Bachelorette: Clare Crawley fell for Dale Moss 'before filming'

Clare Crawley may have exited season 16 of The Bachelorette but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t found love. 

The 39-year-old left the series because she had already fallen for 31-year-old former football star Dale Moss before cameras even starting rolling in early July for the reality TV show that was set in La Quinta, California, according to People.

‘There’s more to the story than just Clare falling for someone and not wanting to see what else could happen with other men,’ the insider said. ‘One of her potential guys found a way to get in touch with her and they began talking. By the time filming officially began, they were basically already in love.’

The insider added that ‘no one else stood a chance’ when it came to winning the Sacramento, California native’s heart.

That means there was no genuine interest in the other suitors and Clare was just going through the motions to please producers. 

‘It just became so obvious from her subsequent few dates that her heart wasn’t in it and she just wasn’t feeling it. Then she said she wanted out.’

According to Life & Style, Clare was so smitten with Dale – who is the nephew of 1972 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers –  that she threatened to ‘quit the show after only 12 days of filming’ because she had ‘already fallen in love’ with the former NFL star.

‘She told producers she no longer wanted to participate in the show,’ the source told Life & Style, and even ‘refused to come out of her room’ during filming, which began in early July.

The site added that he already got down on one knee and proposed to the beauty.

The last celebrity he dated was 34-year-old  golfer Seema Sadekar.

Producers were said to be ‘blindsided’ by the situation and were ‘scrambling to figure out what to do.’ 

Moss is an American football free-agent wide receiver.

He played college football for South Dakota State University then signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. 

The star was then with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012), Chicago Bears (2012−2013), Carolina Panthers (2013), Los Angeles Kiss (2014) and Chicago Bears (2014). 

Crawley was last seen shooting the show on July 16 as she wore a face mask. There was no sign of Moss. 

Clare’s season already got off to a rocky start when coronavirus forced the show to postpone shooting. Crawley has been quarantining at the opulent La Quinta resort where the entire season was set to take place due to COVID-19 fears.

She and the suitors and crew had all been quarantining at the hotel prior to the start of last month. 

When Clare started filming she shared an image of her backside while at La Quinta.

Her message from Ruby Dahl was full of hope for finding love, even though she had already fallen for Moss.

‘Dear self- I want to thank you. You walked on so many difficult journeys these past few years. You fought battles- with those who love you, and with those whom you love. You were let down time and time again, but you didn’t let it shatter your faith in relationships, in love. You’ve had to prove your worth to those unworthy and you were broken – more than words can explain but you have been reborn. You found your true self and changed the meaning of your life – turning it into something beautiful, into something worth living! So, I want to say that I’m proud of you. I know how hard it has been. I cannot thank you enough for taking care of me. I promise that I will continue to take care of you too. Just keeping strong. For me. Keep going. Keep on fighting. You know you can do this. – Ruby Dahl,’ said the long note.    

Tayshia Adams will be replacing Clare on season 16 of The Bachelorette, multiple reports have confirmed.  

‘Tayshia was game and ready to go,’ a source tells PEOPLE. ‘What remains to be seen is if more men will be brought in now to give Tayshia a full roster of suitors.’

Meanwhile producers are reportedly reaching out to backup contestants on the show, according to Us Weekly.

‘Last weekend, producers reached out to backup Bachelorette contestants who had been vetted for Clare’s season but were ultimately not cast to film at La Quinta [resort],’ an insider said.

‘When producers reached back out, out of the blue, it was very apparent that something had happened with production.’ 

Tayshia’s ex Colton Underwood reacted to her new gig on Twitter, sharing People’s announcement along with: ‘Congrats @TayshiaAdams — good luck and I hope you find yourself a better kisser [wink].’

Adams was runner-up during the former NFL draftee’s season as suitor. 

Bachelor In Paradise favorite Demi Burnett shared her theory about who was stepping in for Clare during an Instagram Live chat with Reality Steve this past Friday, saying all signs pointed to pal Tayshia. 

‘What the f**k is going on with your friend Tayshia?’ Reality Steve asked Demi during their Friday talk.

The reality star said she was ‘not in the loop’ since she had been on vacation, but she admitted to trying to text her friend, though none of her messages went through.

After the reality show blogger asked if the messages on her iPhone had been turning green, Demi said they had, suggesting Tayshia’s phone might have been turned off for an extended period. 

Text messages sent from one iPhone to another normally show up as blue, but message sent to iPhones that are turned off or without service show up as green.

Bachelorette fans suggested that Tayshia might be filming at the moment, as Bachelor producers take phones away from contestants once filming begins.

‘This is the most random thing!’ Demi replied to the speculation. ‘She was wonderful [on Bachelor In Paradise] and I became really good friends with her and I love her so much.’