Warning: Potential SPOILERS ahead for Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette! Come back when you can't wait to hear about this ring drama anymore!
I don't know about you, Bachelor Nation, but as I'm still decompressing and trying to wrap my head around the bonkers events of this week's episode of Clare Crawley's Season 16 of The Bachelorette, I had not been expecting too much word on the (probable) current romance between our leading lady and Dale Moss. So, I was pretty surprised when my attention was drawn to a recent social media post of Clare's which has many wondering if her diamond ring explanation actually means bad news for her future with Dale.
Here's what's been going on. So, you know how we've all heard that Clare quit her season after becoming so besotted with Dale that she didn't see the need to keep trying out the other dudes lined up for her? OK, good. Then, you'll also know that there are rumors that she and Dale have actually already gotten engaged, after only knowing each other for a few weeks. Apparently, though, some fans have noticed that Clare is wearing a random diamond ring on her wedding finger, having seen it in her recent interviews for her season.
And, as the denizens of Bachelor Nation are wont to do, they've been inquiring about said ring. Well, Clare has finally offered an explanation for it on Instagram, so let's take a look at what she said, and discuss what this could mean below:
People have noticed I wear this ring on my wedding finger, and have asked why! The truth is because it is a commitment to myself first and foremost, to embody self-love. • In the past I found myself getting into relationships where there was little to no reciprocity, and in the end would feel depleted and empty. This is my promise to myself, to make sure I always had enough self love that no matter what happened, I was committed to loving myself unconditionally, and that is something no man could take away from me.
Alright. I mean, at first glance that sounds simple enough, right? Here's the issue, though. If Clare is currently wearing this diamond ring as a symbol of self-love, and still rocking the rocks on her wedding finger, does that just mean that she and Dale haven't actually gotten engaged yet, or is the engagement off and there's some trouble brewing in paradise?
Well, let's start with the most obvious possibility for why Clare is still sporting her self-love sparkler. It is entirely possible that Clare and Dale are still together, but the rumors are erroneous, and they haven't gotten engaged just yet. Let's not forget that The Bachelorette is already on a very speedy timeline for people to fall in love and become engaged, so maybe, after leaving the show, they (wisely, I believe) decided to slow stuff down a bit and simply continue getting to know one another.
We've seen that Clare likes to have a lot of super deep conversations, and those can all hardly be had in a few weeks time. You also likely wouldn't want all of your time together to be emotional and heavy, so these two might just be spreading things out and waiting to formalize their future.
I tend to think that there's not been a complete breakdown of the relationship right now, which leads to the other potential reasoning behind Clare keeping this ring: she's trying to hide her engagement. Doesn't this make a ton of sense? Consider how this whole season has been handled, folks. They still refuse to acknowledge that Tayshia Adams has been said to take over as Bachelorette once Clare leaves. Do you really think Clare would wear her Neil Lane engagement ring right now, and give away that bombshell before the producers say it's OK? OF COURSE NOT. If these two are already engaged (or take that step at any point while the season airs), that will 100% be officially announced on the show.
Look, I don't believe we need to worry about Clare and Dale any more than we might already be doing so. They're probably still figuring things out. But, you guys, this whole season / pre-season has been wackadoodle, so truly any reality could be possible right now, and we all need to keep that in mind. We can see exactly what happens by watching The Bachelorette, Tuesdays on ABC at 8 p.m. EST!
