“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul is the next Bachelorette.
The news was announced on the Sept. 10 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. During the episode, “Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper asked Paul how it felt to be the next person on “The Bachelorette” looking for love.
“Surreal. It has not hit me right now in this moment,” she said. “I’m just thinking about it, and it’s not real. And it’s not going to be until I think the limo is pulling up, you know? And meeting the people. So, I’m nervous.”
Paul said her casting goes back to a TikTok video she made three years ago when she joked about her unsuccessful love life and how she should be the new Bachelorette.
Once she said it aloud, Paul said her fans instantly started tagging the show in her post to get their attention — and it seemed to work.
“I heard there was some talking, and then it was like we had a meeting, and then I still didn’t believe it until I got the invitation, ‘Will you be our Bachelorette?'” she said. “And I was just like, I was the same thing, shaking, pacing back and forth. I was like, ‘There’s no way. There’s no way.'”
Taylor Frankie Paul on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”Pamela Littky / Disney
Though she was interested in being on the show, Paul said she did have some reservations about how she was going to make it work, especially since she has three kids.
The reality TV star shares two children, Indy and Ocean, with her ex-husband, Tate Paul, and her son, Ever, with her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.
“I’m a co-parent I have two baby daddies not one, so I’m dealing with two different people, my children, my home base is here. Can I travel that long? Can I be gone that long?” she said she asked herself.
But ultimately, Paul was able to make it work.
Paul is the first ever newcomer to be named the lead of the “Bachelor” spinoff, which premiered in 2003. Normally, leads are chosen from a previous season of “The Bachelor.” However, this time, the show decided to go with someone new.
ABC’s “The Bachelorette” stars Taylor Frankie Paul.Michael Kirchoff / Disney
In order to get ready for her turn as leading lady, Paul said she practiced doing a rose ceremony with her friends.
“They’re pretending to be the men and I’m like, ‘OK. William,'” she said. “I was literally practicing and I was giving, she’s like, ‘No, you do that before, you do that after,’ and so I was like, ‘Oh, OK.'”
As for what she’s looking for in a man, Paul said she’s looking for a “hardworking” and “motivated” partner in their “30s, early 40s” who is willing to move to Utah to be with her.
“I have two baby daddies. I’m going nowhere, so you will be moving to me in Utah, so if you like me enough, you will be moving,” she said.