Yes, I know. This brings up a ton of questions. Namely:
1) Clearly other leads felt this way in the past about someone they connected with early. Why did they suggest this to Clare and not any of the previous 39 leads?
Good question. My guess? This was going to be a different, almost boring, season from the get go due to COVID, one location, no travel, etc. So instead of fighting Clare on this, they embraced it, and they’re using it as their big “twist” this season. The fact ABC won’t even address that Tayshia is their new “Bachelorette,” even though everyone and their mother knows she is, kinda lends credence to my guess I think. They just want this as their twist on an otherwise plain season we were headed towards because of what COVID did.
2) But if there was no pre-show relationship, how could Clare and Dale really know THAT early they only wanted each other?
Fair question. The answer is, they can’t. I mean, they can, but how much of it has to do with the show, competition, and “winning” so to speak, versus, are these two people who just connected so immediately, there is no way to describe it. I’m guessing this is an answer we won’t actually truly know until we see Clare and Dale interact on screen. Trust me, I’m certainly skeptical of it. Because as mentioned earlier, a pre-show relationship actually made sense to me. Now you’re telling me that these two decided it was only gonna be them after two weeks, sure, I need more time to see this play out. As I’m sure plenty of you do too. The naysayers I’m sure will jump all over Clare for this. I’m not sold either now. But I’m willing to see how it played out in real life before I pass judgment. That’s where my bias comes in, sure. Normally I probably would laugh this off. I just hope this guy isn’t in this to “win” and it be a competition thing and it’s truly that he fell for her at basically first “sight.”
3) What about the whole locking herself in a room and not coming out for a date part? Did that happen?
I don’t know for sure. I think some variation of it happened, but not necessarily the way the media is portraying it. I’ve heard some things but nothing solid yet. Considering the media has been off about the narrative up to this point, I’m skeptical to immediately believe that. I heard it was more about protecting Dale than anything else, but like I said, still don’t know all details.
4) So how many rose ceremonies did Clare have before they shut her down essentially as “Bachelorette?”
I’m hearing four. Then Tayshia was brought in.
5) Which guys does Tayshia get? Just the ones that were left on Clare’s season?
As far as I know, yes. They reached out to guys who never made cast, and guys who had been eliminated in previous rose ceremonies from Clare, but I have not heard of one guy that went back to filming. So Tayshia’s guys are whoever was left on Clare’s season, and possibly any new guys that were asked who never were part of the 32 names back in March, or 42 names announced in July. I guess that’s possible as well.
6) Why are all these alumni being brought in? Is it another “Bachelor Pad” or “Bachelor in Paradise?”
No. All the alumni you’ve heard reported (and have photographic evidence of) down in La Quinta are just there for cameos (Becca, Hannah Ann, Jared & Ashley, Sydney Lotuaco, Wells, etc). This is Tayshia’s “Bachelorette” season now and they are just making appearances because, well, it’s a different season, we have no summer show so to speak, and this is just a way to I guess keep others involved so you can see them on your TV during the summer. But no, there isn’t a second show being filmed alongside Tayshia’s “Bachelorette” season.
7) Why is Dale in South Dakota, as evidenced by pictures this past week and him responding to someone on text?
No definitive answer on that. What I do know is that Clare and Dale are together, and possibly engaged. Him being in South Dakota really doesn’t change anything in the dynamic of their relationship. Maybe he asked to go home for a little bit. I gotta believe if he comes back to the bubble, he wouldn’t have to quarantine that long because of where he was. Which leads us to…
8) So what is Clare doing now?
As I said on the live Sunday night, Clare is in La Quinta (or that surrounding area) until filming is over. She’s not back in Sacramento, nor is she in South Dakota with Dale. ABC hasn’t even addressed she’s no longer the “Bachelorette.” There’s not a chance in hell they are taking the chance on having her seen back home or in Dale’s home state. She’s with production until filming ends. So her liking that tweet over a week ago didn’t mean she got her phone back. Someone is monitoring her account. Whether Dale comes back, or they sent him off to SD to throw people for a loop, I don’t know. My guess is Dale will be back in the bubble before filming wraps to spend more time with Clare. I mean, I’m surprised he left in the first place now knowing now these two didn’t have a pre-show relationship. Why would he just do two weeks with her, take off for back home, and not return? So yeah, I think he’s headed back at some point, will quarantine for a few days, and they will film more stuff with Clare and Dale together to show their relationship in the bubble.
We know that nothing happens on this show without production knowing. So there will be a lot of skepticism regarding their role in all this. During COVID, Clare absolutely was speaking to her producers on a daily basis. I’m sure they were well aware that Dale was at the top of her list going in no doubt, but, they also knew there were a bunch of guys (not even guys from the original 32), that she hadn’t even known were possibly cast yet, so she couldn’t have even looked them up. But I do really think that Clare and Dale caught them off guard for how strong and how quick their relationship seemingly happened. Because if production was really in on this, and they knew the whole time, “Ok guys, heres what’s gonna happen. We know Clare likes Dale. We’ll start her season, she’ll fall for Dale, we’ll let her go, and we’ll bring Tayshia in,” then why would they possibly send guys home who were eliminated or never made the first night? Wouldn’t they keep them in La Quinta, and just say like “Hang on, you’ll know why we’re keeping you in a few days.” I just don’t see it.
Do I think production LOVES this storyline with Clare and Dale, and instead of fighting it, decided they had a major twist on their hands this season and just rolled with it, hence the reason they started calling guys to ask if they were willing to come back? Yes. I think Clare and Dale might just actually be a once-in-a-blue-moon whirlwind of a romance (whether just in their minds or it’s actually true), production realized there wasn’t much they could do, so they leaned into it rather than hold her feet to the fire, and now we have what we have – a new “Bachelorette” in Tayshia. Pretty different than what the media is reporting if you ask me.
