The Bachelorette alum Clare Crawley has revealed that she and her fiance Ryan Dawkins had three marriage proposals and they're going to have more than one wedding as well.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Ryan, the CEO of Mascot Sports, proposed marriage to Clare on October 7 in Las Vegas, NV.
"It was literally the most unexpected thing, we were just living our life doing our thing and here we are!" Clare gushed to Trista Sutter and Bob Guiney during a special episode of "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous" podcast.
"I had no clue. We always talked about getting engaged and our life together just felt so natural, and it's been the same for a while. So to me, it was just going on a trip, we were going to the RiSE festival."
Ryan apparently told Clare that they'd be getting engaged in 2023 and so she was shocked when he pulled out the ring. He also gave her no heads up about doing her hair or getting her nails done before the event.
"No one knows this, but we had actually three proposals," the hairstylist revealed.
"He proposed to me at the RiSE Festival. Then we came back to Sacramento and he -- this makes me want to cry every time -- but he asked my mom for her blessing again and got down on a knee again and in front of my mom proposed to me again, so she can be there for it, which is super sweet."
And because she and Ryan consider themselves "very progressive people," she disclosed that she popped the question to Ryan as well.
"I didn't get down on one knee, but I proposed to him as well. So if people see him with a ring on his finger, it's because I proposed to him as well," Clare shared. "He was like, 'If you get to wear a ring, why don't I get to wear a ring?'"
Clare also told Trista and Bob how she dreams of having "a very simple wedding" because, as a hairstylist, she's dealt with "many bridezillas" and doesn't want to be one.
"I don't want to put the energy or stress into worrying about other people on my special day, or our special day," Clare said.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWRELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Clare apparently wants one ceremony with just her mother in attendance given Clare's mom is in hospice care and battles Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
"We want two weddings. I want one because my mom is not able to travel... and to be around a lot of people is overwhelming for her," Clare explained.
"He knows how much my mom means to me and how important she is in our lives. So he wants her to be there for the wedding. Time is precious and time is limited, so we want one with her -- just a small intimate thing."
Clare envisions the first ceremony with her mother participating being a very "special moment."
And then Clare noted how she and Ryan would like to have a second wedding including his two daughters, noting how it may be a "destination" wedding.
"I love the mom life!" Clare exclaimed, recalling how she often drops Ryan's kids off at school. "And he's just a really good dad... The fact he comes with two babies already just lights up my world."
Clare and Ryan got engaged one month after going Instagram official with their relationship.
ADVERTISEMENT
Clare shared last month on Instagram how she actually met Ryan the same month her engagement to The Bachelorette 16 winner Dale Moss ended.
"He asked me to dinner. I didn't have an appetite. (Stressed & depressed) But I said yes to tea and a walk. Ended up laughing and smiling more than I did the entire last year combined," Clare revealed on Instagram Stories, according to Us Weekly.
Clare accepted a marriage proposal from Dale on The Bachelorette 16 finale in 2020 but they briefly split in January 2021.
Clare and Dale began going on dates again in February 2021, and then Dale confirmed they were back together in early April of last year by posting a selfie with Clare on Instagram.
Once they reconciled, Dale's representative announced the former pro athlete's split from Clare -- once and for all -- in early October 2021, although they had reportedly already broken up one month earlier.
Clare therefore quietly began seeing Ryan in late 2021, but she didn't go Instagram official with their relationship until September 2022.
"Him," Clare captioned an Instagram video of the pair singing in the car at the time, along with a red-heart emoji.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Clare did not unveil her boyfriend's identity in the post, but she called him "my perfect match" on Instagram Stories and posted footage of them kissing each other.
Fans immediately speculated the man was Ryan, and she later uploaded the following quote, "One day, when you least expect it, you are going to crash into someone who is going to be so soft and gentle with your heart, and you are going to be so glad you kept it open. You are going to be so glad that you continued to fight for it -- that you chose to believe it [that you] deserved more."
Clare hinted she had been dating Ryan for a while already when she pinned a comment to her Instagram account that read, "Babyyyyy!! Finally. A year later and y'all still so f-cking cute."
Season 17 The Bachelorette star Katie Thurston also wrote in the comments, "The secret is out."
ADVERTISEMENT
A source told Us last month of Clare, "She wanted to keep it private until she was ready to debut him as her new boyfriend. Close friends and family have known about it for a few months now, but it was her secret to tell."
Clare was last linked to The Bachelorette alum Blake Monar. They sparked dating rumors in January when they spent a fun-filled weekend together in Indiana, but a source told Us in late August that they were "never officially dating" and had only hung out "a few times."
The source explained how Clare was "still healing from her very public, painful breakup" with Dale when she was spending time with Blake at the beginning of the year.
Clare appeared devastated when she and Dale ended their engagement and relationship.
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
Multiple sources described Dale as a "fame-seeker" and partyboy in New York City while Clare had been very clear from the start about her intentions to get married, settle down and have children in the near future.
Reports also swirled at the time Dale had cheated on Clare, although Dale firmly denied the cheating allegations.
Following their breakup, Clare threw major shade at Dale on more than one occasion. She ultimately thought he was fake and had put on a performance during their romance so he could achieve fame and boost his acting and modeling career.
Clare previously told Jana Kramer in an October 2021 episode of the "Whine Down" podcast her "biggest regret" from The Bachelorette is "trusting a man," People reported.
Not only was Clare dealing with a broken heart and her mother's health crisis in Fall 2021, but she was also still recovering from having her breast implants removed.
"There was a lot on my plate... It all came crashing down at once," Clare noted on "Whine Down."
ADVERTISEMENT
"The one that gets me is, how do you say goodbye to somebody you never wanted to walk away from?" Clare reportedly said through tears.
"Like I would have never walked... You're having to say goodbye to somebody you don't want to be saying goodbye to, you have to walk away from somebody you don't want to walk away from. It's hard, it's painful."
As for Dale's current love life, he is reportedly dating home designer Galey Alix after casually dating Argentinian model and soccer player Florencia Galarza this past winter.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
