Possible spoilers ahead for Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette on ABC.
Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette has been unconventional from the start, and not just because Bachelor Nation pulled a single who last appeared in the franchise years ago back for another shot at love. Production shutdowns throughout the entertainment industry brought her season to a halt before it could really begin, and spoilers ran dry for a long time. Now, it seems that Crawley may have actually quit The Bachelorette early, and may be replaced by another Bachelor Nation alum.
Although nothing has been confirmed by ABC, Clare Crawley, or even Chris Harrison at the time of writing, Deadline reports an first-ever twist on the way in Crawley's season of The Bachelorette: the leading lady leaves for love early, and another woman steps into the spotlight. Rumor has it that Crawley fell in love with one of the men trying to win her heart early in the game and left rather than continue the Bachelorette process and lead men on when she has no intention of choosing them. Too bad this seemingly didn't occur to Colton Underwood back in his fence-jumping days, even if he did start lying to producers!
Clare Crawley's decision to bow out early will reportedly be part of the season's story rather than something that turned production upside down and forced The Bachelorette to start all over again. Interestingly, if reports about how The Bachelorette switches gears after Crawley left early are correct, the second Bachelorette of the season will be one unconnected to Crawley: Tayshia Adams.
Tayshia Adams started her Bachelor Nation journey looking for love as one of the women trying to win Colton Underwood's heart on Season 23 of The Bachelor, then jumped to Bachelor in Paradise Season 6 (on which she roasted Underwood's kissing skills) to connect with John Paul Jones. Her romance with JPJ went through some ups and downs; if Adams really is going to be the second Bachelorette of Season 16, then it's safe to say that she and JPJ never worked things out for good.
According to reports, Tayshia Adams joined production on The Bachelorette Season 16 after going through quarantine, and production will seemingly give Adams the choice of the men Clare Crawley had already eliminated as well as those who were still in the running when she apparently chose to chase her happy ending early. Crawley herself may have added further weight to the reports via social media.
Clare Crawley's account evidently "liked" a tweet about Tayshia Adams stepping into The Bachelorette Season 16, although it was "unliked" afterward. As Bachelor Nation fans know, contestants aren't allowed access to their cell phones during production. With production ongoing, it makes sense that Crawley called it quits to ride off into the sunset with her bachelor of choice and reunite with her phone.
For now, Bachelor Nation fans can only wait for news and hope for confirmation one way or the other. Spoilers may be harder to come by than usual for this season of The Bachelorette due to changes in production for the sake of safety during the pandemic. The season will reportedly film in full at the La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, California. If Clare and her bachelors aren't heading out for extravagant dates beyond the walls of the Bachelor mansion, there are fewer chances for details to leak.
With production reportedly ongoing, The Bachelorette will seemingly make its intended fall premiere on ABC, when it will switch from Mondays at 8 p.m. ET to Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. For a fix of Bachelor Nation action (and drama) during the wait for The Bachelorette (and the subsequent debut of Matt James as The Bachelor's next leading man), you can find The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons Ever! airing Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC for a whopping three hours.
If you're in the market for some upcoming TV options set elsewhere than Bachelor Nation, check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule!
