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'The Bachelorette' Season 16: Clare Crawley reportedly replaced by Tayshia Adams, eliminated men to return

Crawley, as per reports, fell in love with one of the contestants and did not want to continue with the dating process and lead the other bachelors on

In what is a first, the upcoming season of the reality television show, ‘The Bachelorette’, will have two titular stars. On Monday, August 3, various outlets reported that ‘The Bachelorette’ season 16’s star Clare Crawley has left the show midway through. Deadline reported that the show, which has been filming in a quarantine bubble at an isolated location under COVID-19 guidelines, will now incorporate Crawley’s exit into the season’s storyline, adding that she allegedly fell in love with one of the contestants and did not want to continue with the dating process and lead the other bachelors on.

According to Us Weekly, Tayshia Adams has reportedly replaced Crawley (who was runner-up on the 18th season of ABC's ‘The Bachelor’) as the season 16 lead. She reportedly has joined the production after undergoing quarantine. Deadline further reported that contestants previously eliminated by Crawley may be coming back to battle for Adams’ affection. Adams is also an alum of ‘The Bachelor’ franchise and appeared on season 23 of the reality television show. She was one of the final two contestants, alongside Hannah Godwin. They were both eliminated when Colton Underwood decided to end the show to pursue Cassie Randolph.

Adams’ addition to the show has not been confirmed by ABC as of yet. So why are people speculating and reporting on this? It all began with a Reddit post from August 1 on ‘The Bachelor’ subreddit. It claimed, “On Monday I got some messages saying that production is having a lot of problems with Clare during filming. Among other things, she canceled everything that was supposed to happen on that Saturday before, and they called in a new bachelorette. They are recasting her with Tayshia. Tayshia is already quarantining at the hotel and they should be taking her phone on Friday (today). The plan is for her to call back some of the guys that have already been eliminated.”

Following this, Steve Carbone, who is also known as Reality Steve, a blogger who frequently covers ‘The Bachelor’ franchise, and is known for spoiling the winners from each season, gave a vague confirmation of this. He tweeted the same day, “(MAJOR SPOILER): I’ve been made aware of this Reddit post making the rounds. Been on the phone for the last 2 hrs digging. I cannot confirm with 100% certainty if it’s true yet, but if you ask my opinion, I think there is some serious validity to it based on what I’m hearing now.”

Speaking to Cosmopolitan, Reality Steve said, “I’m really certain Tayshia is out in La Quinta right now [where ‘The Bachelorette’ season 16 is filming]. There’s no reason for Tayshia to be in La Quinta unless she’s being asked to film something. Which means that she would be the Bachelorette. So if you ask me if Tayshia is going to be the Bachelorette from this point forward, my answer would be yes.”

But even as the confirmation awaits, speculation seems to have only gotten wilder, with fans of the reality TV franchise on social media saying that Crawley might have been fired from the show. A fan wrote, “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.”