Who Is Clare Crawley, 'Bachelor' Alum and Rumored 'Bachelorette'?

Potential Bachelorette spoilers ahead. If you're a longtime fan of the Bachelor franchise, Clare Crawley's name will already be familiar to you. (opens in new tab) And she's about to come back to our TV screens in a big way—as The Bachelorette in 2020.  (opens in new tab)So what do we know about this West Coast girl who is older than any previous Bachelorette, a rare progressive move for the franchise, and has a lot of show history under her belt, including an engagement (opens in new tab) and several viral moments? Let's start with the big one...

Will she be the next Bachelorette?

Update, 3/2: It's confirmed! On Good Morning America, Crawley was officially announced as the next Bachelorette, strolling out from behind a screen in a sparkly gray dress and holding a rose (because she holds the roses now!). "This is about me now, and I'm ready for it," she said. When asked if she has a thick skin, she replied that it's the male contestants that we should be worried about. I love it.

Here's the announcement:

The news is a little out of left field because, contrary to tradition, the Bachelorette is not anyone from Weber's Bachelor season—a fan favorite or a top contender is often selected, much like Hannah Brown in 2019. (There haven't been many fan faves this season.) But Arie Luyendyk Jr. was also a surprise pick, and as Reality Steve notes, Crawley has a compelling story. She's also been attempting to find love through the franchise for a while—so hopefully this time's the charm. Which brings me to...

How many Bachelor shows has she been on?

So, in total, Crawley has been on four franchise shows (and is actually a little divisive (opens in new tab) among fans). She's not quite as seasoned as alum Chris Bukowski (opens in new tab), but she's getting there. She was originally a contestant on Bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis' season, then had a go at love twice in Bachelor in Paradise (seasons 1 and 2). Then she made it to episode 3 of Winter Games—where she briefly got engaged.

• Here's exactly what went down between Crawley and Juan Pablo. (opens in new tab)
• Here's exactly what went down between Crawley and Benoit. (opens in new tab)

So, yeah, she understands the show premise—and, interestingly, she's a little older than most recent contestants. Crawley is 38 (she'll turn 39 during filming). If you remember, it was a huge plot point of Colton Underwood's season that most of the contestants were under 30 and those who were got the "cougar" nickname (opens in new tab) (urgh). And Weber's season didn't star many contestants over 30 at all. This is a decently big pivot for the franchise, and I...kind of love it? Although, if rumors are to be believed the contestants might still be young.

Where is she from, and what does she do?

Crawley loooooves her home state of California, and has an adorable doggo (that's actually one of two, if you swipe through):

She's a stylist at De Facto Salon (opens in new tab). She apparently is a big fan of hiking, traveling, exercising, and eating clean—pretty standard stuff for a Bachelorette. Crawley also admitted that she had a tough year in 2019, given a tough diagnosis her mom was given, and it's clear she's been relying on friends and family:

Crawley hasn't commented about the potential announcement, but I did enjoy her latest post:

I mean, if we wanted to read into it, that could absolutely be a reference to going on the show and attempting find love, right?

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