Clare Crawley Spotted for 1st Time After Stepping Down as Bachelorette
Back at it. Clare Crawley stepped out for the first time since she bowed out from being the Bachelorette.
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In the first photos, posted by Entertainment Tonight, she is spotted on set in Palm Springs, wearing a mask outside.
Crawley, 39, was selected to be the season 16 Bachelorette in March before the coronavirus pandemic caused a delay. Shortly after production resumed in July at the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California, the hairstylist abruptly quit the show after finding love with one of her contenders.
Us Weekly confirmed that Tayshia Adams — formerly of Colton Underwood’s Bachelor season and season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise — would be the second lead.
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An insider told Us that producers “were shocked” by Crawley’s decision to leave the show. They were “scrambling” and “frantic” while trying to determine their next course of action. That being said, they “had to find a way to continue the show without just starting from scratch.”
Since the switch-up in casting, many other members of Bachelor Nation have been spotted on set, including Hannah Ann Sluss, Wells Adams, Ashley Iaconetti, Becca Kufrin and Sydney Lotuaco.
Crawley’s association with Bachelor Nation stretches back to 2014, when she competed for Juan Pablo Galavis on season 18 of The Bachelor. She then appeared on Bachelor in Paradise’s first two seasons before joining Bachelor Winter Games in 2018.
Through her participation in The Bachelor Winter Games, she met Benoit Beauséjour-Savard. They got engaged during the February 2018 reunion show but called it quits two months later.
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Before filming would have begun, Crawley spoke to Good Morning America about her journey on the ABC hit. Crawley is the oldest lady to be the Bachelorette — a title that was previously held by Rachel Lindsay, who was 32 when she led the series.
“I’m wondering if they’re ready for me, for my age,” she said in March. “I feel that would be more of an issue than me with them, because I feel so much younger at heart than my actual age. I’m proud of my age, but I just feel younger. That, to me, is what’s important.”
The Bachelorette is set to air on ABC this fall.
