The Bachelorette alum Clare Crawley is grieving the loss of her mother Lilia after a battle with Alzheimer's and dementia.
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"My forever guardian angel," Clare captioned the image.
Clare also uploaded a poem titled "He Only Takes the Best," which ends with, "God broke our hearts to prove to us he only takes the best."
Clare also took to Instagram Stories to express how she's in mourning.
"Reading through all your messages has truly helped fill my heavy heart by the way," Clare wrote to her followers, according to BachelorNation.com.
"So many of you have been here along the way with us. And as prepared as I have been knowing we were on borrowed time with my mama's dementia, my heart still stings like hell from losing her. Nothing can prepare you."
Clare noted how her husband Ryan Dawkins and daughter Rowen have been her support system through this difficult time.
Clare and Ryan had postponed their anniversary plans last week to be with Clare's mother during her time of need.
Alongside a video of Clare and Ryan holding each other and kissing underneath fireworks, she wrote, "As our second wedding anniversary came and went yesterday, it showed me what a true blessing it is to be married to @ryandawkins."
Clare continued, "We had plans to get away together, but instead he has been by my side night and day while we guide my mother to be reunited with the love of HER life in her last moments."
"He has been my strength in my weakest moment," she concluded. "This is what love truly is.ï¸"
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWRyan commented on his wife's upload and wrote, "My today and all my tomorrows.ï¸"
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Clare and Ryan had a wedding in February 2023 and officially obtained their marriage license in October 2024.
Clare explained how exactly she and the CEO of Mascot Sports forgot to make their union legal in late 2024.
"When Ryan and I started planning our wedding in 2023, one of the most important parts was for my mom to be able to witness us get married. She has late stage dementia, so our time is limited and precious," Clare wrote in her post.
"But just as soon as we started planning it, she got really really sick to the point where she might not make it through."
"So without skipping a beat," she continued, "we threw all the plans to the wind and within the week my amazing event planning husband pulled together the most perfect intimate ceremony."
Clare called the moment "truly perfect in every way," and she recalled, "My beautiful mother was able to see us on our wedding day. I truly couldn't have asked for anything more special."
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"We found out we were having our miracle Rowen," Clare explained of her daughter, who was born in January 2024, "and closing on our dream house all within the next few months."
Clare admitted "life got crazy" and so she and Ryan never tied up the loose ends of their marriage.
"I prayed every day that my strong mama would be able to somehow hang on to see ME become a mama, and Rowen could meet her namesake. It felt like a miracle when that happened. Cut to now -- my mama is still holding on strong," Clare shared.
"We decided since the first ceremony was so sentimental and perfect, that we would just have a blast getting our actual marriage license and make it the most fun love filled day ever! So we did Vegas!!" The Bachelorette alum revealed.
Clare and Ryan therefore decided to turn the act of signing their marriage license into a big celebration, a second wedding of sorts.
Clare accepted a marriage proposal from Dale Moss on The Bachelorette's sixteenth season, which aired in Summer 2020, but they split about one year later in September 2021.
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Following her split from Dale, Clare began dating Ryan in late 2021.
The pair went Instagram official in September 2022, and then Ryan and Clare got engaged less than one month later in October 2022 in Las Vegas, NV.
Clare and Ryan got married in February 2023 and then moved into a new house together two months later. Clare happily became a stepmom to Ryan's kids from a previous relationship, but she always wanted a baby of her own.
Clare gushed on the "Ben and Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast" in August 2023 how she's so "grateful" for her husband.
"He's so good to me, and is there in the darkest, deepest moments," Clare said, getting a bit choked up.
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Multiple sources previously 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.
Reports swirled at the time of Clare and Dale's September 2021 breakup that the former NFL player had cheated on The Bachelorette alum, although Dale firmly denied the cheating allegations.
Clare has thrown major shade at Dale over the years. She ultimately thought he was fake and had put on a performance during their relationship 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.
Clare also appeared on Season 1 and Season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise prior to her The Bachelorette stint.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
