On October 13, 2020, season 16 of “The Bachelorette” first aired. Critics might argue “why would you watch another season of this show—isn't it just the same love story?” I first thought the same, however, I soon realized season 16 is like no other. Clare Crawley, this season’s bachelorette, finds love at first sight. Dale Moss, a contestant on the show, captured Clare’s attention the moment he stepped out of the limo. Things started to shake up when the other men started to notice the excessive time Dale got to spend with Clare. After 2 weeks of various dates with the other men, Clare only had eyes for Dale. She had fallen in love. At this point in the show, everything took a turn. Clare accepted the diamond ring the second Dale proposed to her, abandoning all the other men.
But the season didn’t end with Dale’s proposal. What about the other men, viewers questioned, that Clare left behind? Left with no other choice, Tayshia Adams, the show's new bachelorette, had to fill Clare’s shoes.
I was shocked. No one in the history of “The Bachelorette” had ever found love this quickly. Clare was desperately searching for a man that would “never leave her side.” But I can’t help but question if she was too quick to assume that Dale “was the one”? Though I’m still skeptical, I decided to ask other people to share their feelings about Clare’s impulsive decision.
Eloise: “Clare is awful, Dale doesn't love her, and she was a pretty bad bachelorette.”
Anna: “Clare is very self-centered but she found her man. Tayshia however is smart, pretty, and sweet”
Audrey: “I have really complicated feelings about Clare because she did not do a good job—well, she did her job, fall in love, but she didn't go about that in the way we are used to as viewers. She disrupted the flow of the narrative, but it was interesting. You have to follow the rules and she didn't care about the process.
Like Eloise, Anna, and Audrey, I too believe that Clare was not the “ideal” bachelorette. However, I am excited that Tayshia Adams took her place and is doing her job as the bachelorette correctly!