- It’s official – the 16th star of “The Bachelorette” will be 38-year-old Clare Crawley.
- It’s been a few years since Crawley made her debut on Juan Pablo’s season of “The Bachelor” in 2014, so here’s a quick refresher on what you need to know about her.
- Crawley’s the oldest Bachelorette yet, and she has appeared on four seasons of “Bachelor” shows before. This will be her fifth outing.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Think back to 2014 – Obama was president, “12 Years a Slave” won Best Picture, Taylor Swift released “1989,” and the extremely despised “Bachelor” lead Juan Pablo Galavis was told off by runner-up Clare Crawley, who said she’d never want her kids to have a father like him.
Cut to six years later: Our newest “Bachelorette” star is none other than Miss Crawley, who, at 38, is the oldest and perhaps most mature Bachelorette ever. This is much-needed coming off a season in which the three front-runners range from 23 to 26 years old, vying to marry a 28-year-old man-child (sorry, Pilot Pete).
Here’s everything you need to know about our next Bachelorette, from her biggest moments in the franchise to what she’s up to today.
At 38, Clare Crawley is the oldest “Bachelorette” lead ever.
After a season of fans complaining about how immature the women were on Peter Weber’s season of “The Bachelor,” hopefully Crawley’s age will bring some mature men to the franchise.
Crawley also comes after the youngest lead ever, season 15's Hannah Brown, who was 24.
The oldest "Bachelor" star ever was season 6's Byron Velvick, who was 40 at the time of his season. After Crawley, Rachel Lindsay is the second-oldest Bachelorette. She was 32 during her season.
She's a hairstylist in Sacramento, California, with an adorable dog.
Interestingly, Crawley didn't go the typical "Bachelor" contestant route - she didn't quit her job, move to Los Angeles, or become a full-time influencer. Instead, she remained in Sacramento and continued working as a hairstylist, with the occasional sponsored post thrown in on her Instagram for good measure.
Apparently, due to her age, some of the men who were cast have already been let go for being too young.
Resident spoiler king Reality Steve has tweeted that a few contestants on the younger side (read: 25 year olds) have been let go in light of Crawley's casting. He also reported that at least four of her suitors have kids, a higher-than-usual number, though it's probably because they're skewing older.
"The Bachelorette" will be Crawley's fifth appearance on a "Bachelor" show.
That puts her up there with frequent contestant Chris Bukowski, who returned to "Paradise" last summer for a record-breaking sixth outing.
Her first appearance on the show was Juan Pablo's season of "The Bachelor" in 2014. She memorably told him off at the final rose ceremony, before he picked Nikki Ferrell.
If you were cheering in your seat when Hannah Brown picked up the rose podium to move it around Luke P., then Crawley's the girl for you.
Watch the iconic break-up here.
She then appeared on the first two seasons of "Bachelor in Paradise." Her most iconic moment? When she appeared to have a therapy session with a raccoon.
Yes, she was involved in a few relationships over her two seasons, perhaps most significantly with Ashley I.'s future husband, Jared Haibon, but the best thing she ever gave to this franchise was her "conversation" with a raccoon.
Crawley's most recent appearance on TV was 2016's "The Bachelor Winter Games." She got engaged to Canadian "Bachelorette" contestant Benoit Beauséjour-Savard. They broke up a few months later.
Beauséjour-Savard proposed at the "Winter Games" reunion, as he left the show early because Crawley couldn't decide between him and Christian Rauch (more on him later). However, once she left the show, Crawley and Beauséjour-Savard met up and began dating.
Their engagement only lasted a month and a half.
She was also involved in a love triangle with German "Bachelorette" contestant Christian Rauch — the biggest moment from that relationship was the coining of the term "Jacuzzi appointment."
During her stint on "Winter Games," Crawley was torn between the sweet Beauséjour-Savard and the strong and silent type, Rauch.
However, when she couldn't decide, Beauséjour-Savard took off, and she was left with Rauch - who became annoyed with Crawley because she missed their "Jacuzzi appointment."
As the old German saying goes, "In Germany, when we make a Jacuzzi appointment, we keep the Jacuzzi appointment." Predictably, their flirtation ended after this argument.
- Read more:
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