‘Bachelorette’ Contestant Speaks Out About Off-Camera Conversation With Taylor Frankie Paul’s Ex-Husband

Ready to speak about his possible may-never-be-seen experience on The Bachelorette, Doug Mason recalls an off-camera conversation with Tate Paul, the season’s lead Taylor Frankie Paul’s ex-husband.

While appearing on Charity Lawson and Rachel Recchia’s Bachelor Happy Hour podcast this week, Doug discussed his encounter with Tate.

“That week was, probably without a doubt, the most exhausting week mentally for me in my entire life,” he admitted. “I don’t need to do the timeline; however, when I met Tate, he asked me the same question that you asked me, Charity — ‘You ready for this? ‘Cause it’s a lot. I live it every day. Being with Taylor will change your life.’”

Doug said Taylor’s ex “really wanted to look” him in the eyes and how sincere he was about wanting to be with The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star.

“And like I said, at that point, I was all in. I was not going to BS. I’m not a BS-er. It was just as clear as day: this is going to be my life. So it was draining to talk to him for sure. I left that room [and was like], ‘I need 10. I need 10 minutes.’”

The Bachelorette season was shelved just days before its premiere following a legal incident between Taylor and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. However, Taylor later revealed in a pre-taped episode of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives that she and Doug got engaged after The Bachelorette season.

“He was the one that I liked from night one. There was instant chemistry,” Taylor shared. “The entire time, I didn’t think we were going to ‘get engaged,’ per se, but then at the last minute, he did propose, and I said yes.”

However, not long after accepting Doug’s proposal, Taylor hooked up with Dakota and reconnected with her other ex, Ben Lambert. She eventually broke things off with Doug.

“There were a couple key moments that made me doubt if Taylor and I could make it long term,” Doug shared during his podcast appearance. “The main reason that I doubted Taylor was I had this inkling that Taylor was not over her ex… I don’t know, I had this strange, gut feeling and I wrote about it multiple times in my journal.”

Doug further confirmed the comparisons were between him and Dakota. “The constant comparisons to Dakota, her not speaking up for me in certain moments on a specific date, changed almost the entire experience for me.”

Doug said he was often compared him to Dakota based on his appearance. Eventually, the comparisons overwhelmed him, and he walked away during a group date.

“On this date, I could not escape the Dakota comparisons,” he pointed out. “I walked that day. Everything that we had up until that point was genuine and true. But when the person that came in on that group date that day mentioned Dakota’s name and said that I was compared to Dakota, Taylor’s energy completely shifted and saw me as the bad guy.”

“I think over time I realized that I was the replacement for that two-month period,” Doug continued. “And the reason that’s true is because, as she says, the night she left the engagement, she went back to Dakota.”

He also revealed that Taylor told him she hooked up with Dakota right before she left to film The Bachelorette.

“She told me. Right before the proposal, she told me on camera,” he admitted. “Taylor told me on camera that she felt guilty; she had to get something off of her chest. This was the day of Fantasy Suites. The date before Fantasy Suites, she tells me that she slept with Dakota before she came to the show.”

While there have been whispers that Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette may finally air, ABC has not made an official announcement.