Ilona Maher addressed fan calls for her to lead “The Bachelorette” after Taylor Frankie Paul’s season was canceled.
While speaking with Entertainment Tonight at the “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special” premiere in Los Angeles, Calif., the two-time Olympian admitted she had seen the rallying calls for her potential casting on the ABC dating competition.
“I saw that … It’s very sweet,” she said Monday evening. “I was talking to [former Bachelor] Joey Graziadei today, the only way I would do it is he would have to executive produce, Alan [Bersten] would have to executive produce, my whole friend [group] would [too]. They’d have to check everybody off.”
As Maher continued, she joked that if she did takeover “The Bachelorette” it would end up looking like an episode of “The Office,” quipping, “A guy would say something and I would look at the camera like — and it would just be funny.”
“I’d do it mostly for my girls to watch it. That’s the only reason,” she added. “[Finding love] is the main reason. I forgot about that. I’m not trying to humiliate men, but I want my girls to have fun.”
On whether Maher has ever been seriously approached about picking up the main rose, the American athlete explained, “I really stay away from it, it’s just my agent. We joked about it during ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ But I was going to play rugby, so it didn’t work out. But, maybe.” Watch her full response below.
@entertainmenttonight Olympian Ilona Maher is down to be the new 'Bachelorette,' but only for her girlies. ❤️ #ilonamaher #thebachelorette #dwts#hannahmontana20thanniversaryspecial ♬ original sound – Entertainment Tonight
Maher’s comments come four days after ABC shared that Season 22 starring Taylor Frankie Paul would be pulled amid “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star’s domestic violence scandal.
“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,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said in a statement Thursday.
The decision followed TMZ publishing a 2023 video of Paul throwing three metal barstools at her then-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. One of the chairs inadvertently hit her daughter.
The video was from a domestic violence incident that was previously covered in the first episode of her Hulu reality show, where Paul was arrested and pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault and put on three years probation. However, last Monday, a separate domestic violence investigation involving Paul and Mortensen made headlines, prompting production for Season 5 of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” to pause.
In response to the cancellation decision, Paul expressed her gratitude for “ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security,” with her rep adding in a statement to media, “After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse, as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm.”
