It is sad to see The Bachelorette season 16's first couple, Clare Crawley and Dale Moss, have broken up just five months into their engagement. Although, most fans aren't surprised by the split. In fact, they think the former NFL player used Clare to gain popularity. When he achieved his goal, he called off the engagement and quickly moved on with his New York City life.
Many The Bachelorette viewers were unsure about Clare and Dale's relationship right from the beginning. As soon as Dale stepped out of the limo, Clare announced him as her "husband." She could hardly focus on other guys and eventually told Chris Harrison that she wanted to be with Dale. The Sacramento native refused to date anyone else and walked off the show after getting engaged to the love of her life. But it appears that the feelings weren't mutual. Clare was invested in her relationship with her whole heart, but it was difficult for Dale to give up his party boy lifestyle.
When the couple was newly engaged, Dale often said he has never been scared of commitment and was ready to make changes in his lifestyle to suit Clare's world. He was excited to relocate to Sacramento with his now ex-fiancée, as she needed to be close to her mom, who is suffering from dementia. But soon, the 32-year-old ABC star was spotted hanging out with his female model friends on the NYC streets. Most reports are now stating the couple was fighting over their lifestyle preferences. Dale wanted to be in the lively city of New York, and Clare wished for a peaceful life in Sacramento.
In addition, some of Dale's old interviews have resurfaced online, which further suggests he was looking for fame as a TV personality. While talking to Midco Sports Network in June 2020 (via Nicki Swift), he talked about his high aspirations of being a model and an entertainment host, "That's always been one of my focuses. I think how Ryan Seacrest has built a brand and really an empire is amazing, and I would love to model my career after him." Page Six reports that the former co-host of VH1's The Gossip Table, Delaina Dixon, said in the Naughty But Nice podcast that Dale was aggressively chasing fame.
There have been many Bachelor/Bachelorette contestants in the past who joined the show for the wrong reasons. It appears Dale also wanted snag the spotlight, but Clare chose him, and he had to commit to save his image. Even the fellow Bachelorette contestants were able to sense his true intentions. They were pretty annoyed when Dale called himself best-suited for Clare and tried to demean their feelings. Till the end, The Bachelorette contestant Dale attempted to make the most of this relationship/engagement and teased the breakup for days before putting out an official announcement.
Source: Page Six, Nicki Swift