Clare Crawley is out.
Tayshia Adams is in.
And a whole new season of The Bachelorette is officially upon us.
On Thursday night, while America remained unable to select a President, Crawley made it VERY clear who her preferred suitor was on Season 16, telling producers in a meeting that she was all about Dale Moss.
"I am so far in love with Dale," she said on air.
"We have this connection where it feels like I've known him forever. It's that intangible chemistry that you just can't make up and you can't replace.
"It's something that is so rare to feel so connected to someone when you've only known them for such a short period of time."
Chris Harrison then arranged for a private dinner between Moss and Crawley, during which the former proposed and the latter said yes.
Indeed, Crawley and Moss are engaged!!!!!
We'rre extremely happy for the couple, but this development left Bennett, Zac, Kenny, Demar, Jordan, Ivan, Joe, Riley, Brendan, Blake, Ben, Chasen, Eazy, Jason, Jay and Ed asking one simple question:
What about us?!?
The answer, of course, is that Tayshia Adams is taking over as The Bachelorette.
We saw her emerge from a limo on episode four. We saw her tell Harrison that she believes everything that has happened was meant to be.
But the contestants will need to wait until next week to see and meet Adams and find out she's now their potential wife.
ABC, however, is no longer being secretive about the switcheroo.
As you can see above and below, the network has unveiled a number of promotional photos that feature Adams as the lead, while also releasing an actual trailer.
"You rang....I answered... WHATS GOOD!!? #thebachlorette" Adams wrote on Twitter Thursday evening, sharing one of the new promo snapshots.
ABC executive Rob Mills, meanwhile, spoke to Variety and explained why producers went with Adams, who was a major fan favorite after first appearing on Colton Underwood's season of The Bachelor.
He said that choosing Tayshia Crawley's replacement was an instinctual decision.
And also one that was made with very little time to debate.
"The guys felt a little spurned that they’re going all in for Clare," Mills said, adding that the producers didn't have the "luxury of time" to make the call.
"They’ve left their jobs to be there, they’ve quarantined there, it’s insanely hot in Palm Springs, and they never really had a chance because Clare only had eyes for one guy.
"You just go with instinct at that point."
Mills also confirmed that the producers contacted Adams after filming episode 3, once it was evident Clare had eyes for Dale -- and Dale only.
"At that point, the producers started discussing like, 'What would happen if she wants to leave with Dale?'" he told Variety, adding:
"And that’s when the producers thought that maybe we should reach out to Tayshia."
Mills also scoffed as The Bachelorette spoilers and/or rumors that this change was planned all along... as some way to boost ratings or garner attention for the show.
He claims that's simply untrue.
Wherever the truth lies, this is Tayshia's journey now.
Concluded Mills, in regard to changing things up for the suitors:
"Tayshia had been through a divorce, so I think there is a lot of maturity that comes with that, and she is super serious about settling down, just like Clare was.
"So it actually did not seem like a huge stretch for these guys.
"Also, you have to remember that we cast a lot of guys that weren’t necessarily announced for Clare because she was announced as the Bachelorette so late.
"So some of these guys would have been there for someone else that was chosen as the lead, anyway."
It's gonna be interesting, that's for certain.
Check out the trailer above to see Tayshia in action (sort of) as The Bachelorette.
And click down below to find out who she chooses as her winner this season.
Yup, we know the answer!
