The Bachelorette's replacement of Clare Crawley with Tayshia Adams as the show's Season 16 Bachelorette is reportedly now official.
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But that doesn't mean the footage of Clare's journey to find love on the show will be erased or go to waste.
Clare's time on The Bachelorette will "still be a part of" Season 16 of the show when it airs, according to ET.
While ABC has yet to comment on the reports of Clare's The Bachelorette departure or make an announcement of Tayshia's casting, ET's report seems especially credible given one of their entertainment reporters, Lauren Zima, is the girlfriend of The Bachelorette host Chris Harrison and claims to have "learned" the news.
"BREAKING: CONGRATS TAYSHIA! ET has learned Tayshia is the new #TheBachelorette," Lauren captioned an Instagram photo of herself with Tayshia on Monday.
Lauren's photo with Tayshia was taken back when Tayshia competed for Colton Underwood's heart on The Bachelor's 23rd season in 2019.
"That doesn't mean we won't see Clare Crawley's journey, and I can't WAIT to watch them both. This will be a franchise first... p.s. this pic is from my first interview with her, on her first group date back on @coltonunderwood's season."
It's unclear how exactly this unprecedented The Bachelorette season will play out on television this fall, but filming is reportedly still underway.
"Filming did not stop, but Tayshia got a fresh start as the Bachelorette," the ET source shared, adding that it remains to be seen whether producers brought in a fresh crop of bachelors to date Tayshia.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
As for why Tayshia is stepping into Clare's The Bachelorette shoes mid-production, the website also confirmed prior rumors that Clare fell hard for one of her bachelors early in the filming process and therefore didn't want to continue dating multiple men.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"Anything can happen [on a Bachelor show]," the source noted.
But the source claimed Clare did in fact leave the show on good terms with The Bachelorette producers although reports circulated last week that the 39-year-old hairstylist was difficult on the set and even "refused to come out of her room" at one point to film.
Clare reportedly began filming Season 16 of The Bachelorette at a resort in Palm Springs, CA, on July 18, and an insider told Life & Style last week Clare had fallen head over heels quickly for bachelor suitor Dale Moss.
Clare reportedly told producers she wanted to end The Bachelorette process prematurely in order to be with Dale, a 31-year-old model and former college basketball and football player from Brandon, SD.
"Producers are scrambling to figure out what to do," a source told Life & Style. "They are frantic trying to pick up the pieces without having to start over completely."
Around that same time, Us Weekly reported The Bachelorette producers were trying to track down rejected bachelor candidates -- men who were not selected as part of the Night 1 cast but were among the 42 potential candidates released by ABC last month -- and bring them back to appear on the show.
"Producers would like to 'match [Tayshia] up with the bachelors who are left,'" another source subsequently told Life & Style.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
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Considering Clare's cast of 42 potential candidates went through a lengthy casting process and had to follow through with specific health and safety protocols amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, "execs hope the guys will still want to participate," according to the second Life & Style insider.
"It took them time to test them all for COVID and they've already been quarantined at the resort for 14 days," the second insider added.
Speculation that Tayshia is replacing Clare as The Bachelorette's Season 16 star began in earnest with a Friday post on Reddit by someone claiming to be "the owner of a bachelor spoiler account."
"Please note this is unverified information: On [Monday, July 27] I got some messages saying that production is having a lot of problems with Clare during filming. Among other things, she cancelled everything that was supposed to happen... and they called in a new bachelorette," the poster wrote.
"They are recasting her with Tayshia. Tayshia is already quarantining at the hotel and they should be taking her phone on [Friday, July 31]. The plan is for her to call back some of guys that have already been eliminated."
The poster admitted to not believing the information at first and therefore withholding it from The Bachelorette fans for several days, but after rumors swirled of recasting bachelors and Clare falling in love, the poster went public with his or her spoiler.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone initially couldn't confirm whether Tayshia would indeed be taking over Clare's position as Bachelorette, but he said on Friday the Reddit posting had "some serious validity."
"(MAJOR SPOILER): I've been made aware of this Reddit post making the rounds. Been on the phone for the last 2 hrs digging. I cannot confirm with 100% certainty if it's true yet," Carbone tweeted.
"But if you ask my opinion, I think there is some serious validity to it based on what I'm hearing now."
Carbone elaborated on Twitter, "There's a lot to take in here that I don't have answers to yet (assuming this is true), but I will report back when I hear/know more...I don't have any definitive answers as of now."
Additional apparent evidence then also circulated that Tayshia would be the franchise's new Bachelorette.
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Clare reportedly removed her "like" on the post Monday morning, but screenshots of her social-media activity are widespread online.
In addition, Tayshia stopped posting on her social media accounts, which could be an indication she's had her phone taken away to film The Bachelorette.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
And Tayshia's pal Demi Burnett, who also appeared on Colton's The Bachelor season, also reportedly told Carbone during an Instagram Live session on Saturday that a text message she had sent Tayshia over the weekend was never delivered.
It's standard for production to take away and turn off The Bachelor or The Bachelorette cast's phones amid filming.
According to Carbone, Clare gave Dale the coveted First Impression Rose at the start of filming last month.
Dale was one of the original group of 32 prospective bachelors ABC announced in March before The Bachelorette season's production was postponed at the last minute due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Clare has admitted she used the four-month hiatus to research the men online.
"Obviously. What woman wouldn't, are you kidding me?" Clare told Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin during a June appearance on their Bachelor Happy Hour podcast when asked if she had googled her group of bachelors after filming was postponed.
"I will say this. At first, I really didn't [Google the guys]. I really did not and it was because, I don't know. I just kind of felt like I want to get to know them, and I know how my Instagram is -- it's a piece of my life," Clare said.
"It's one of those [things] you have to see and feel it in person, and so regardless of what their life is and what it looks like on their Instagram, it's nice to actually see them in person. I am huge on pheromones, so that's like the end all for me, if they smell amazing."
She added, "But I will say, I have looked a little bit. My friends have looked more than I have, to be honest. They're like, 'Did you see this or did you see that?'"
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(Only 17 of the original 32 bachelors ended up still being part of the revised pool of 42 potential bachelors when The Bachelorette season finally commenced filming in July.)
"You can kind of tell people's lifestyles from their Instagram Stories," Clare continued on Bachelor Happy Hour.
"And I see some where I'm like, 'Mmm, that's not really my vibe.' And others where I look at them and say, 'Oh, that's hot. I can't wait to meet that guy and I hope he's on my season.'"
Clare and/or Tayshia's official and final set of bachelors who will star on The Bachelorette's sixteenth season will be confirmed at a later date.
Given the unusual production situation, ABC has yet to announce a fall premiere date for Season 16. However, the show will air on Tuesday nights at 8PM ET/PT this fall.
The Bachelorette's new season was originally supposed to have premiered on May 18, but global health restrictions in light of coronavirus had shut down nearly all Hollywood productions.
Tayshia was widely reported to be a frontrunner to star on The Bachelorette's fifteenth season last year, but the position ultimately went to Hannah Brown.
Tayshia therefore appeared on last year's edition of Bachelor in Paradise, where she fell in love with John Paul Jones but dumped him before the season concluded.
While the couple briefly reconciled and began dating in the real world after leaving Paradise, Tayshia and John Paul ultimately split in October 2019.
Several months following her split from John Paul, Tayshia told ET that she'd be "open" to dating men in and outside of Bachelor Nation and she'd be "honored" to be selected as a future The Bachelorette star.
"No matter where life takes me, I am open to all opportunities, and I don't think that this is where my TV presence will end," Tayshia said at the time. "I would love to still interact with a lot of people in a beautiful way."
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"I have to say, anything that comes my way, I am ready for," Tayshia shared in late February. "I am ready for love!"
Clare was a 32-year-old from Sacramento, CA, when she was first introduced to Bachelor Nation on Juan Pablo Galavis' season of The Bachelor in 2014. She finished as his runner-up.
Clare then unsuccessfully continued to search for love on Seasons 1 and 2 of Bachelor in Paradise, which aired on ABC in 2014 and 2015.
Clare got engaged to French Canadian bachelor Benoit Beausejour-Savard on the reunion special for The Bachelor Winter Games, which aired in early 2018, but they broke up in April of that year.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
