From 1st Rose to Forever? Clare and Dale's Relationship Timeline So Far
When you know, you know! Season 16 of The Bachelorette is like no other. From the moment Clare Crawley met Dale Moss on night one of the ABC dating show, things were different.
“It was breathtaking. It was one of those moments where you don’t know it until you experience it, what exactly that feeling is,” the hairstylist exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the premiere. “I still can’t put it into words what that feeling is though. It was when your body has that kind of, like, a goosebumpy reaction to things; it just takes your breath away.”
Us confirmed that the Bachelor in Paradise alum exited the show after finding love in less than two weeks. However, she stands by the fact that she and Dale did not talk ahead of her season. (Her cast was announced months before filming began as the coronavirus pandemic delayed production.)
“There was never a moment where I was going to reach out or I wanted to reach out [to the contestants] because I knew that this was going to happen eventually where I was going to get the chance to meet these guys,” she told Us. “I didn’t want to kind of prejudge anybody and shoot myself in the foot by having these conversations and putting that at risk. ‘Cause it’s like, you only really know when you meet them in person and it can actually be around their pheromones to see them in person to know, do we have that connection? So if I was to start something up with a guy beforehand, it would just be doing myself a disservice … I’d be putting it all on the line for that? I mean, that makes no sense to me.”
However, the journey for the duo hasn’t been an easy one. After connecting on night one, she fell hard — and the other suitors were not happy.
“She doesn’t really care about anybody else or giving anyone else a fair shake, besides Dale,” contestant Kenny Braasch said to the other men during the October 27 episode of the show. “If you want to go be with Dale, go be with him now and we’ll all go home. If you’ve already got a boyfriend, what am I doing here?”
Clare, for her part, knows that there’s going to be critics who wonder how she could fall so quickly — but she’s not worried about them.
“My question would be to the people that are saying that — to the people that question it — what exactly is the formula for falling in love?” she asked during Us‘ interview. “Is there one way to do it? Is there one example of this is how it’s done?”
Scroll through the gallery below to see a timeline of Dale and Clare’s relationship — from night one to now.
Upon meeting Dale, Clare was taken back by how attracted to him she was. "I definitely feel like I just met my husband," she said. "Every other guy, I felt confident with, but with Dale, everything else went dark around me. I felt everything that I haven’t felt ever. … I felt it. I just know."
ABC/Craig Sjodin
After her reaction to meeting him was so strong, it was no surprise that he also received the first impression rose at the end of night one.
ABC/Craig Sjodin
Their first kiss was steamy, as she pulled him in on night one. "Even though it was in one night, we connected in so many different levels," Dale later said. "I would love to sit and talk with her for a couple more hours."
ABC/Craig Sjodin
When no one got up and asked to steal her away during a group date, Clare was offended. Dale then stepped in, and she admitted to him, "I totally have feelings for you." He responded, "I totally feel the same way."
ABC/Craig Sjodin
After Yosef Aborady upset Clare by saying he's embarrassed of her — and she sent him packing — Dale came to her rescue, embracing her in a hug and telling her how wrong Yosef is. "You don't deserve that," he said on the October 27 episode. "He's lying, everyone's lying if they say they don't want to spend time with you."
In turn, Clare said in her interview, "All I've ever wanted is a man like Dale, who will come over and protect me and make sure that I'm OK and not have to go through it alone."
ABC
During the October 27 episode, Dale grabbed Clare first to chat for "five minutes" after the group date. Instead, the pair spent nearly an hour in her room, making out in her bed. She later told producers she wanted to hurry through the rest of the dates.
ABC/Craig Sjodin
After many of the men roasted Dale very hard during a group date during the October 27 episode, Clare was not happy. When talking to a producer she said that the group "dished on my fiancé so hard."
ABC/Craig Sjodin
"Dale is everything that I'm looking for, everything that I want and can't put words with. Things you can't explain," Clare later stated during one of her interviews. "I can't believe, it's not even the second rose ceremony yet, and I'm so falling in love with Dale."
ABC/Craig Sjodin
During the November 5 episode, Crawley broke up with the remaining men and told Moss she loved him. He echoed her sentiments and the pair got engaged and left the show.
ABC/Craig Sjodin