Taylor Frankie Paul Thinks Dakota Will Be 'Sad' She's the Next Bachelorette

Taylor Frankie Paul becoming the next Bachelorette subsequently confirmed that her relationship with Dakota Mortensen is over.

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, 31, confirmed to Us Weekly ahead of the Wednesday, September 10, announcement that she has been single since September 2024 — and she hasn’t told Dakota that she will be handing out roses soon.

“I have not confirmed it with him. It’s just not something that’s been on, like, my priority list to confirm with him,” Taylor told Us. “I don’t know exactly how he’ll react or feel, but he does know that we opened the gates of dating other people. [He’ll] probably [be] sad. I assume that it’s like, ‘Whoa, she’s gonna be dating people, a lot, and then also, in front of me,’ and that’s probably gonna be kind of hard to watch.”

She added, “I can’t speak for him, but I’d assume it wouldn’t be the best news he’s heard on that day.”

Fans of the Hulu show have watched Taylor and Dakota’s ups and downs on two seasons of Secret Lives, with her family urging her to make it work with him after they welcomed son Ever in 2024. Despite a tense family BBQ that made it seem like her family is Team Dakota, Taylor told Us that her parents are supportive of the split.

“My family’s very supportive of this decision. You’ll see [more on their feelings about Dakota] in November, so I can’t speak much on that. But what I will say is they want what’s best for me, for my kids and even for Dakota himself,” she said. “It was the smartest decision I’ve made [to] part ways and close that chapter and start a new one. So they’ve been very on board, for sure.”

Taylor also spoke about Dakota on Wednesday’s episode of “Call Her Daddy,” telling Alex Cooper that she “did want to end up with” him.

“Did I love him? Absolutely. I had a baby with him. I wanted to be with him, but it just did not work out,” she said. “This last summer was one of the hardest summers I ever had because I was like, ‘Oh my gosh Taylor, you have to accept that you’re not ending up with him.’”

Taylor is now looking forward to the future, hoping she gets engaged on The Bachelorette.

“Definitely, that’s the goal here,” she told Us of a potential engagement. “And as my mom likes to say, I do fall in love quickly, and that’s also the reason I did it. I always call myself a lover girl because I, like, fall for people and I have done that in the past. Obviously, I got married young, and the first guy I dated was my second baby daddy — so it was just very quick, and this time, it’s going to be really cool, because, yes, I have been opening up to dating, but now I’m about to date, you know, 20 [or] 30 guys, and I’ve never done that before. I’m going to take my time, I’m going to kind of, like, get to know people. Maybe I learned things I didn’t like or do like that I didn’t even know. So I think this is gonna be really good for the long-term effect.”

Season 3 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives starts streaming on Hulu November 13 and Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette will premiere on ABC in 2026.