ABC/Craig Sjodin Clare Crawley speaks with her suitors on 'The Bachelorette.'
For weeks, Bachelor Nation has watched Clare Crawley tearfully put her head in her hand as Chris Harrison told her, “You’ve just blown up The Bachelorette.” Tonight, viewers will finally see how it all unfolds. SPOILERS: Stop reading any further if you would like to avoid spoilers on season 16 of The Bachelorette.
In the final seconds of the last episode, the long-rumored replacement for Crawley, Tayshia Adams, emerged from a pool at the La Quinta Resort and Club where the season was filmed. Her arrival served as an indication the reported exit of Crawley is imminent.
In October, Crawley spoke with ET about what Harrison meant when telling her she blew up the popular dating show. “I think he’s basically referring to that this is a season like no other and I can say that really confidently being a part of this franchise for a while now,” she said. “It was one of those things where there was a lot of different things that played into it being such a dynamic, different season. That I definitely think it’s going to blow people’s minds.”
When ET’s Lauren Zima pressed, asking, “What does it mean to have blown up the show, Clare?” Crawley laughed, saying, “I don’t know, ask Chris that. That’s a good question.”
According to Reality Steve, this moment is essentially Harrison telling her the season cannot continue as it is currently playing out and she must choose what she wants next. Her choice is more time with Dale Moss.
An ABC Executive Revealed the Moment They Knew Crawley Would Need to Be Replaced
After last week’s episode of The Bachelorette, ABC Executive Rob Mills spoke with Nick Viall on The Viall Files about when they “started making the call” to bring in a new lead.
During the first group date in the third episode, frontrunner Moss monopolized her time and went home with the group date rose. For the next group date, Moss and the other men not included sat in the audience for a Bachelorette Roast. Many of Crawley’s suitors aimed their jokes at Moss, something she noted and asked each of them about during the cocktail party before not handing out a group date rose.
“This was the time when we started thinking ‘Oh my god like we’ve really got to start thinking about this,’ when she didn’t give out that rose and just gave it to herself,” said Mills.
Crawley Is Expected to Exit the Season With Moss
In an unprecedented move, Crawley is expected to exit the season early engaged to Moss. After she conveys her feelings to Harrison, he pulls Moss aside and discovers the feelings are reciprocated according to Reality Steve.
He then reports they are given a one-on-one date which ends with them spending the night together. Harrison touches base with them the next morning to discover they are in love and soon get engaged.
There have been many rumors the two talked before filming, but Crawley has asserted that is not the case. She has admitted to looking everyone up on social media, telling Jimmy Kimmel, “He was one of the guys that was on, cast for earlier in the season when it was supposed to air earlier and being able to look him up, there were just a lot of good things that aligned with what I’m looking for that he kind of embodied.”
Reports of her engagement were essentially confirmed when ET shared photos of her wearing what appears to be an engagement ring earlier today.
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