One person who knows about ABC’s Bachelor franchise all too well is Grant Ellis, and he has now weighed in on the Taylor Frankie Paul saga.

The former Bachelor, 32, has spoken out following the shocking announcement that Taylor’s upcoming Bachelorette season, which was due to premiere on Sunday, March 22, has been axed due to domestic violence claims.

A Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said in a statement issued on Thursday, March 19, “In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.”

Earlier on Thursday, TMZ published footage from 2023 that showed Taylor throwing chairs at her ex, Dakota Mortensen, while a child was nearby.

As for Grant’s take on the issue, he explained to TMZ, “I, we stand against domestic violence 100 per cent, and it’s unfortunate but I think it’s a time and place to talk about.

“Some of the African American leads that have come from rougher environments like myself that have been faced with all these temptations and have no felonies and no run-ins with the law, we made it out.”

“Although this is really negative there’s a silver lining here,” he added. Grant, who appeared in Season 29 of The Bachelor, was then asked if ABC made the right choice to cancel Taylor’s season.

He responded, “I think ABC needed to take a stance, if they aired this season, it would have left room for interpretation,” before insisting, “They did the right thing.”

Taylor has yet to speak out on the axing of her season, but a spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department confirmed that there is an open “domestic assault investigation” regarding Taylor and Dakota. The spokesperson confirmed “allegations have been made in both directions” and “contact was made with involved parties on [Feb] 24 and 25.”

A rep for Dakota also told Entertainment Weekly that his “number one priority here is protecting Ever” and that “he was just hoping that if he says nothing, as he usually does, it would go away.” The rep denied any suggestion that Dakota put the investigation into the public eye.

“He knew there was a possibility it could come out, but he was not going to be the one to proactively do that because he has always wanted a decent relationship with Taylor. It’s been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to co-parent well,” they said.

Taylor and Dakota began dating in the summer of 2022 and their relationship has been traced on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives since its 2024 premiere. They share son Ever, who turned two on Thursday, March 19.

Taylor is also mom to daughter Indy, eight, and son Ocean, five, whom she shares with ex-husband Tate Paul. She and Tate broke up in 2022, following the “soft-swinging” scandal.

Taylor confirmed her split from Mortensen, 33, in January 2025, after weeks of fan speculation, following the couple’s separate holiday celebrations. “I cry every day,” she said in the Instagram post at the time and said she was struggling most with “the quiet after the chaos, missing out [on] time with your kids,” and “inconsistency.”