasons, but that didn’t keep them from being together. Dakota lying about another woman didn’t keep Taylor from sleeping with him when they were broken up, and before the drama with the family friend was revealed, they looked ready to get back together.

I think she and Dakota both wanted the relationship to work, especially for their son, and becoming The Bachelorette within months of this latest drama feels reactive.

Will The MomTok Group Bring Its Signature Drama To The Bachelorette Group Date?

Speaking of other SLOMW cast members, we know MomTok will be involved in The Bachelorette to some degree. Jesse Palmer referenced a group date at Dancing with the Stars — presumably to see Whitney Leavitt and Jen Affleck compete — during his recent sitdown with TFP.

Will it dissolve into tears and screaming, as so many of their get-togethers do? Will we find out somebody else kissed Marciano? Will Ben Affleck be there? And who invited Chase anyway?

My two-week binge was really intense, guys. Outside of the petty cycle of event, fight, rinse, repeat for 29 episodes of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, there was a lot of real trauma to sift through. So I’m going to officially take a step back from MomTok until it gets back to the reason why they started it. (Just kidding. It never will.)

When March rolls around, however, I’ll be ready for Taylor Frankie Paul to breathe new, chaotic life into The Bachelorette — and to see how the dating show pivots to accommodate such a well-known personality as its lead. Season 22 premieres Sunday, March 22, on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu.