Doug Mason Just Gave a Major Update on Where He Stands With Taylor Frankie Paul After ‘The Bachelorette’

Doug Mason, the reported winner of Taylor Frankie Paul’s scrapped Bachelorette season, broke his silence on Instagram Stories about their failed engagement and subsequent split.He broke his silence on the experience after Taylor publicly admitted to cheating on him with ex Dakota Mortensen upon returning to Utah.Despite fan support for Doug’s handling of the situation, some MomTok cast members questioned his authenticity.Doug Mason is breaking his silence on Taylor Frankie Paul’s scrapped season of The Bachelorette. On Monday, September 28, the reported winner of TFP’s season spoke about his proposal and, ultimately, their split, in a video shared to his Instagram Stories.“We gotta talk about something. Let’s talk about The Bachelorette…that experience has been looming in my life for some time,” he started. “Although I’ve been moved on for a long time, I think it’s important that I express to you guys that I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity just to go on the show.”Doug’s comments come after Taylor publicly admitted that she cheated on him with her ex, Dakota Mortensen, as soon as she returned to Utah from filming The Bachelorette. While his engagement to Taylor didn’t work out in the end, Doug expressed his gratitude for the experience bringing him new friendships.“I met some brothers and I learned a lot about myself,” he shared. “I have officially moved on, and this is me saying that I am going that way. So I hope that everybody can understand that it was in my past and now focusing on my future. So, take care. Thanks so much for listening.”Some fans of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives backed Doug up, with one writing, “He’s had so many opportunities to drag Taylor and has never once said anything bad about her—that says so much about him, especially after the way she disrespected their engagement. He either didn’t care or he’s a healed man.”Another added, “He sounds like he wants to not be associated with TFP at all. It comes off as he’s embarrassed and wants to move on. ‘It’s in my past’ and I totally get why he feels that way. He probs just doesn’t want to lumped in with her or her actions or crazy behavior.”Evan Mulling//DisneyBut, as fans come to his defense in comment sections, some members of MomTok haven’t bought into his authenticity. According to their confessionals on SLOMW season 5, they found Doug to be a “clout chaser” for appearing on The Bachelorette to begin with.“It just felt like he was hiding something or putting on a performance or a show. He wasn’t being very authentic…he’s basically Dakota,” Mikayla Matthews (who would later seemingly admit she’s leaving the show because of Taylor) said during a season 5 confessional.What’s more: a woman named Jessica Mae posted a TikTok in which she claimed to be Doug’s ex on September 25.“Not me watching my ex get dragged on TV,” she wrote alongside the post, which featured clips of the other MomTok members as they discussed one of Taylor’s “top three” guys from The Bachelorette. While it was never confirmed, fans speculated that they were dishing on Doug.While Doug hasn’t spoken much about his dating history pre-TFP, I’ll be keeping an eye on Miss Jessica. Something tells me she might spill some tea at some point… and I’m already seated.