Staying positive. Although her season of The Bachelorette has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Clare Crawley is staying optimistic.
“I feel so bad for Claire because she hasn’t got start her journey to find love yet,” a fan tweeted to Crawley, 39, on Thursday, April 2. She was quick to respond, retweeting the message and sending an uplifting message.
“The journey already began long before I had this opportunity;) don’t feel bad,” the hairdresser replied. “It’s an exciting new chapter!”
Crawley, who has appeared on The Bachelor, two seasons of Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelor Winter Games, was scheduled to begin filming season 16 of The Bachelorette on March 13. However, the season was put on hold indefinitely.
“Talk about most dramatic season ever! In all seriousness, everyone’s health is the most important priority at this time, and as I’m sure you’ve heard, we are pressing pause for now on filming The Bachelorette,” she wrote on Instagram following the announcement. “We are taking it day by day and even hour by hour as this is so unpredictable. All I know for sure is that my heart is so full from all the love and support this far, and am still so excited for my journey to begin! I’ve waited 38 years for these moments, what’s a little bit longer, right! xoxo.”
Host Chris Harrison has also shed light about how the delay will impact the show. The cast was announced beforehand so now, it’s possible that Crawley could be speaking to the men who were set to compete. Recasting isn’t “a bad idea,” Harrison said in March.
“It’s not out of the realm of possibility. The thought that 25, 30, 35 guys, everybody that was able to take time off and come on the Bachelorette is going to be able to come back again whenever we do this, ‘cause we don’t have a set time of when we’re gonna come back,” Harrison, 48, said on Instagram Live. “Obviously, with this virus, who knows when this thing is going to blow through. The idea that everybody is going to be able to take off work and do this again, probably very slim.”
He continued: “Maybe it’ll be completely different guys. Maybe it’ll be a little mixture, who knows? We really don’t know. With the way the world is right now with everybody’s schedule.”
In the meantime, The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart will premiere on ABC Monday, April 13, at 8 p.m. ET.
