Getty Clare Crawley attends the 2022 iHeartRadio Wango Tango.
Clare Crawley had a unique run as “The Bachelorette,” in part because filming was suspended just a day before it was supposed to begin because of the coronavirus pandemic. Crawley’s cast had already been announced, and then everything was put on hold for four months. During that time, some drama ensued involving future “The Bachelor” Matt James, and now Crawley is spilling the tea.
Here’s what you need to know:
Crawley Heard About James From Many People
During the June 17 podcast episode of “Almost Famous,” Crawley opened up to Ashley Iaconetti about the drama connected to James. Crawley admitted, “I’ve held back a lot with what information I do have, and what’s been presented to me.” She explained that whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, she had four months of isolation to dig into the men cast for “The Bachelorette.” She received many messages from people sharing scoop on her contestants, and Crawley received a lot of messages specifically about James.
“There was nobody I had more messages [about] than him,” Crawley revealed. She received videos of him talking while he was out partying or hanging out with others, and “The stuff he was saying about me, which I’m not gonna repeat, was hurtful.” After receiving so many messages about James and what people overheard him saying about her, Crawley felt his spot on “The Bachelorette” was better used by someone who might genuinely be there for her.
She Took Advantage of Having a Choice in the Matter
This may be the first time Crawley is talking about all the messages she received about James, but this is not the first time she has acknowledged drama related to him. In April 2020, during that coronavirus filming hiatus, Crawley took to Twitter and posted a criticism that seemed directed at James. “If you are doing interviews and creating Cameo accounts before you are even on my season… you are in it for the wrong reasons… #dontwasteyourtime.” She didn’t mention James by name, but in her chat with Iaconetti, she touched upon that situation.
Crawley explained she thought James’ decision to do Cameo videos, with the proceeds reportedly going to charity, could have been presented more clearly. At this point, “I don’t know or care” what the truth was, she noted. Ultimately, James became “The Bachelor” and did not participate in her season. Of the situation, Crawley says, “I had a choice of who my options were to date and [James] would not be one of them.” She then slipped in one specific detail about what he had supposedly said about her, which was to refer to her as his “mom.”
“I am a fan of Matt, but I can’t excuse him for that,” one person on Reddit said of Crawley’s revelation. “I feel for clare! Even though she fell in love with someone purely based on contrived social media lol,” someone else noted, referencing Crawley falling hard for Dale Moss because of what she saw on his social media before filming. “Don’t be shy, clare, release the tapes,” another posted joked, and one Redditor quipped, “I am ready for her to go off with some tea on Dale.” Crawley has moved on, as has James, but “The Bachelorette” fans certainly seemed intrigued by the tea she teased she had.