Bachelor Nation fans knew there was something up in paradise (talking raccoon notwithstanding) when Entertainment Tonight reported Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette would now be known as Tayshia Adams’ season of The Bachelorette.
According to ET, Clare supposedly fell in love with one of her contestants (Life & Style reports that the guy is former NFL player Dale Moss), which is why Clare’s journey to find a match on the show came to an end.
But The Dipp spoke with a source close to production who thinks Clare didn’t leave the show because she found a fiancé. “My guess-timation is not that she fell in love,” the source tells me, “it’s that she’s a total nightmare and they had to figure out an elegant way to get out of it and not destroy her [reputation].”
This claim that Clare was difficult on set is backed up by another Bachelor Nation insider who told Life & Style that Clare “blindsided” production. But, that said, their source claimed that she did, in fact, find love. The outlet reported that Clare “refused to come out of her room” after falling in love with Dale, which left production scrambling to figure out how to move forward. An insider also told the publisher that “it’s been one big shit show” trying to organize the season.
Our source tells me they think that getting Clare out and Tayshia in to save the season is “probably such a relief for [the producers],” who have been struggling to get this season off the ground.
Could this all have been avoided, though? The source we spoke to thinks, yes. “She should never have been chosen as the Bachelorette,” they tell me. “When I heard that, I [said] ‘you guys are in for some trouble.'”
“It couldn’t have ended well for anybody,” the source explains.
As for Clare and Dale, they may already have their happy ending. The couple is reportedly engaged and holed up in a house together, but they’ve reportedly been told they cannot come out until the season premieres, and that they need to remain silent. OK! Magazine has learned that ABC won’t pay Clare nor Dale any money (Clare reportedly has $250,000 on the line) if they break their contracts and speak about the show.
It would indeed be unprecedented if Clare was in fact kicked off midseason, but — and I don’t have to tell Andi Dorfman nor Nick Viall this — there’s two sides to every story.
ET spoke to a separate source who tells a different tale: the outlet reported that Clare left on good terms with Bachelorette producers. (The Dipp reached out to ABC and to Clare’s representative for comment, but did not hear back.)
Adding more swirl to this season: both Hannah Ann Sluss (of Pilot Peter’s season) and Becca Kufrin (the Bachelorette who recently split with fiancé Garrett Yrigoyen) are rumored to be on the Bachelorette set.
“Generally, the lead wants to experience the whole thing, see how it goes,” the source tells me. “Typically, they sign a contract and they want to be there.” Clare’s supposed exit mid-season breaks this mold… and now we might have Tayshia, Hannah Ann, and Becca in the mix.
Having two (or four?) Bachelorettes isn’t a totally new concept as far as The Bachelorette goes — Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season started with her and Britt Nilsson vying for the attention of their suitors — but this would be the first time a Bachelor or Bachelorette has been replaced mid-season.
The switch to Tayshia has fans excited, though, and Clare’s supposedly looking forward to her/Tayshia’s season, too: ET captured a screengrab of Clare liking a fan’s tweet that expressed enthusiasm for Tayshia’s season, but the like has been removed.
Another Bachelor alum is also enthusiastic about what’s happening. Mr. Ben Higgins, perhaps “enthusiasm” personified, tells The Dipp in a statement: “Once again the franchise has a twist that brings us all in with excitement and intrigue! I hope Clare is happy and that this experience leads to a tremendous amount of joy. In the same breath, I am so excited to see the incredible Tayshia step into the Bachelorette role! What a season we have in front of us.”
This actually might be the most dramatic season ever, which, as always, is a good thing. The franchise has been on the air now for 18 years; fans are hungry for something new, and so are the people who work on the show, according to the source.
“It’s probably pretty exciting,” the source tells me, “because after this many seasons when there’s something new and different that happens it stops feeling like Groundhog Day and it’s like, ‘OK, cool, let’s figure out how to navigate this uncharted territory.’”
A premiere date for the unchartered Clare and Tayshia season hasn’t yet been released.
Images: Screenshots, ABC