The Bachelorette alum Clare Crawley has compared her two engagements to Dale Moss and her current fiance Ryan Dawkins, revealing that she felt "robbed" and "used" the first time around.
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"After the end of my previous engagement and relationship, I was in a really dark place, a really low place -- and struggling really, really bad post-show," Clare told Becca Kufrin and Michelle Young on the January 11 episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast.
Following her split from Dale, Clare began dating Ryan, the CEO of Mascot Sports, in late 2021. The pair went Instagram official in September 2022, and then Ryan proposed marriage to Clare less than one month later on October 2022 in Las Vegas, NV.
Clare's second engagement took place in front of her beloved mother, who is still in hospice battling Alzheimer's and dementia.
"It was a moment that never happened before. It was a moment I never expected... Time is so valuable and time is so limited. There was a point a year-and-a-half ago when we thought that was the end," Clare shared.
"And so to be able to -- this is going to make me cry -- but to share [that with my mom], I never thought that moment was possible. I was so upset for so long about my previous relationship because I felt like [Dale] took that moment and took that time away from me and my mom that was special and I had been waiting to share with my mom."
Clare's mother being involved was even more special to The Bachelorette alum because her father is no longer around to give a man his blessing to propose or to witness Clare getting engaged.
"I felt robbed of that before, and I felt taken advantage of that before and used for that before, and not knowing how precious that is to me," Clare explained.
"And so this time with Ryan, it's like that moment was so beautiful. And he got emotional, which made me so emotional. He was so, just, respectful and loving -- and he is still so kind to my mom."
Clare said, "You never know where life is going to lead you" and she had waited years for this.
"I'm 41 years old, going on 42, almost. And I thought, 'I'm still so lucky to have that moment with Ryan and with my mom.' But not only that, my mom is still here and she's still giving her best! She's comfortable and happy right now," Clare gushed.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"So she's not only able to see that moment, but she's going to be able to -- God willing, soon -- be at my wedding. And not only that, but for other things that are coming up."
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Michelle and Becca could see that Clare was glowing during her interview, but Clare explained her "glow" isn't from her engagement.
"The glow you see now is not because of my engagement, it's not because of my relationship. It's not because of anything other than the tears, and the sweat, and the energy I put into healing myself and continuing on my healing journey," Clare shared.
"[I'm so] happy in being myself, being alone, being in my own skin, and being able to take care of myself and support myself. So all of the therapy I did and everything I did to get me to this point, that's where the glow is from."
Clare insisted that she's just somebody who "does not give up" and her relationship is just "an add on" to the happiness she had built and found within herself.
"Everybody wants to root for you when you're in a relationship... There's hope and it's beautiful and there's love, especially coming off [The Bachelorette]. But when you're single, where's all the people rooting for you? Where are those people [praising] your goals and saying, 'You're what I aspire to be like?'" Clare vented.
"Don't aspire to be like me or have what I have just because I'm in a relationship. People should want that and be happy with themselves for just being who they are... and someone who fights for their own happiness."
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"This show and going on it was a part of my life... It was successful in my eyes. It changed the trajectory of my future," Clare said, adding, "I'm proud of who I am today and what I have gone through. I'm proud of the strength I have to say I did that."
Clare revealed in October that she and Ryan actually had three marriage proposals and she wants to have more than one wedding as well.
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Clare shared in September 2022 on Instagram that she actually met Ryan the same month her engagement to Dale ended.
"He asked me to dinner. I didn't have an appetite. (Stressed & depressed) But I said yes to tea and a walk. Ended up laughing and smiling more than I did the entire last year combined," Clare revealed on Instagram Stories, according to Us Weekly.
When Clare went Instagram official with Ryan in September 2022, she did not unveil her boyfriend's identity. Instead, Clare posted a photo of herself kissing a guy and called him her "perfect match."
Fans immediately speculated the man was Ryan, and she later uploaded the following quote, "One day, when you least expect it, you are going to crash into someone who is going to be so soft and gentle with your heart, and you are going to be so glad you kept it open. You are going to be so glad that you continued to fight for it -- that you chose to believe it [that you] deserved more."
Clare hinted she had been dating Ryan for a while already when she pinned a comment to her Instagram account that read, "Babyyyyy!! Finally. A year later and y'all still so f-cking cute."
Season 17 The Bachelorette star Katie Thurston also wrote in the comments, "The secret is out."
And when one fan wrote about how Clare had finally found a "real man," Clare replied, "100 percent."
A source told Us last year of Clare, "She wanted to keep it private until she was ready to debut him as her new boyfriend. Close friends and family have known about it for a few months now, but it was her secret to tell."
Prior to Ryan, Clare was linked to The Bachelorette alum Blake Monar. They sparked dating rumors in January 2022 when they spent a fun-filled weekend together in Indiana, but a source told Us in August that they were "never officially dating" and had only hung out "a few times."
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Clare appeared devastated when she and Dale ended their engagement and relationship.
Multiple sources described Dale as a "fame-seeker" and partyboy in New York City while Clare had been very clear from the start about her intentions to get married, settle down and have children in the near future.
Reports also swirled at the time Dale had cheated on Clare, although Dale firmly denied the cheating allegations.
Following their breakup, Clare threw major shade at Dale on more than one occasion. She ultimately thought he was fake and had put on a performance during their romance so he could achieve fame and boost his acting and modeling career.
Clare told Jana Kramer in an October 2021 episode of the "Whine Down" podcast her "biggest regret" from The Bachelorette is "trusting a man," People reported.
Not only was Clare dealing with a broken heart and her mother's health crisis in Fall 2021, but she was also still recovering from having her breast implants removed.
"There was a lot on my plate... It all came crashing down at once," Clare noted on "Whine Down."
Clare also said it was "painful" that she and Dale never talked things out or found closure at the end of their hot-and-cold romance.
"The one that gets me is, how do you say goodbye to somebody you never wanted to walk away from?" Clare reportedly said through tears at the time.
"Like I would have never walked... You're having to say goodbye to somebody you don't want to be saying goodbye to, you have to walk away from somebody you don't want to walk away from. It's hard, it's painful."
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In October, Dale posted a photo of himself kissing Galey on the cheek and captioned it, "You Feel Like Home."
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
