Spoilers ahead for Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette on ABC.
Bachelor alum Clare Crawley has been confirmed as the leading lady of the next season of The Bachelorette, which undoubtedly came as a surprise to the non-spoiler savvy fans. Despite appearances on Juan Pablo Galavis' season of The Bachelor, two seasons of Bachelor in Paradise, and one stint on The Bachelor Winter Games, she hasn't been around Bachelor Nation since 2018, and she's older than most Bachelorettes at 38. Now, spoilers indicate some of her potential bachelors are being cut for being too young.
On March 1, Bachelor spoiler guru Reality Steve shared that "a couple of the 25 year olds" who had already been cast for Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette were cut because of the age difference, and four of the guys who have been cast have kids. Of the group of 14 guys whose ages he had originally reported, two were 25 or under, with the oldest at 40.
Although ABC hasn't confirmed any of the gents looking for love with Clare Crawley, one 25-year-old has revealed that he was dumped from The Bachelorette due to his age: Jackson Canfield, who Reality Steve named as one of the 25-year-olds on his list who had been cast and has since been removed. Canfield revealed his casting and subsequent cut via Facebook:
just wanted people to hear it from me. I got the call explaining the sudden changes being made in the direction of who was to be chosen for the bachelorette. In their words, in light of the significant age difference, compared to the original possible candidates, they decided to forgo younger guys, aka me, moving forward with the show. Disappointing, obviously. Not really the card I figured would be dealt.
Considering the ladies looking for love on seasons of The Bachelor are often in their early-to-mid 20s, a 25-year-old being deemed too old comes as a surprise, despite signs that the franchise could start pursuing older contestants. Casting is reportedly still ongoing this week for Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette; if Jackson Canfield was cut because of his age, fans can probably count on the rest of Crawley's pool of suitors being 25+.
The Bachelor franchise seems to be exploring some new avenues when it comes to ages and length of time that contestants have been separated from the various series, considering none of current Bachelor Peter Weber's ladies will be distributing the roses on The Bachelorette and the senior dating show that's in the works. Weber's season of The Bachelor has been packed with drama and also packed with many ladies under the age of 25. How will Crawley's season compare?
Since casting for Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette is still happening, fans shouldn't count on seeing her season hit the airwaves any time too soon. The good news (possibly, anyway) is that a new show is in the works to fill the gap between The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Throw in Bachelor in Paradise, and there aren't going to be a whole lot of prolonged breaks in Bachelor Nation.
Catch the final episodes of Peter Weber's season of The Bachelor on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, with the grand finale (which is going to be complicated) concluding on Tuesday, March 10 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. For some viewing options between the end of The Bachelor and the beginning of The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart on Monday, April 17, check out our 2020 winter and spring premiere schedule.
