Becoming the lead of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but the decision does not come without risk. Though the decisions a lead makes are their own, the final edit of the season is entirely up to production. Several contestants and leads have been vocal about getting a “bad edit” and now Clare Crawley is being candid about how she felt her story was portrayed when she was The Bachelorette.
Clare and former (though perhaps current) fiancé Dale Moss were the drama of the season. Though she was selected to be The Bachelorette, Clare quickly gave up on being the lead after meeting Dale and feeling love at first sight. The couple got engaged after only a few days and were ushered off the show to make way for Tayshia Adams to take the lead. Since leaving the show, Clare and Dale faced several rocky months, where they dramatically broke up, and have now seemingly reconciled.
In an Instagram interview with Girl Powerful Project, Clare got real about the way editing impacts the story fans see. “I think there’s so many—especially on The Bachelorette—you [only] see a glimpse of an edited television show.” According to Clare, the reason she wanted to be The Bachelorette “was to be able to show the imperfections of who we are—not in a negative way—but the imperfections just in general of who we are and to be loved and to love ourselves regardless of that. And to set these standards for our heart regardless of that.”
Others, like Clare’s friend Michelle Money, agree that Clare got a bad edit on her season. Clare said she “wanted to have the perfect fairytale be imperfect human beings and still be loved because of that,” and show that women have many different sides. However, she said “it didn’t come out that way and it wasn’t edited that way, but that’s OK...I love showing the sides of who I am...We’re all the same.” Going in to the process with that goal in mind was noble, but given how many times Clare has been on the franchise, it was a little naive.
Her depiction on The Bachelorette might not have gone the way she expected, but Clare may have still found her happy ending regardless. Despite the dramatic breakup, Clare and Dale seem closer than ever, and though they aren’t officially back together, the two recently spent Clare’s birthday together as a couple in Napa. Clare seems to have come to terms that though her season didn’t play out the way she expected, that doesn’t have to impact her or her relationship with Dale.
Source: Girl Powerful Project/Instagram