Taylor Frankie Paul met a man in the wild who could have ended up on her season of The Bachelorette.
While filming season 4 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Taylor, 31, attended a speed dating event to help prepare for her role as the season 22 lead of the ABC dating show. During the event, Taylor had a conversation with Bubba Page, who later revealed he was approached by casting agents to be a contestant on The Bachelorette.
Bubba took to Instagram on Sunday, March 15, to open up about the experience. “The cohost of the event had asked me to come to the speed dating event,” he recalled. “I thought, what the heck, let’s go meet some people.”
After filming the episode, Bubba claimed that two casting agents reached out to him about competing for Taylor’s love on ABC. He even shared an alleged screenshot of a DM that read, “I’m a casting producer at Wyldside Media. We’re currently casting contestants to be on the next season of The Bachelorette, and I think you’d be a great fit.”
“For a variety of reasons, I declined,” he wrote. “Many of you know that neither this show nor The Bachelorette represent my faith and beliefs and values.”
He also shared more details about his chat with Taylor during the speed dating event. “I never thought I’d be on ‘SLOMW’ & yes, I led the speed dating convo with having 8 kids… and I wish they would have played our whole conversation,” he wrote.
Bubba recalled asking Taylor about how she’s been “healing from everything [she’s] been through.”
“And we actually had an insightful conversation,” he recalled. “[Taylor] was kind, thoughtful and I felt like she was someone who had a lot of pain and hurt in her eyes and I could feel like she was longing for relief from the pain and pressure but didn’t know how and where to find it.”
He added, “We are not compatible for many reasons; most of you who know me understand why.
Bubba’s post comes amid news breaking that Taylor and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen were recently involved in an alleged domestic violence dispute.
A Draper City Police Department spokesperson confirmed to Us Weekly that there is an open “domestic assault investigation” regarding the former couple, who share 23-month-old son Ever.
Taylor exclusively opened up to Us about the situation on Tuesday, March 17, saying there was “more context” to the alleged incident than fans knew.
“It’s been hard. And it sucks to be in this position,” she said. “And the mother that I am, that is something I will always stand my ground on. I believe that I am a good mother and I have always treated my kids very well. So the headlines that are out right now are very hard to see, because that’s not the truth of it. I have always treated my children with respect and I’ve never touched them. So it’s been really hard.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
