Fans Have 1 Big Question Now That Tayshia Is Reportedly The New Bachelorette
The upcoming season of The Bachelorette was already recast once for Clare Crawley, who was chosen as the lead in March. But with recent reports saying Clare quit The Bachelorette after only a few days and is now replaced by Tayshia Adams, it seems like another casting change-up might be on the horizon. While there's no official word whether Tayshia will get a new Bachelorette cast for Season 16, there's a few reasons to believe it could happen. (ABC has not commented on Elite Daily's request for confirmation of any of the Clare-Tayshia reports.)
On July 30, Life & Style reported Clare Crawley quit The Bachelorette after only 12 days because she fell hard for one of her contestants, Dale Moss, and didn't feel a need to continue on the show. A July 31 Reddit post addressed similar but topics, adding that Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise alum Tayshia Adams would become the new season lead. As of Aug. 3, multiple outlets reported both of these theories are true. It's unclear how this. reported Bachelorette switch will play out during the season, but many outlets are saying Tayshia Adams and Clare Crawley will both be Bachelorettes in Season 16 with Clare starting out as the lead at the beginning and then Tayshia taking over soon after.
Fans are now wondering what will happen to all of the Season 16 contestants who quarantined for two weeks leading up to filming at La Quinta Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, California, and thought they would be vying for Clare's heart. There are a few ways this could go down, and although nothing is confirmed by ABC yet, here are some of the potential options:
1. Tayshia Might Date The Guys Left In Clare's Cast
On July 15, the Bachelorette Facebook page posted a photo album of 42 potential Season 16 contestants. Of that list, 25 were new names and 17 remained from the originally announced group of men. That change wasn't a huge surprise, since when Chris Harrison explained that Clare's Bachelorette season was delayed due to the coronavirus in a March 17 Instagram Live, he also said they would likely have to reevaluate the cast. The change could have been because of scheduling conflicts, or because ABC received flack for most of the original cast being under 30 years old, while Clare is 39. The July 15 batch of contestants was, on average, much closer to Clare's age.
Later in July, at least five guys were cut from the cast, presumably before the show even began filming, leaving Clare with, at most, 37 options. If Clare really did only last 12 days of filming, she likely would not have cut many guys by the time she decided to peace out. If that's the case, Tayshia could simply jump into Clare's place and date the remaining guys and still have tons of options.
2. Tayshia Might Date Some Guys From Clare's Cast, Plus Some New Contestants
There's also reason to believe some new contestants could be brought in for Tayshia. Us Weekly reported and insider source told the outlet: “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].” It's unclear if these "backup" contestants were they guys who were cut from the cast in late July, or a different set of dudes altogether.
Since the producers recast Clare's group of suitors earlier this year to include guys more her age, there's reason to believe they may also recast Tayshia's group to better align with her personality and age (she's 29). After all, the contestants who thought they were going in for Clare might choose to leave after they find out she's no longer the woman they'll be dating (though Tay is a total catch), so the show might need some new people anyway.
3. A Brand-New Cast Could Be Brought In
With so much change reportedly on the horizon for Season 16 of The Bachelorette, it's not wild to think the producers could basically start from scratch and change everything — including the entire batch of contestants. There's a few things that support this theory. First, the Facebook album that announced Clare's potential 42 contestants has been deleted. Second, Entertainment Tonight reported that, according to an anonymous source, "Tayshia got a fresh start as the Bachelorette," which could mean a totally new cast was brought in for her. However, that same source also told ET that "filming did not stop" during the reported Clare-Tayshia switcheroo, and it's hard to imagine producers could find an entirely new group of men, quarantine them, and get them ready to film so quickly.
As of now, there is no official word from ABC on the reports that both Claire and Tayisha will be Bachelorettes in Season 16, and that probably needs to be cleared up first before producers release any information about the contestants. Here's to hoping official news will come soon, because the anticipation is honestly almost too much to handle.
