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'The Bachelorette' alum Clare Crawley claims producers pushed her out of Season 16 against her wishes

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 10/29/2026

The Bachelorette alum Clare Crawley claims producers pushed her out of Season 16 to make room for Tayshia Adams, even though she wanted to continue her journey.

On The Bachelorette's 16th season in 2020, Clare, 45, appeared convinced she had met her future husband when Dale Moss stepped out of a limo on Night 1.

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It took less than two weeks for Clare to seemingly determine that Dale was the guy she wanted to be with forever, and so she dumped all of her other bachelors to pursue that one relationship.

Clare's journey on The Bachelorette therefore ended prematurely with a steamy overnight date with Dale that led to Dale getting down on one knee and proposing marriage.

Clare alleged that producers had been planning her departure -- and for Tayshia Adams to replace her -- before it actually happened.

"One-hundred percent. That's my feeling," Clare said during the Tuesday, October 27 episode of the "She's All Bach" podcast.

She added, "Truly, if you sat down and did the math. It did not add up. None of it added up."

When asked by podcast host Stefanie Parker if producers were trying to lead her in the direction of choosing Dale because it would make for great TV, Clare replied, "Absolutely. Most of the Bachelorettes know who they will pick on Night 1."

Clare insisted her heart was "definitely open" to "giving time to other guys," even after meeting Dale.

"They did not show that... I think they wanted Tayshia in there, to be on the show," Clare claimed.

Clare told Stefanie there were signs that production had plans to bring Tayshia in for the second half of Season 16.

"There were just too many things that I was connecting. I had seen Tayshia -- before there was even discussion of Tayshia being there or swapping out or Clare leaving -- on the property. That was the first one," Clare recalled.

She continued, "I could go on, but there were so many things where I was like, 'What is going on here?' At the time, it didn't make sense to me and didn't add up to me."

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Clare alleged that producers didn't allow her to speak to Tayshia and she ultimately felt forced out of the show.

"There's literally a video of me with sitting down with [former host] Chris Harrison, and he's like, 'You can't go on,'" she claimed.

"I don't know if they aired this part of it, but the conversation was, 'I want to see this through to the end. I know what I signed up for. I'm here. I have a great group of guys. Who knows, something could change my mind!'"

Clare alleged Chris had told her that her suitors were "really upset" and she owed them an apology.

"He said, 'You don't have a choice.' I did not have a choice to stay," Clare said, adding how things didn't add up for her until long after she taped the show.

Looking back on her season, Clare believes she was "difficult" for producers to work with because, at age 38, she knew what she wanted and wouldn't settle for less.

Clare admitted, for example, she had delayed the start of her naked dodgeball date by about three hours because she didn't want to do it.

"I didn't want to make these men do anything that we wouldn't expect a woman to do," Clare explained. "We're not going to get women up there and say, 'Get naked. Strip.'"

Clare said she "did not feel comfortable with that" and viewed the producers' idea as "juvenile and silly."

"I made their work more difficult," Clare acknowledged.

"And I think they wanted Tayshia in there, and I'm sure she made better TV and a great Bachelorette, but I can only be me, and that's the best I got."

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Clare also said she didn't feel like The Bachelorette casting team had picked bachelors for her.

"[Noah Erb], for example, as if I would ever date somebody his age. Nothing against him personally, but I would never. A 38 year old with a 24 or 23 [year old]? Why would I do that?" Clare complained.

"I was insecure in that way of like, I didn't think those guys were there for me. I thought they thought, 'Maybe someone else is coming out,' or maybe they thought it was going to be a different Bachelorette. I didn't know. It was just the human side of me."

Clare and Dale portrayed a picture-perfect public life after they left The Bachelorette engaged in 2020.

However, that image suddenly came crashing down in January 2021 when Dale announced the couple had broken up and Clare made it clear the decision wasn't mutual.

The Bachelorette couple reunited in Florida in February 2021 and later confirmed they were back together again. But their reconciliation was short-lived since they split up again in September 2021.

Clare proceeded to slam Dale in the media, painting him as an arrogant, fame-obsessed liar. Rumors also swirled at the time he had cheated on her, which he firmly denied.

In October 2022, Clare announced she had gotten engaged to her new boyfriend, Ryan Dawkins. They got married less than four months later in Sacramento, CA, in February 2023.

Clare and Ryan have since become parents. They welcomed a baby girl via surrogate in January 2024.

Prior to starring as the Bachelorette, Clare competed on Juan Pablo Galavis' season of The Bachelor in 2014 in addition to Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelor Winter Games.