Taylor Frankie Paul’s Bachelorette contestant is on board with her season airing despite ABC’s decision to shelve the episodes they filmed.
Conrad Ukropina, one of the men who vied for Taylor’s heart on the scrapped season 22, took to Instagram on Tuesday, April 22, with a message on where he stands.
“RELEASE THE FILES! 🌹 #bachelorette,” Conrad, 32, playfully captioned a number of photos from his time on the show.
In the first pic, Conrad was seen meeting Taylor, 31, outside the Bachelor Mansion on the first night. When fans scrolled, they saw a screengrab of him laying in bed and talking to another contestant. “If she gives me a rose, I’m going to reject it,” one of the men said to the other. Conrad then scribbled out “reject” and wrote “accept” over the onscreen text.
He also shared a photo of a T-shirt with his face printed on it, along with #TeamConrad, as well as what he wrote would be his “surprise date” for Taylor, including a limo ride, drinks with a view, dinner on the water and more.
More Bachelorette fans agreed that ABC should air Taylor’s season in the comments section. “Give the people what they want 👏,” one wrote, while another added, “No, literally release them now! We need the footage.” A third added, “Need the release.”
Conrad’s post comes after ABC pulled Taylor’s season in March hours after footage from 2023 was leaked showing Taylor attacking her ex Dakota Mortensen. Taylor pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault after the incident in exchange for dismissing the other charges against her. As part of her plea deal, the aggravated assault charge would drop to a misdemeanor in August 2026 as long as she didn’t break any laws.
“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 told Us Weekly about their choice to cancel the season days before its debut.
That same month, a spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department also confirmed there was an open “domestic assault investigation” regarding Taylor and Mortensen, AGE.(News broke in April that Taylor will not be charged in the dispute.)
Before Conrad spoke out, ABC’s decision to cancel Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette came with mixed reviews. Contestant Clayton Johnson was the first to react, writing via his Instagram Story, “I can honestly say this was one of the best groups of men I’ve ever been around. So much integrity, respect and heart across the board. Even the tough moments never took away from that.”
He added, “Any woman would be lucky to be with any of these guys. Real integrity. Real respect. Real men. Love you boys.”
Doug Mason also commented on the matter, saying via Instagram, “In light of everything that has happened, I am just sending prayers to Taylor because that was her moment and her moment was blocked. All we can do right now is just be hopeful, and I am headed off to run to watch the sunrise.”
Contestant Shane Parton said he was “praying” for Taylor and her family during an episode of the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast. “Obviously we were part of this entire process and this entire journey but we come maybe third, fourth or fifth in the line of importance of what’s going on right now,” he said.
He continued, “The most important thing is a happy and healthy family for all parties involved right now and I’m praying for everyone involved in this situation. I’m praying for the kids especially.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
