ABC announced The Bachelorette’s newest leading lady earlier this week, revealing their oldest choice to date: Clare Crawley. While some fans feel their choice came out of left-field, most are overjoyed with this decision, largely due to Clare’s age and maturity.
During the reveal of her Bachelorette status on Good Morning America, Clare embraced her older age: “I feel like a lot of people put it out there as this negative thing. For me, it’s just more years under my belt. More years learning and knowing what I want and what I won’t settle for.” Here are ten reasons Clare Crawley will be the best leading lady the franchise has ever seen!
She’s 38
Clare’s age has been the main topic of conversation in regards to the new ABC lead. Clare’s birthday, March 20th (a Pisces-Aries cusp), takes place a week into filming her season, meaning Clare will be 39 amidst choosing her best suitors, seven years older than the current oldest-Bachelorette-to-date, Rachel Lindsay.
During a chat with People, Clare stated: “I feel like my age is really an asset. I’ve gone through twists and turns and I know what I will and won’t put up with. Twenty-three-year-old Clare had no clue what I wanted. And I’m glad that wasn’t the end of my love story because I’m such a different woman now.”
She’s Well Accustomed To The Cameras
Clare first appeared on The Bachelor back in 2014 during Juan Pablo’s season and placed second, making waves during her memorable exit (see below). She was featured on the first two seasons of Bachelor in Paradise, where Clare was age-shamed by fan-favorite Ashley Iaconetti and wound up empty-handed– perhaps empty-hearted?
After declaring a retirement from the franchise off her run in Paradise, Clare returned for The Bachelor: Winter Games in 2018, which sparked her short-term engagement to Canadian Bachelorette alum, Benoît Beauséjour-Savard. Clare is no stranger to the cameras, but she’s also not desperate for attention or followers, the perfect balance for the leading part.
Clare Has Been Proposed To On-Camera, Giving Her Proper Experience
Clare first met the Canadian contestant during the filming of The Bachelor: Winter Games, where Benoît competed with German hunk Christian Rauch for Clare’s affection, one of the spin-offs main love triangles. After dumping them both, Clare and Benoît began dating after filming, and he ended up proposing to the beautiful blonde during the live The Bachelor Winter Games: World Tells All reunion show.
Though this adorable Bachelor pairing broke off their engagement after just three months, it’s obvious they remained on good terms. Benoît pledged his full support during a recent interview with E! News: “She has always been so nice to me, even after the breakup. We talked on a regular basis and still care a lot about each other. I’m glad she got that chance at finding love because we both trust that process.”
She Can Stand Her Ground
Clare and Juan Pablo had quite the dicey run! After the hot-and-heavy late-night ocean escapades rendezvous between Clare and the lead was caught on camera, Juan Pablo was embarrassed his young daughter would see his indiscretions, and told Clare their romantic tryst was a “mistake.”
She was wrongfully slut-shamed and mistreated by Juan Pablo, who’s known for being the worst lead in Bachelor history, but Clare left with her head held high, telling him off in the process. “I thought I knew what kind of man you were,” Clare told Juan Pablo, walking away as she leaves him with: “What you just made me go through, I’d never want my children having a father like you.”
She Isn’t Interested In The Spotlight, So No Worries About Influencer Status
Clare is a well-established hairstylist who works at the De Facto Salon in her hometown Sacramento, California, and is the youngest of six sisters. She’s been an outdoorsy, hardworking gal her entire life, and isn’t concerned about spon-conning her way through fame (though she already boasts over a half million followers on Instagram).
Clare toldPeople: “I get that there are a lot of perks that come along with The Bachelorette,” she says, “but in the end, I want a man who I can bring home and watch TV with on a Friday night who doesn’t want to be in the spotlight.” Bachelor Nation has been fed up with the recent amount of fame-hungry clout chasers being cast, so Clare’s plea could bring forth a more genuine group of gallants!
She Has Shown How Patient She Is
As mentioned above, Clare found herself in the middle of a love triangle between Benoît and Christian Rauch, who blew his chances with Clare after coming off as a complete imbecile during a confusing argument centered around a jacuzzi. Christian penalizes Clare for literally being absent from the kitchen after their jacuzzi date plans went awry, and Clare defends her ground, telling Christian he could’ve found her in the living room.
After Christian continues on and on about how offended he is and gives a snide remark, Clare shoots back: “Don’t be sarcastic, that is not a language barrier!” It has been proven Clare is no stranger to confrontation, is patient, and sticks to her guns, the perfect qualities for a new brand of Bachelorette.
Clare Shares The Talents of Eliza Thornberry?
So maybe it’s a stretch to assume Clare can take on the same superpowers as Eliza Thornberry, who actively talks to animals, but the editors of Bachelor in Paradise put together a hilarious clip of Clare breaking down in front of what looks like a raccoon in the bushes. She’s obviously talking to a producer who’s off-camera, but the clip makes the new Bachelorette look a little kooky!
They poked even more fun at Clare’s affinity for talking to animals when they aired a follow-up scene in season two, which focuses on a phone conversation Clare is having, gushing about Mexico, to her long-lost furry friend!
She Has Been Highly Praised By Bachelor Alum, Including Past Leads
During a recent interview, past Bachelorette lead Becca Kufrin told ET, “I don’t know her, but I am ready to kind of go back to the basics, to bump up the maturity level a little bit and to finally have hopefully deep real connections and conversations.”
Ben Higgins also spoke to ET: “I love that she is mature and she does know what she is looking for and she really wants to find a partner. We’ve been shocked with Colton when he was the Bachelor, we were shocked with Hannah when she was announced as the Bachelorette, and it turned out great for the franchise.” Nick Viall and Chris Bukowski shared their undying support as well.
Even Clare’s Ex-Fiancé Benoît Says She Will Be The Best Bachelorette!
Clare’s ex-fiancé, Benoît Beauséjour-Savard, showed his full backing for the new leading lady through a supportive Instagram post, announcing: “Congratulations to this gem!! She will be an amazing Bachelorette. She is smart, fun, strong, knows what she wants and most importantly, she will call out the guys messing around!! Hell yeah!!"
Benoît continues, “She will be the best person to call out her men if they aren’t there for her. I just don’t want her to get hurt. I’m sure she will find her soulmate. She will be the best Bachelorette, I can tell you this.”
Clare Isn’t From Peter’s Season
Okay, so maybe we’re joking - but really - how much worse could the pool of women from Peter’s season be? Aside from slim pickings Kelley Flanagan and Kelsey Weier, Peter’s season of The Bachelor has been dismal.
Though a large part of this season’s failure has been Peter’s disappointment as the lead, the women have been noted as some of the cattiest to date… and they’re also the youngest bunch to date. Coincidence anyone?
