Joy Behar isn’t too excited about the newest Bachelorette lead. Following ABC’s announcement that Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Taylor Frankie Paul — a divorced mother of three — will be the next woman to hand out roses on the show, Behar weighed in.
“So will these bachelors line up to be baby daddy No. 3?” Behar said on the Sept. 12 episode of The View. “Isn’t that the whole point of the show? To find your lover and get married? But, she’s got a little bit of baggage.”
Paul, 31, has two kids — daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5 — with her ex-husband, Tate Paul, and one son, Ever, 17 months, with her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.
Overall, the feedback on Paul’s Bachelorette casting has been mixed. Some TSLOMW fans are excited to see Paul in the role while others are upset with ABC for the decision.
Paul’s casting is controversial for a number of reasons. Aside from the fact that she’s a divorcee with three kids, she has also been arrested on domestic violence charges. In 2023, Paul faced misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child, following an argument with Mortensen.
According to a probable cause statement obtained by CBS News at the time, Paul was accused of “throwing several ‘heavy, metal chairs’ at Mortensen and hitting her 5-year-old daughter in the head with one of them.”
A plea deal kept her from serving extended time behind bars. Per the Salt Lake City Tribune, Paul would need to submit “both a substance abuse evaluation and a domestic violence evaluation and complete any recommended treatment. She also must not violate any laws above a minor traffic violation.” Additionally, she was assigned a probation and parole officer.
Regardless, some people are still supportive of Paul being the next Bachelorette star.
“Never have I ever watched the bachelor till now!! Let’s go!!” one person commented on ABC’s Instagram announcement.
“So excited for you. Well deserved!” someone else added.
Meanwhile, feedback on Reddit was far less positive, with some people saying they plan to boycott the season.
“This wasn’t the route to go. If they wanted to bring in a lead with a bigger following, fine. But someone with a history of domestic violence wasn’t the answer,” one Reddit user wrote.
“I’ve seen every season since the very beginning. Not watching this one,” someone else said.
“This is an all time low for this franchise. Domestic Violence arrest and in the presence of children, ‘soft’ swinging and cheating on her husband, are the ‘new’ qualifications and standards for this show?” a third person weighed in.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 13, 2025, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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