'SLOMW' Star Taylor Frankie Paul Named New 'Bachelorette'

Bachelor Nation is introducing its newest member, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul.

During an appearance on the September 10 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, Paul revealed that she will be the next hopeful looking for love on season 22 of The Bachelorette, airing next year. Speaking to host Alex Cooper, she reflected on how "surreal" it feels to start this new journey, per People.

"It has not hit me right now in this moment. 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," she said, adding that she continuously wonders "how did I get here" and "how is this happening."

Being on the show has been a long time coming for the 31-year-old mom of three as she joked years ago in a TikTok about starring on the long-running dating reality series. Despite fantasizing about it in the past, she always believed it to be an "unattainable" goal.

"I don't know if that got their attention... It was mainly a joke to me," she explained. "Then we had a meeting. I still didn't believe it until I got the invitation, 'Will you be our Bachelorette?' Same reaction, shaking, pacing back and forth. There's no way, no way."

Casting Paul as the Bachelorette is a deviation from the franchise's usual pattern of picking men and women who have appeared on previous Bachelor Nation shows. She will also be only the second Bachelorette lead to have children going into the show, per Page Six. She shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, with ex-husband Tate Paul and son Ever, 1, with ex Dakota Mortensen.