It’s official! This past Monday, ABC’s The Bachelor announced Clare Crawley as the next Bachelorette star. For Bachelor franchise fans, the most exciting news came a little early this year since the next Bachelorette is usually announced after the finale of The Bachelor. Clare, a 38-year old who is experienced in The Bachelor world and is now the oldest Bachelorette in the 17-year history of the show, will be making her fifth appearance as the newest Bachelorette. It was announced on Good Morning America and ABC’s Twitter this Monday and apparently Clare only found out this shocking news for herself on Saturday.
If you’re a die-hard fan of the show, you would know that the next Bachelorette contestant usually comes from the previous season of The Bachelor. For Clare, this isn’t the case. She made her debut on Juan Pablo’s season of The Bachelor in 2014 as the runner up and was known for her assertiveness and confidence on the show. “Don’t mess with me, and I am that strong woman still,” said Clare after being announced as the next Bachelorette. After that, she was also on the first and second season of Bachelor in Paradise and then on The Bachelor Winter Games in 2018 where she actually found love and got engaged to a contestant on Canada’s version The Bachelor, Benoit Beauséjour-Savard. They unfortunately called off their engagement a short 2 months after the show aired. It’s evident that Clare Crawley is definitely experienced in The Bachelor nation.
It’s not a secret that Clare Crawley is a little older than the usual contestant. The last three stars, Colton Underwood, Hannah Brown and Peter Weber have been 26, 24 and 28 at the time of their seasons. “Babies. I feel like I could be their mom almost. A lot of people put age out there as a negative thing, but for me, it just is more years under my belt, more learning and knowing what I want, what I don’t want and what I won’t settle for,” said Clare. In the Good Morning America announcement, Clare explained that she doesn’t have a specific type that she’s searching for and that she is okay with dating younger men. She did voice that she has concerns about younger contestants having a problem with dating an older woman. In the past few years, The Bachelor franchise has cast a younger group for the show, with most of the women in Peter and Colton’s seasons being in their low twenties. Having an older woman as the Bachelorette might relieve some viewers’ apprehensions regarding whether or not they think the contestants are seriously ready for marriage.
Getting this information sooner than expected was definitely a surprise. Are you excited for Clare to have another chance at finding love, or do you wish it was someone from Peter’s season? It’ll be a wild ride to watch either way. Don’t forget to finish watching the rest of Peter’s season, though. We’re getting so close to finding out how things end!
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest!