Bachelorette alum Clare Crawley has opened up about how Dale Moss helped her to deal with her child abuse before their recent split. Clare appeared on an emotion-laden new episode of Red Table Table Talk: The Estefans and revealed a Catholic priest sexually abused her in first grade. Clare detailed how the experience continues to affect her relationships. She explained she dated men who didn't value her because she never felt good enough.
During the Facebook Watch series, Clare said she hated the word "victim" for a long time because she never felt like it. Hence, she never shared her experience with anyone she went through and hid it from her friends because she didn't want them to see her as a victim. However, she changed that mindset after realizing she wasn't a victim but a survivor. After meeting Dale in ABC's dating series, Bachelorette, Clare's new mindset became strengthened.
While speaking to Red Table Talk: The Estefans hosts, Gloria Estefan, Emily Estefan, and Lili Estefan, Clare credited Dale for helping her through her childhood abuse. She said, "I went in, having true love for myself, loving myself wholly, and not only walked away with my self-love but I walked away with a man that loves me just as deeply." Clare and Dale got engaged after 12 days of meeting each other as she cut short her time on Bachelorette to move on with him. However, she has no regrets about doing so and said, "We got engaged after 12 days. I tell everybody if I would have waited and seen it through to the very end, it still would have been him."
Moss also appeared on the episode and spoke about how he helped Clare after she told him about her childhood abuse. He said the biggest thing for him after he found out was having a level of understanding. He explained, "And it's so important to feel comfortable that you can really open up and share your story, your family story, everything that brought you to this point." Dale said the experience helped him grow as a man and revealed Clare told him he did not need to fix every problem.
Gloria asked the couple if Clare's past abuse affected their intimacy. Clare said she felt instantly safe and connected with Dale. She explained that healing from childhood abuse had its ups and downs and affects one's life differently. When Dale was asked how he helped Clare go through her trauma, he said he always wanted her to feel safe, secure and protected. The 33-year-old said he never wanted her to feel pressured or think he was too aggressive. Clare also revealed it was Dale who encouraged her to share some of her past experiences publicly.
Since their surprise engagement, Clare and Dale's relationship has been filled with ups and downs. The lovebirds have called it quits and even gone out of the spotlight. The time away seemed to work magic for them as they reconciled and celebrated their first anniversary. Last month, rumors spread that Clare and Dale were married, but they recently broke up again when all thought they were going to last. While their relationship seems complicated, their revelations on The Red Table Talk: The Estefans prove they have nothing but love for each other. Bachelorette fans will be pleased to know the couple has each other's backs and will be there for one another. So, even after things didn't ultimately work out between them, they will still have some fond memories of themselves.
Source: Red Table Talk: The Estefans/Facebook