If you thought Clare Crawley and Dale Moss’ engagement was fast, wait until you learn how long it took for their split to turn messy. The Bachelorette season 16 couple’s relationship has been plagued by cheating allegations and other accusations.
The 39-year-old hairstylist made history when she was named the oldest Bachelorette in history in March 2020. While the ABC series was forced to suspend production on her season for several months due to the COVID-19 crisis, Clare was able to familiarize herself with her contestants, including 32-year-old Dale, via their social media presences. The former football player, for his part, claimed he turned down an opportunity to appear on the series more than once but accepted the invitation for season 16 after he watched Clare on Good Morning America.
“I actually finally committed to it four days before everyone was supposed to leave for the show. And the only reason I committed to it was because Clare was announced as Bachelorette at that time,” he said on the January 13 episode of the “Raising the Bar with Alli and Adrian” podcast. (It’s unclear when the episode was recorded.)
He continued: “I know that she had been through this before, but I felt by watching her that this was her time and she was exactly where she was meant to be.”
When production on season 16 of The Bachelorette finally resumed in July 2020, Clare’s love for Dale — which she insists was formed solely based off looking at his Instagram account — was confirmed when he stepped out of the limo. After less than two weeks of filming, she broke off her relationships with the 16 remaining contestants and accepted a proposal from Dale in early August 2020.
Three months later, Clare and Dale’s love story finished airing in a November 2020 episode of The Bachelorette and they were free to live their lives in the real world. The twosome subsequently announced their plans for him to move from New York City to her native Sacramento, California. After ringing in the new year together, however, Us Weekly confirmed that there were “serious issues” in their relationship that they were trying to work through. Social media users also began to question their status after they went quiet online following a getaway at a beach house in La Jolla, California, in early January.
Hours after several outlets confirmed speculation that the twosome were on the rocks on Tuesday, January 19, Dale took to Instagram to confirm their relationship was over.
“I wanted [to] share with you all that Clare and I have decided to go our separate ways. We appreciate the love and support we’ve received from so many people, but this is the healthiest decision for both of us at this time,” he wrote via Instagram. “We strongly believe in leading with love and always remaining true to oneself — something our families have taught and instilled in us throughout our lives. We only hope the best things for one another.”
Two days later, Clare broke her silence — and alleged that she wasn’t on the same page as her former fiancé.
“I was made aware of a ‘mutual’ statement at the same time you all were, so I’ve needed some time to really digest this,” she wrote on Thursday, January 21. “Speaking for myself, my intentions with this relationship have always been very clear, so the truth is I am crushed. This was not what I expected or hoped for and am still trying to process this.”
Clare added that she was “looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel” after “battling severe anxiety post-show, balancing a public new relationship … [and] slowing losing my mother” to Alzheimer’s disease in 2020.
“Our relationship was not perfect,” she admitted. “But I can say that I was genuinely invested with all of my heart. I may not have the answers, but I do know this — I will continue to show up, stand by my word and be committed to love.”
Scroll through for everything we know about Clare and Dale’s messy split: