Doug Mason, who presumably won Taylor Frankie Paul’s canceled season of The Bachelorette, says he has “moved on” from the experience.
“Let’s talk about The Bachelorette,” Doug, 29, said in a video shared via his Instagram Stories on Monday, September 28. “That experience has been looming in my life for some time, and although I’ve been moved on for a long time, I think it’s important that I expressed to you guys that I have.”
“I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to go on the show, and I met some brothers and I learned a lot about myself,” he continued. “I have officially moved on and this is me saying that I am going that way, so I hope that everybody can understand that it was in my past and now focusing on my future.”
Doug got engaged to Taylor on the 22nd season of The Bachelorette, which was due to air in March but was pulled by ABC just days before its premiere after footage emerged of a 2023 domestic dispute between Taylor and ex Dakota Mortensen.
Taylor, 32, addressed what happened in the season during the recently aired fifth season of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which documented the aftermath of her filming the dating competition.
In a conversation with costars Jessi Draper, Mikayla Matthews and Mayci Neeley, Taylor confirmed she had gotten engaged on The Bachelorette.
“[I said,] ‘Yes.’ Yes, I did [get engaged],” she said. “Then, I come home. Obviously [me and Dakota] were texting. ‘When are you going to be home?’ I don’t know how it led to it, but he came over.”
Taylor told her MomTok friends that she hooked up with Dakota, 33, after returning home from filming The Bachelorette. The exes share son Ever, 2.
Jessi, 34, noted similarities between Doug and Dakota, telling Taylor, “They have the same initials. They’re both from Idaho. It’s so weird.”
Later in the season, Taylor said she was conflicted about her feelings for Doug, questioning whether he proposed to her for publicity, and ended their engagement.
Viewers also saw Taylor rekindle her romance with musician Ben Lambert in New York City, though she later ended that relationship, too.
“Ben is a reminder that there are good men out there. He so was patient, gentle, kind, understanding and tried to get me out of the cycle I was in,” Taylor wrote via Instagram earlier this month after Mormon Wives season 5 dropped on Hulu. “Saying goodbye in the show was the last time I saw him and deeply mourned him. We’ve gone our separate ways.”
She continued, “However, he will make for an amazing husband and father one day and I hope he finds his person to give all that back to him. I had to let him go because I knew he deserved so much better. My nervous system remembered what calm felt like around him, helped me through panic attacks, he listened to me cry, held space and soothed.”
“He reminded me that I am a good mother even [when] struggling. I hadn’t heard those words in years, so it meant so much to me. I’m was and am sorry for all the heartache I caused and have told him as well,” Taylor wrote. “I wish nothing but the best for him❤️🩹 if you thought he was a good guy through the screen, you’d love him more off.”
Taylor has been embroiled in various legal disputes with Dakota since February. Production on season 5 of Mormon Wives was paused after details emerged of a fresh domestic dispute between her and Dakota. Prosecutors ultimately declined to press charges against her.
The MomTok influencer is locked in in custody disputes with Dakota and ex-husband Tate Paul over her three children. As well as Ever, the reality star shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 6, with Tate.
Earlier in September, Taylor seemingly announced her exit from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which is currently filming its sixth season.
