Bachelorette Exec Explains Why Tayshia Adams Is the Perfect Replacement — See Her First Official Photos
It's official — Tayshia Adams is the new Bachelorette!
ABC confirmed Thursday that the "rumors" Adams, 30, would be replacing Clare Crawley on this season of The Bachelorette are indeed true — and shared new photos and a dramatic promo video for the rest of the season.
"You rang....I answered... WHATS GOOD!!? #thebachlorette" Adams wrote on Twitter Thursday night, sharing one of the new promo photos.
One of the photos shows Adams, 30, holding a red rose and wearing a blue jumpsuit with a skirt covered in newsprint and tweets. Others show the former Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise star wearing a red ballgown, again with a red rose in her hand.
ABC executive Rob Mills told Variety that choosing Adams — a longtime fan favorite after first appearing on Colton Underwood's season of The Bachelor — for Crawley's replacement was an "instinctual" decision.
RELATED: The Bachelorette: Clare Crawley Dumps the Remaining 16 Men and Gets Engaged to Dale Moss
"The guys felt a little spurned that they’re going all in for Clare," Mills said, adding that the producers didn't have the "luxury of time" to make the call. "They’ve left their jobs to be there, they’ve quarantined there, it’s insanely hot in Palm Springs, and they never really had a chance because Clare only had eyes for one guy. You just go with instinct at that point."
Mills revealed that the producers decided to reach out to Adams — who had previously been considered as a possible Bachelorette — after filming episode 3, when Crawley's emotions for Moss were crystal clear.
"At that point, the producers started discussing like, 'What would happen if she wants to leave with Dale?'" he said. "And that’s when the producers thought that maybe we should reach out to Tayshia."
On Thursday's dramatic episode, Crawley, 39, decided that she didn't want to keep dating her suitors, but wanted to exclusively be with Dale Moss, who earned her first impression rose.
"I do have so many other great guys here and I genuinely wanted to get to know these guys and give them a chance, but nothing compares to what I have with Dale. Nothing," Crawley said. "And I could most definitely gladly spend the rest of my life with Dale."
She told the remaining men that she found what she was looking for with Moss, 32.
"I know each and every one of you have so much to offer, but I've always said I'm a woman who knows what I want, and I'm going for it. I just have so much respect for you guys. I would never, ever want to lead any of you on. And I hope you guys know it doesn't devalue any of the conversations, any of the energy that I put into you guys, because I was there and I was present. I hope that what I have found in Dale, I seriously and sincerely want the same for you guys."
In quick succession, Moss proposed to Crawley, who answered an enthusiastic "yes!"
"Put that ring on my finger, I've waited a lot of years for this," she added.
While the rest of the men assumed they were going home, host Chris Harrison told them they were getting another shot at finding love — and with that, fans were given a look at Adams officially as the new Bachelorette.
"I just know that this process moves very quickly and you start to invest a lot of feelings really early on," Adams told Harrison. "I don't know if that's the case for some of them, and if so, I am more than happy to have that conversation with them if they don't feel like this is the right time for them or I'm not right for them."
RELATED: Clare Crawley Is 'Really Down' About Reaction to Her Bachelorette Season, DeAnna Pappas Says
"But I feel like this is the right moment in time," she added. "I wouldn't be standing here I don't think if it wasn't meant to be."
Mills told Variety that Crawley and Adams aren't as "different as you might think on the surface."
"Tayshia had been through a divorce, so I think there is a lot of maturity that comes with that, and she is super serious about settling down, just like Clare was, so it actually did not seem like a huge stretch for these guys," he said. "Also, you have to remember that we cast a lot of guys that weren’t necessarily announced for Clare because she was announced as the Bachelorette so late, so some of these guys would have been there for someone else that was chosen as the lead, anyway."
Mills added that despite "some hurdles," the dramatic road to Adams becoming Bachelorette "ended up working out incredibly well."
Of the dramatic switch-up, the executive promised that none of it was planned.
"It is insane," Mills admitted. "You just think, 'Oh my gosh, I swear we didn’t plan this.'"
The Bachelorette continues Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
