It’s official: Clare Crawley is being replaced with Tayshia Adams on season 16 of The Bachelorette, multiple sources confirm to PEOPLE.
A source with insider information reveals how Crawley, 39, fell in love with one of her original suitors after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic delayed production in March.
“One of her potential guys found a way to get in touch with her and they began talking,” the source explains. “By the time filming officially began, they were basically already in love. No one else stood a chance. It just became so obvious from her subsequent few dates that her heart wasn’t in it and she just wasn’t feeling it. Then she said she wanted out.”
The source also revealed that Adams, who was a contestant on Colton Underwood‘s season 23 of The Bachelor and who later appeared on Bachelor in Paradise, was brought in as a back-up.
“Tayshia was game and ready to go,” the source says. “What remains to be seen is if more men will be brought in now to give Tayshia a full roster of suitors.”
A separate insider plugs how the upcoming show is “really the most dramatic season ever.”
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“There’s more to the story than just [Clare] falling for someone and not wanting to see what else could happen with other men,” the insider teases to PEOPLE.
Fans began to speculate about Crawley’s status on the show over the weekend after Reality Steve tweeted a Reddit theory that alleges she was being recast.
Crawley then fueled rumors that she had left the franchise after liking a tweet about Adams being her successor.
“I’m sure many would be thrilled with Tayshia, too!!” read the tweet, according to a screengrab captured by Entertainment Tonight. The like has since been removed.
It was last month Crawley was last seen filming at La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs, California. Due to COVID-19, the resort was closed to everyone aside from the cast and crew due to COVID-19, with everyone wearing masks and being tested as precautions.
And when it comes to casting and how it will affect production, “because of quarantine, it’s not as simple as just starting over,” the source tells PEOPLE.
“Everyone is being tested and contained within this bubble so anyone coming from the ‘outside’ is potentially a problem. So that still needs to be fully resolved at this point in terms of Tayshia’s suitors.”
A premiere date for season 16 of The Bachelorette has not yet been announced. It was originally slated to air in late September/early October.
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