The Bachelorette host Chris Harrison is dodging questions about widespread reports Tayshia Adams took over for Clare Crawley on the show's sixteenth season, which recently wrapped filming.
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Clare, 39, is now reportedly engaged to and still in love with Dale, and both Tayshia and Clare's journeys to find love are expected to air on The Bachelorette this fall when it premieres Tuesday, October 13 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
But Harrison played coy when Entertainment Tonight reporter Lauren Zima, who is also his longtime girlfriend, asked him questions about Tayshia, 30, co-starring on the series.
"Clare is the Bachelorette," Harrison insisted with a big smile. "Have you not seen the promos?! Clare-ly you have not been watching the promos."
"Could that change?" Lauren asked.
"Next season it will change," Harrison playfully responded.
Lauren pointed out Tayshia would make a great lead for the franchise regardless of what happens on Season 16.
"In all seriousness, Tayshia is a very good friend of mine. I absolutely love and adore this woman, and I would love for her to have that opportunity to be the Bachelorette, should that ever arise," Harrison explained.
"She would be a great candidate [for Bachelorette]. She always was. She was on the top of our list from the start."
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Harrison continued to tease his girlfriend, adding that Tayshia would make a great The Bachelorette star in 2021, for example, after Matt James' season of The Bachelor airs on ABC.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"Is Tayshia not the Bachelorette?" Lauren asked in confusion.
"She's not not the Bachelorette," Harrison replied.
Lauren pointed out that Harrison did not give her the Clare-ity she was hoping for that day.
A source previously told Life & Style that before Clare officially quit The Bachelorette, she even "refused to come out of her room" at one point to film dates with other men.
A source had told Us Weekly that The Bachelorette producers "were shocked" by Clare's choice to leave the show and were left "scrambling" and "frantic" while trying to figure out how to handle the unprecedented situation.
"[But they] had to find a way to continue the show without just starting from scratch," the source added.
News of Tayshia's participation first shocked the world on July 31 when a spoiler about her replacing Clare was posted on Reddit and then Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone tweeted there was "some serious validity" to the posting.
ET subsequently confirmed on August 3 that Tayshia was the new star of The Bachelorette but Clare's short journey to find love will also be featured on the show when it airs this fall.
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Tayshia was subsequently spotted and photographed taping the show in a sexy bikini at The Bachelorette resort, La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, CA.
"We saw a lot of people on set. [Becca Kufrin] and [JoJo Fletcher] and [Wells Adams] was on set. I don't think [they're] going to be the Bachelorette or Bachelor," Harrison said. "We brought a lot of friends in to help us out this season."
Other members of Bachelor Nation who were rumored to be at the resort during production were Hannah Ann Sluss, Ashley Iaconetti, and Sydney Lotuaco.
ABC just announced Clare's official cast of 31 bachelors for Season 16, which premieres Tuesday, October 13 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC pending the schedule for the NBA Finals.
Tayshia, a phlebotomist from Orange County, CA, first appeared on Colton Underwood's season of The Bachelor and was eliminated during his round of overnight Fantasy Suite dates.
Tayshia was widely reported to be a frontrunner to star on The Bachelorette's fifteenth season last year, but the position ultimately went to Hannah Brown.
Tayshia therefore appeared on last year's edition of Bachelor in Paradise, where she fell in love with John Paul Jones but dumped him before the season concluded.
While the couple briefly reconciled and began dating in the real world after leaving Paradise, Tayshia and John Paul ultimately split in October 2019.
Just days before Clare was announced as The Bachelorette's Season 16 leading lady, Tayshia admitted to ET that she would be "ready" for the gig.
"I have to say, anything that comes my way, I am ready for," Tayshia shared in late February. "I am ready for love!"
The Bachelorette's new season was originally supposed to have filmed in March and premiered on May 18, but global health restrictions in light of coronavirus had shut down nearly all Hollywood productions.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
