Bachelor Nation is abuzz with news that Taylor Frankie Paul, rather than a recent runner-up or fan favorite from the franchise, will be handing out roses in the new season of The Bachelorette.On Wednesday, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star appeared on Alex Cooper's podcast, Call Her Daddy, to officially announce she'll be joining the series as a relative outsider, prompting surprise from the franchise's avid fans who have been anticipating very different news. Outlets reporting on the casting also reacted with something like dismay and, in one case, called it "a notable change for the franchise" given that Paul hails from another corner of reality TV. But in the usual manufactured fanfare that surrounds these types of reveals, people seemed to have missed that Paul actually makes perfect sense as the show's new leading lady for a few very specific reasons one of which seem to have so far eluded those weighing in. - YouTube youtu.be The first, and most obvious, reason that Paul slots in nicely to the role is that she's already a player in the Disney reality TV machine. (Like ABC, Hulu, the exclusive streamer for Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, is owned by the Walt Disney Company.) So while she may not have been put through her paces on a previous season of The Bachelor, as is the tradition, she's already been vetted by the people who really matter and who must have seen an appealing opportunity to cross-promote shows with potentially overlapping fan bases. The other, more intriguing, and so-far-overlooked point is that Paul's reality TV career came about thanks to her polyamorous lifestyle something Bachelor Nation, whether they realize it or not, is all about.'Soft swapping,' fantasy suites, and polyamory on TVPaul initially attracted attention on social media starting in 2020 as a founding creator of MomTok, a corner of TikTok popularized by a close-knit group of Mormon women in Utah who found success on the platform with choreographed dances and lifestyle tutorials. Paul's videos which sometimes featured then-husband, Tate Paul, and their two young kids, Indy and Ocean were among the most popular of the group's. But it wasn't until 2022 that she really shot to the heights of internet stardom. In May 2022, Paul, who had 3.5 million TikTok followers at the time, interrupted her regular programming to announce on a livestream that she and her husband were divorcing after she deviated from the rules of their open marriage. Specifically, she had violated the guidelines that they and other couples in their group adhered to for "soft swinging" by "going all the way" with one of the men without her husband knowing. Unsurprisingly, there was plenty of fallout from Paul airing details about her circle's partner-swapping online, both for the mother of two and her influencer friends, who at least initially attempted to distance themselves from the controversy. But on the upside, the ordeal landed those brave enough to go on reality TV on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which premiered on Hulu in 2024. And over two seasons, the show has increased the cast members' profiles as they attempt to move past the soft-swinging controversy and start new chapters.For Paul, that has meant meeting, having a baby with, and ultimately splitting with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, which has left her single just in time to accept the invitation to become the new Bachelorette something, she told Cooper, she joked about in a video she put out a few years ago, which may have caught ABC's eye. Video Taylor Frankie Paul is the new Bachelorette abcnews.go.com Given that the men who go on The Bachelorette don't tend to be pop culture aficionados they often admit to having Googled the star of their season at the last minute there's a good chance Paul's two dozen or so suitors won't be as familiar as they should be with MomTok, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, or even the fact that she's now a single mom of three. Though, one would hope that it won't be too hard for them to wrap their minds around soft swinging, or "soft swapping," given they have signed up to watch the woman they're pursuing seriously date multiple men at once and ultimately end up in fantasy suites with a few. Realistically, there are sure to be more than a few questions about her past from the audience and the conventionally handsome, very heteronormative men of The Bachelorette season 22. But when they do arise, Paul, who's found new romance and professional success thanks to opening up about her multi-partner lifestyle, will hopefully be able to point out just how fitting it is that she made her way to a franchise that from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette to spin-offs like Bachelor in Paradise and The Golden Bachelor has celebrated light polyamory as a vehicle for finding true love.And who knows? Maybe at the end, she'll find she has more than one rose to offer.Elaina Patton is a New York-based writer and editor.Perspectives is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit Pride.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. Views expressed in Perspectives stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of PRIDE or our parent company, equalpride.