Congrats! Bachelorette Clare Crawley and contestant Dale Moss are engaged, a source exclusively tells Life & Style. Talk among production says the former NFL player already popped the question to the 39-year-old hairstylist.
On July 30, Life & Style exclusively broke the news that Clare threatened to quit the show after only 12 days of filming because she had “already fallen in love” with Dale. “She told producers she no longer wanted to participate in the show,” an insider said at the time, adding that she “refused to come out of her room” during filming. Producers were “blindsided” and were “scrambling to figure out what to do.”
Just a day later, Life & Style exclusively revealed ABC was considering former Bachelor contestant Tayshia Adams “to replace” Clare on season 16.
It sounds like Clare’s falling in love with Dale and subsequent leaving of the show will be featured in the new season, along with Tayshia’s entrance. Production is hoping to “match [Tayshia] up with the bachelors who are left,” the insider says. After a lengthy casting process and delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, “execs hope the guys will still want to participate.”
“It took them time to test them all for COVID and they’ve already been quarantined at the resort for 14 days,” the source explains.
As for Clare and Dale, the two “won’t say exactly when cupid struck,” but many fans speculate they were in contact before filming. “People are wondering if it was love at first sight when she and Dale met up in Palm Springs two weeks ago,” the source adds about their time at La Quinta resort.
Dale, 31, and the blonde beauty seem like they’d be “a great match,” a separate source tells Life & Style about the pair’s connection. The South Dakota native, who is a former wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, “obviously loves working out, sports, of course, and anything involving health and fitness. He’s very cautious about what he eats and likes to try new healthy things. He also loves dogs.” On top of their shared interests, Dale is “super close” with his siblings and “really cares” about his family, the second source notes.
Prior to Clare, Dale was in a “serious” relationship with golfer Seema Sadekar, the source says, adding that “when it comes to girls, she’s the one he would take about the most.”
As for the leading lady, it’s been quite a journey to find love. After first appearing as a contestant on The Bachelor (and telling off lead Juan Pablo in an epic tirade), Clare joined the cast of season 1 of Bachelor in Paradise. She ended up sending herself home as she became concerned Zack Kalter, with whom she had exchanged roses, was not as serious about their relationship as she was.
She returned for season 2 of the tropical dating show but was eliminated week 3 after failing to make a connection with anyone. Clare later appeared on Olympic-themed spinoff Bachelor Winter Games but quit the show in episode 3. However, she reconnected with Canadian hunk Benoit Beauséjour-Savard off-camera, and he proposed to her on After the Final Rose. Unfortunately, they split soon after.
After being announced as the next Bachelorette, Clare credited her age with making her better suited to make tough choices on the show. “It’s more years under my belt; more learning what I want, what I don’t want and what I won’t settle for,” she said. It sounds like she found what she was looking for, although a bit sooner than expected!