Last month, after months of delays, production on the upcoming season of The Bachelorette finally got under way. Of course, due to COVID-19, this season will look a lot different, with the entirety of shooting taking place within a quarantine bubble at a California resort. Due to the closed setup, my expectations for spoilers were low. Normally, we have group dates at concerts and theme parks, one-on-ones at restaurants, tons of opportunities for eagle-eyed Bachelor fans to figure out what’s going on.
Well, someone in that quarantine bubble is looking out for us, because in the past week, rumors have been exploding left and right, and this might actually be the most dramatic season ever. First, there was a report that some guys from the potential contestant list who didn’t end up being cast got called to come back. Did Clare send everyone home? Did some guys test positive for COVID? It was all unclear, but this definitely didn’t seem normal. Then, there was another rumor that Clare was “falling for” one of her contestants, and was quitting the show mid-filming. And the, there was ANOTHER rumor that Clare was, in fact, done, and TAYSHIA is the new Bachelorette.
Okay, let’s go through this. On Friday afternoon, a Reddit post popped up, providing some very intriguing (though unverified) tea. According to the poster, who said they run a Bachelor spoiler account, they received information that “production is having a lot of problems with Clare during filming.” Apparently, Clare canceled certain filming events and wouldn’t leave her room—which would check out with the rumor of her wanting to quit. The Reddit post continued, saying that last week “they called in a new bachelorette”—that would be Tayshia. The poster said that Tayshia was already quarantining at the hotel, and they would be taking her phone to start filming shortly.
I’m sorry, what?? I love Tayshia, and seeing her as the lead would make me incredibly happy, but WTF Clare?? If she found love, that’s great for her, but did she not understand what she was signing up for? If she already knows who she wants to pick, that’s great—she can just act! I’m not saying The Bachelorette is fake (low-key I am saying that), but do you think every other lead really didn’t know who they were going to pick until the last moment? It’s a TV show! If she really did quit, I hope she and [REDACTED] are happy, because I’m sure ABC is never going to call her again.
But anyway, back to Tayshia. The Reddit mods stated that the poster’s “sources are 100% legitimate,” and our most trusted spoiler machine seems inclined to agree. Initially, Reality Steve called the rumor about Clare quitting “so dumb,” pointing out that she signed a contract, and suggesting that “PLENTY of former leads” would have quit once they knew who they wanted to end up with. But over the weekend, he changed his tune, saying that he feels there is “some serious validity” to the report of Tayshia being called in.
(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 pic.twitter.com/y0SudK7Pcl
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) July 31, 2020
I desperately want to know who he spent two hours on the phone with, but obviously he’ll never tell. In general, Reality Steve has a very solid record for being right about these things, so he wouldn’t have tweeted this if he didn’t really think it was true. Over the weekend, Reality Steve also did an Instagram Live with Demi, and while she said she didn’t know anything, she dropped an important piece of evidence. She said she had texted Tayshia to ask what was going on, but the text turned green and didn’t deliver. DUN DUN DUN. This could definitely be a sign that her phone has been taken by production.
And on Sunday night, the plot got even thicker when Clare Crawley liked a tweet about Tayshia joining the show. Unless someone else is logged in to her Twitter account, this would suggest that Clare has her phone back, which would basically confirm she’s no longer the Bachelorette. It’s f*cking happening, people!!! The tweet has since been unliked, so it seems like she probably tapped it by mistake—oops! I’m sure ABC already isn’t happy with her, and a slipup like this can’t have helped.
Honestly, it feels like all of these rumors are probably true, but it’s too soon to know for sure. We’re still going off of unverified Reddit tea and Reality Steve’s mysterious sources (and that tweet Clare liked), but hopefully we’ll have more concrete information soon. If Tayshia is replacing Clare, I’m interested to see how ABC chooses to handle the announcement. Usually, the new Bachelor or Bachelorette is always announced before filming starts, so they’re not trying to keep their identity a secret during production. Given the amount of spoilers that leak out, it doesn’t really seem like they have the ability to keep something so big secret for more than, like, 15 minutes.
Whatever ends up being true here, I am totally here for it, because I need some DRAMA on my TV screen. Thankfully, The Real Housewives of Potomac is finally back, but a messy AF season of The Bachelorette would be a welcome addition to the fall TV lineup. I just hope that ABC shows us what’s actually going down, not some glazed over Chris Harrison bullsh*t. BREAK THE FOURTH WALL!
Images: ABC/Craig Sjodin; realitysteve / Twitter
