Why Bachelor Nation Believes Tayshia Adams Is Replacing Clare Crawley as the Season 16 Bachelorette

Credit: AFF-USA/Shutterstock; ABC/Paula Lobo

Why Bachelor Nation Believes Tayshia Adams Is Replacing Clare Crawley as the Season 16 Bachelorette

Season 16 of The Bachelorette is shaping up to be one of the most dramatic ever. Social media is buzzing with speculation — and cryptic clues — that Tayshia Adams has replaced Clare Crawley as the season 16 lead. “Even if they do replace Clare with Tayshia I still want to see whatever Clare filmed because baby that footage is about to be MESSY,” one person tweeted. A second fan wrote, “Only 12 days into filming and tayshia/clare already making bachelor history love to see it.” A third social media user posted, “Rumor has it that Clare has either left the show or been fired and Tayshia was brought in at the beginning of the week to start quarantining and take over as lead.” Speculation that there was a cast shakeup began on Friday, July 31, when Life & Style magazine reported that Tayshia, 29, was on deck to replace Clare, 39, who started filming season 16 at La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs, California, on July 18. ABC first named Clare the season 16 Bachelorette in March but was forced to postpone the filming due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the network recast several suitors before a group of 40 men headed to the Palm Springs resort to start competing for the hairdresser’s heart. Several contestants, however, from the original list returned to try to win Clare’s affection — and she admitted she looked them up while waiting for filming to begin. [jwplayer AmqqfaA9] “Obviously [I googled the contestants]. What woman wouldn’t, are you kidding me?” Clare admitted on the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast on June 23, her last interview before she left to film. “I will say this. At first, I really didn’t. I really did not and it was because, I don’t know. I just kind of felt like I want to get to know them and regardless, I know how my Instagram is. It’s a piece of my life. … You have to see and feel it in person and so regardless of what their life is and what it looks like on their Instagram, it’s nice to actually see them in person and I am huge on pheromones, so that’s like the end for me.” The decision to cast Clare came as a surprise to some fans as she previously competed on The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise and most recently, the Bachelor Winter Games in 2018. Tayshia, meanwhile, was introduced to Bachelor Nation when she competed for Colton Underwood’s heart on season 23 of The Bachelor in 2019. That summer, she appeared on Bachelor in Paradise season 6. ABC and Warner Bros. have declined to comment. Scroll through for a roundup of the clues: Listen to Here For the Right Reasons to get inside scoop about the Bachelor franchise and exclusive interviews from contestants!

Credit: AFF-USA/Shutterstock; ABC/Paula Lobo

Why Bachelor Nation Believes Tayshia Adams Is Replacing Clare Crawley as the Season 16 Bachelorette

Season 16 of The Bachelorette is shaping up to be one of the most dramatic ever. Social media is buzzing with speculation — and cryptic clues — that Tayshia Adams has replaced Clare Crawley as the season 16 lead. “Even if they do replace Clare with Tayshia I still want to see whatever Clare filmed because baby that footage is about to be MESSY,” one person tweeted. A second fan wrote, “Only 12 days into filming and tayshia/clare already making bachelor history love to see it.” A third social media user posted, “Rumor has it that Clare has either left the show or been fired and Tayshia was brought in at the beginning of the week to start quarantining and take over as lead.” Speculation that there was a cast shakeup began on Friday, July 31, when Life & Style magazine reported that Tayshia, 29, was on deck to replace Clare, 39, who started filming season 16 at La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs, California, on July 18. ABC first named Clare the season 16 Bachelorette in March but was forced to postpone the filming due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the network recast several suitors before a group of 40 men headed to the Palm Springs resort to start competing for the hairdresser’s heart. Several contestants, however, from the original list returned to try to win Clare’s affection — and she admitted she looked them up while waiting for filming to begin. [jwplayer AmqqfaA9] “Obviously [I googled the contestants]. What woman wouldn’t, are you kidding me?” Clare admitted on the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast on June 23, her last interview before she left to film. “I will say this. At first, I really didn’t. I really did not and it was because, I don’t know. I just kind of felt like I want to get to know them and regardless, I know how my Instagram is. It’s a piece of my life. … You have to see and feel it in person and so regardless of what their life is and what it looks like on their Instagram, it’s nice to actually see them in person and I am huge on pheromones, so that’s like the end for me.” The decision to cast Clare came as a surprise to some fans as she previously competed on The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise and most recently, the Bachelor Winter Games in 2018. Tayshia, meanwhile, was introduced to Bachelor Nation when she competed for Colton Underwood’s heart on season 23 of The Bachelor in 2019. That summer, she appeared on Bachelor in Paradise season 6. ABC and Warner Bros. have declined to comment. Scroll through for a roundup of the clues: Listen to Here For the Right Reasons to get inside scoop about the Bachelor franchise and exclusive interviews from contestants!

Credit: ABC/Paul Hebert

The Tweet

According to Entertainment Tonight, Clare is back on Twitter — and she “liked” a tweet about Tayshia. “I’m sure many would be thrilled with Tayshia, too!!” the post read. Clare has seemingly “unliked” the post, but screenshots are circulating social media.

Credit: Courtesy Tayshia Adams/Instagram

Tayshia’s Social Media Activity

While Clare appears to be back on social media, Tayshia has gone dark, which some believe is a sign she’s filming the show.

Credit: Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock

Demi Burnett’s Text

Tayshia’s friend Demi Burnett, who also appeared on Colton’s season, fueled speculation when she told RealitySteve that her text message to Tayshia didn’t deliver over the weekend. The lead and the contestants do not have access to their phones while filming.

Credit: Instagram

The Producer Comment

Tayshia’s most recent social media post included a cryptic quote — and reactions from a popular Bachelor producer.

“The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say,” she wrote on July 30.

In addition to Bachelor Nation’s official Instagram account leaving three raised hand emojis on the post, producer Julie LaPlaca commented three black hearts and two fire emojis.

Credit: ABC/John Fleenor

The Backup Contestants

Us Weekly exclusively revealed on July 31 that producers contacted contestants who were not picked for Clare’s final lineup.

“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],” an insider told Us. “When producers reached back out, out of the blue, it was very apparent that something had happened with production.”

Production “calling backup contestants and asking them to come to La Quinta within 24 hours,” points to something going awry during filming, the source told Us.