Did the new 'Bachelorette' also research her possible suitors?
Clare Crawley looking up Dale Moss before filming started on The Bachelorette led her to fall hard and fast for the former NFL player -- but will fans see Tayshia Adams come into the show with preconceived ideas about the guys? The new Bachelorette told ET's Lauren Zima on Monday that she did look up the cast before Clare started filming -- but had "forgotten" most of what she saw by the time she stepped in as Bachelorette.
"I looked at them when they were first released for Clare, so that was months ago," she recalled. "Because of quarantine, everything got moved back. But I did not look them up after that, and I was really happy I didn't because I didn't really know what I was walking into. I had forgotten about everybody at that point."
Clare's cast was first announced in March, before production was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. An updated list was revealed in July (including some previously announced men and some new contestants), before the show finally started filming. ET learned in August that Clare exited her role as Bachelorette after falling for a suitor roughly two weeks into filming, so Tayshia, who stepped in days later, had a month to dig deep into the men's backgrounds, if she wished.
"This is a conversation I've had multiple times," she said of learning that she would be stepping in as a new Bachelorette. "I kind of wrote it off at this point, and so when I did get the phone call I was like, 'Hold on, what?' I was shocked, but obviously really excited."
Sixteen of Clare's men remained when Tayshia took over as the Bachelorette, as fans saw on Thursday's episode. However, the trailer teases additional guys join the season.
"There's some new faces and it's going to get really juicy the second that happens," Tayshia shared. "Just wait and see."
Clare openly admitted to researching her men before filming started, and told host Chris Harrison on last week's episode that it was one of the reasons she felt so drawn to him when they finally met for the first time on The Bachelorette. "It's just so parallel," she said of what she learned of Dale's life -- like him losing a parent and having a loved one in a care facility. "I would say it was built up before we even got here."
For Tayshia, it seems like a clean slate led to a very different experience on The Bachelorette. She told ET that she fell in love with "multiple" men over the course of the season, and didn't have that strong night one connection with any of her suitors.
"I didn't really feel any pressure to be honest," she shared. "I just wanted to give myself a chance and the opportunity and see if it was possible."
There's definitely an emotional journey to come, the new Bachelorette teased. "The guys are incredible, but they did make me cry," Tayshia teased. "There are some really fun dates, there are a lot of twists and turns. [It's] just a really good season."
Clare and Dale are now happily engaged and planning their future together -- so, does Tayshia also get a happy ending?
"I'm happy," she shared, "and part of the reason is, I can finally say that I'm the Bachelorette. It's been a secret I've been holding onto for a long, long time."
Tayshia said her season is full of "up and downs" and fans will get to experience the roller coaster of emotions along with her. "There's lots of happiness, but there's also some sadness in it."
"The one opportunity I had to think about [going in] was, my heart was ready," she added. "With those intentions, I sort of went with it and it worked."
The Bachelorette airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Tune in to Wednesday's ET for more from our interview with Tayshia.
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