The newest franchise lead is getting another chance at love!
The Bachelorette has found its new leading lady! During Monday's episode of Good Morning America, Clare Crawley was revealed as the woman who will helm the 16th season of ABC's dating show. Crawley will follow Hannah Brown, who was the Bachelorette last season.
Crawley first entered Bachelor Nation on Juan Pablo's season of The Bachelor in 2014. She went on to appear on Bachelor in Paradise seasons one and two in 2014 and 2015, and most recently appeared on Bachelor Winter Games in 2018. It was on that series that she got engaged to Canadian Bachelorette contestant Benoit Beauséjour-Savard, though they split about two months later.
During her GMA appearance, Crawley expressed shock and excitement over her new role. "I literally just found out. So unexpected!" she exclaimed. "Can you believe this? I cannot believe it. I mean, six years later. What is happening?"
At 38 years old, Crawley said that she sees her age as an advantage on her journey to find love.
"I feel like a lot of people put it out there as this negative thing, but for me it just is more years under my belt, more learning and knowing what I want, what I don't want, and what I won't settle for," she said.
Crawley also noted that she's open to dating younger guys. "I have been known to date younger guys, so that's not a problem for me. The thing is, I'm wondering if they're ready for me, for my age. So I feel like that would be more of an issue than me with them," she said. "Because I feel so much younger at heart than my actual age."
As for the kind of guy she's looking for, Crawley said that it's "all about what's on the inside."
"The most important thing is I want a man who will take off his armor. I want a man who is strong, who is willing to take off his body armor, open himself up and be vulnerable. And I think that is some serious strength right there, so I want a man who can do that," she said. "... There's no one thing I'm looking for physically. It's more if they go out of their way for me, if they make me feel special, because this is about me now and I'm ready for it."
The announcement came less than a week after Chris Harrison told ET that the next Bachelorette had "not been decided." In fact, the Bachelorette announcement came fairly early this year, as Harrison told ET that they typically wait to pick a lead until after the current season of The Bachelor concludes.
"We wait to see how the season ends, we want to see After the Final Rose, we want to see The Women Tell All, we want to see how things play out," he said at the time.
There were no shortage of contenders for the job this time around, something that Harrison noted is typical for each season.
"Every season whether it's a Bachelor or Bachelorette, we really do have this massive debate where people from this season, people from prior seasons, people you don't even know are in the mix," Harrison explained to ET.
Fans suspected among those in the debate this year were Kelsey Weier, the most recently eliminated contestant on Peter Weber's season of The Bachelor. Tia Booth and Tayshia Adams, who both dated Colton Underwood, were also rumored to be in the running.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. See more of what Harrison had to say about choosing the next Bachelorette in the video below.
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