The Bachelorette star Clare Crawley reportedly talked and FaceTimed with bachelor Dale Moss during the unexpected four-month delay that preceded Season 16's production and was basically already in love with him by the time filming finally began.
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But according to multiple new reports -- which don't identify Dale as the winner of Clare's heart -- Clare and Dale's love affair began way before cameras even started rolling at the La Quinta Resort and Club in Palm Springs, CA.
After The Bachelorette announced an initial cast of 32 potential bachelors and then filming of Season 16 was postponed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, Clare admitted she googled some of the original cast, which included Dale.
And according to Us Weekly, Dale made a move on Clare during the four-month hiatus leading up to the start of The Bachelorette production last month.
Dale "contacted her before the show and they really hit it off," a source told Us. "They would DM a bunch and then started FaceTiming and things moved quickly."
The source added that the 31-year-old model and former college basketball and football player from Brandon, SC, "always thought Clare was attractive before they even met" and she is "totally his type and he loved her energy."
People reported similar findings, revealing that one of Clare's potential bachelors "found a way to get in touch with her and they began talking" earlier this year.
"By the time filming officially began, they were basically already in love. No one else stood a chance," the source explained to People.
"It just became so obvious from her subsequent few dates that her heart wasn't in it and she just wasn't feeling it. Then she said she wanted out."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
The Bachelor alum Tayshia Adams, who competed on Colton Underwood's The Bachelor edition, was therefore brought in as a back-up The Bachelorette star.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWNews of Tayshia's participation first shocked the world on Friday, 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.
Entertainment Tonight then confirmed on Monday that Tayshia is taking over Season 16 of The Bachelorette for Clare and both women's journey to find love will be featured on the show when it airs this fall on Tuesday nights at 8PM ET/PT on ABC. (An official premiere date has yet to be announced).
"Tayshia was game and ready to go," the People source said. "What remains to be seen is if more men will be brought in now to give Tayshia a full roster of suitors."
Another People insider teased this "really" could be "the most dramatic season ever" for The Bachelorette franchise because Clare's storyline wasn't as simple as what has currently been reported.
"There's more to the story than just [Clare] falling for someone and not wanting to see what else could happen with other men," the insider said.
Although rumors swirled late last week Clare was difficult on the set and even "refused to come out of her room" to film at one point, Life & Style reported Clare left the show on good terms with The Bachelorette producers.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
But the producers were left scrambling and had to "pick up the pieces."
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"Because of quarantine, it's not as simple as just starting over," the People insider explained.
"Everyone is being tested and contained within this bubble so anyone coming from the 'outside' is potentially a problem. So that still needs to be fully resolved at this point in terms of Tayshia's suitors."
Clare gave her First Impression Rose to Dale, according to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone. And now Clare and Dale are reportedly engaged.
Clare actually admitted to doing some research on the original cast of 32 potential men during a June appearance on The Bachelorette alums Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin's Bachelor Happy Hour podcast.
"Obviously. What woman wouldn't, are you kidding me?" Clare confessed when asked if she had googled her group of bachelors after filming was postponed in March.
"I will say this. At first, I really didn't [Google the guys]. I really did not and it was because, I don't know. I just kind of felt like I want to get to know them, and I know how my Instagram is -- it's a piece of my life," Clare said.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
"It's one of those [things] you have to see and feel it in person, and so regardless of what their life is and what it looks like on their Instagram, it's nice to actually see them in person. I am huge on pheromones, so that's like the end all for me, if they smell amazing."
She added, "But I will say, I have looked a little bit. My friends have looked more than I have, to be honest. They're like, 'Did you see this or did you see that?'"
Clare added at the time, "You can kind of tell people's lifestyles from their Instagram Stories. And I see some where I'm like, 'Mmm, that's not really my vibe.' And others where I look at them and say, 'Oh, that's hot. I can't wait to meet that guy and I hope he's on my season.'"
Clare and/or Tayshia's official and final set of bachelors who will star on The Bachelorette's sixteenth season will be confirmed at a later date.
The Bachelorette's new season was originally supposed to have premiered on May 18, but global health restrictions in light of coronavirus had shut down nearly all Hollywood productions.
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Clare then unsuccessfully continued to search for love on Seasons 1 and 2 of Bachelor in Paradise, which aired on ABC in 2014 and 2015.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Clare got engaged to French Canadian bachelor Benoit Beausejour-Savard on the reunion special for The Bachelor Winter Games, which aired in early 2018, but they broke up in April of that year.
After competing on The Bachelor's 23rd season in 2019, 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 the Summer 2019 season 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.
Several months following her split from John Paul, Tayshia told ET that she'd be "open" to dating men in and outside of Bachelor Nation and she'd be "honored" to be selected as a future The Bachelorette star.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
