It may have been love at first Instagram stalk for Clare Crawley, but Tayshia Adams claims she didn’t do research on The Bachelorette season 16 contestants before she took over for the hairstylist.
“When I was in quarantine, I didn’t think that this phone call was ever going to come. … I did look at the guys once they were first announced for Clare, but that was, like, months and months ago,” the 30-year-old former phlebotomist exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, November 9. “I didn’t really have the chance to look at them before. And I’m glad I didn’t, to be honest.”
Us confirmed in August that Tayshia arrived in Palm Springs to meet Clare’s suitors after the 39-year-old Sacramento resident accepted a proposal from Dale Moss within the first two weeks of filming. After months of speculation, Tayshia made her first appearance during the Thursday, November 5, episode of The Bachelorette after Clare and Dale, 32, got engaged.
“I couldn’t have asked for, like, a better group of men. I’ve always said that I want an older, more mature man that has depth and all of these guys have exactly that,” Tayshia gushed to Us. “It was, like, perfect.”
The Bachelor season 23 contestant, however, admitted that she had her doubts when ABC first called her to take over because the remaining men were picked specifically for Clare.
“Naturally, that’s a hesitation you have. The guys knew that it was going to be Clare, and I didn’t know if they were going to be accepting or if they were willing to open their hearts,” she told Us. “If they had fallen in love, like, I didn’t know what was going on. So, it was definitely a hesitation.”
Tayshia teased that Bachelor Nation will see her confront the men about any leftover feelings for Clare on the Tuesday, November 10, episode.
“Every single guy really reassured me that they were so happy and excited. And once I had that confidence, I was like, ‘OK, I got this.’ But there were some guys, yes, that were still having feelings for Clare,” she said. “And so we talked about that as well.”
The Bachelorette airs on ABC Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
