'The Bachelorette': Dale Proposes to Clare and Tayshia Officially Starts Night One!

The episode wraps up with Clare and Dale's happiest life as an engaged couple. They're spending their time playing games, jump roping, swimming and making SALAD. 

Love to see a love story, especially when it involves vegetables! 

As expected, we got hit with a big, fat "to be continued." Next week, Clare and Dale open up about their love story. 

Chris asks if they lied to all of Bachelor Nation, Tayshia begins her journey, and some guys are not sure... but she is nobody's second choice.

"Everything is about to change," Chris tells Tayshia in the promo. YES WE ARE HERE FOR SURPRISES. 

Tayshia hops out of limo and she is a VISION. 

"It hasn't hit me yet," she tells Chris. "Seeing you I think makes it more real." 

"It actually puts me at ease, but it makes it feel like -- I'm not being punk'd or anything," she adds. 

"It is a great group of guys," Chris assures her. "A solid group. Do you have that fear that these guys are not going to accept you because of what happened with Clare?" 

"I just know that this process moves very quickly," she replies. "And you start to invest feelings very early on, and I don't know if that's the case for some of them, and if so, I'm more than happy to have that conversation with them, if they don't know if this is the right time for them, or I'm not right for them." 

The men talk about how nervous Tayshia must be, but girl is confident. 

"I feel like this is the right moment in time. I wouldn't be standing here, I don't think, if it wasn't meant to be. That's what I prayed for. And here I am!" she says. 

IT'S STARTING. TAYSHIA IS READY WE ARE READY. YES, LOVE IT. LET'S GO.

Chris sends Tayshia in... but we only have 2 minutes left of the episode, so we'll probably have to wait until next week. God, the ANTICIPATION. Between this and the election, Chris Harrison pls help us!

"The big question... who is she?" Chris says. "How about I just go get her and let her come in here?" 

"The next person to walk through these doors will be your new Bachelorette, and possibly your wife," he teases. "Good luck, have fun tonight. I'll see you guys later." 

The guys' palms are sweaty. Knees weak, arms heavy blah blah blah mom's spaghetti. It's time for Tayshia!

Chris repeats that the men were cheated, but is super nice about it. "Gentlemen, your new Bachelorette is on her way here right now," he announces. "You guys have a brand new Bachelorette." 

The guys are so excited, and SO ARE WE. Chris is gassing up Tayshia but it's totally deserved. "She really is in a place in her life where she wants to find love," he says. "So, we're going to start The Bachelorette right now, again." 

Ready or not, the night is here. The 16 remaining guys, including Kenny -- who has spoken more on this show than Dale has -- is ready to find out what's next. 

The show tries to drum up suspense about whether all guys will return for another chance at love. You can't trick us! We have been watching this show for too long, producers! Also, does anyone REALLY care if Jason and Blake show up? We are onto bigger things. Tayshia is coming. If they don't show up, it's not meant to be!!

It's Tayshia o'clock, PEOPLE!

Our buddy Bennett says he wasn't even invested in Clare. Great, love it, moving on! 

"Now we get a fresh start," he tells the camera. 

Canadian Blake is sadder. "Everything I did revolved around Clare. Do I want to go through all that again? I don't know." 

Some other guy is excited. Jason? Not excited. "Having that one-on-one, opening up like that? I don't know. It hurts," he says. 

"I still do care about Clare. It sucks," he adds. "F**k." 

"What I'm here to tell you is your journey is not over," Chris tells the men. "Each of you needs to make a decision -- truly think about your relationship with Clare... can you look beyond your feelings with Clare and move on?" 

Jason says this is hard, and wants to know how long they have. And the answer is they have until..... TONIGHT! 

The guys celebrate but are also like wtf because really... wtf. 

Blake who is pissed, wants to pretend Clare "wasn't a thing." Shemar doesn't know if they're bringing in a new Bachelorette or if it's turning into Paradise. 

The next day, the men are packing up their things because the producers think it's funny. We all know they're sticking around for Tayshia. 

"It was hard enough to do the bubble, quarantine," Kenny complains. He is tired of being d**ked around, and so are some of the other guys. 

They all gather together at the villa and Chris arrives. "It's probably been a pretty stressful 24 hours... this is so unprecedented. We've never had to do a show like this," Chris says. 

He tells the guys he's not sure if Clare was in love with Dale before this all started, but either way, Dale proposed and Clare said yes. They are SHOOK. 

"I do feel like you guys were cheated a little bit," Chris says. 

Still ahead -- TAYSHIA. WE REPEAT -- TAYSHIA! 

We get our first look at her stunning night one look just before commercial and we CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS. 

Clare gives Dale her final rose. 

"We saw this coming a long time ago," Dale says. 

"I knew it," Clare replies. 

"I accepted it," Dale adds. UH, ACCEPTED IT? We don't know how to feel about this. 

"This is exciting. Let's do the damn thing," Dale says, taking Becca Kufrin's tagline. 

"I love you too!" Clare cuts Dale off, smiling. 

"I'm so appreciative for you, and the best is yet to come. I'm not going anywhere, and I want to make you happy and be there for you each and every day. So, with that being said, I'm going to do it," Dale says, GETTING ON ONE KNEE. "Clare, will you marry me?" 

"Yes!" she replies, leaning in for a kiss. 

Thrilled with her answer, Dale gets up, only to be stopped by Clare. "Hold on! Put that ring on my finger!" she yells. "I've waited a lot of years for this." 
 

We cannot believe it's been like, two days. And neither can Dale. 

"It's wild, right? That we're here right now," he says with a chuckle. "But I've said this before, from the moment I stepped out of the limo, this was special, and I know you and I, we both felt it immediately, and there was absolutely no denying it. You made it so clear and apparent at every phase of this that you believed in us, you believed in you and I, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that you would go to the end of the world for me. I've never had that. And I'm so grateful for that."

"And you talked about strength and compassion and how you saw that in me, similar to your father, and that meant everything. I want to be here for you. I want to be strong. I want you to feel protected. And I want nothing more than to keep moving forward, to be there for you each and every day," he continues. "And I thought a lot about my mother and what she would think about you, and she would absolutely love you. And all she's ever wanted for me is someone that just loves me unconditionally, and who would be there for me no matter what. I know that I have that, and I love you." 
 

Dale is here! And Clare is ready to tell him even MORE about how she feels. 

"From the moment I knew you were coming, I was so excited to meet you," Clare says. "Then when you got here, it was like, electricity for me, because I knew that I had just met my husband. You embody everything that I want in a man, everything just like my dad had. You're kind, you're strong, you're compassionate, and I just am so in love with the man that you are."

"You made me feel like everything that I've ever been through... it was all worth it because I've got you right now. And most importantly, you've shown me that you'd never run away and never leave me. And I've never, ever had a man that would stay," she continues. "And you continue to show up for me. And I promise you, I want to show up for you each and every single day. You make me so happy." 

Clare is ready to tell Dale everything she's felt over the last 12 days. We don't think it will take very long. 

"It'll all be worth it if Dale gets down on one knee," she tells the camera. But like, what if he just wants to date? Is that OK too? 

WE ARE SO STRESSED OUT. 

This is the most terrifying situation besides what is actually happening in the world right now. Clare is standing there, wondering whether Dale will show up and propose. She has NO IDEA if he wants to pop the question. 

Chris arrives to give Clare one last scare. "There's something I have to tell you," he says. Ha ha, can't trick us, Chris. We know Dale is coming. 

"Don't make me cry," Clare whispers. 

"I just want to say we are so proud of you. And if you're ready, I'll go get Dale," Chris says. "Good luck." 

Let's get this show on the road! 

It is proposal night, and Clare actually looks really stunning. How did they pull off this look so quickly? @caryfetman, pls tell us! 

"I've never had a guy stick around. I've never had a guy want to stick around," Clare tells the camera, and now we're wondering how it ended with her ex-fiance Benoit. "But Dale is the man of my dreams and I've never felt like this before."

Chris and his wide eyes apologize to Clare for all the men who have ever hurt her. But he also wants to move on with a new Bachelorette (we're guessing, but it's probably true?) so he tells Clare it's time to trust her gut and get moving! 

"Here is this man who is everything I'm looking for. All I've ever wanted is to find the feeling that I'm feeling right now. I know what we feel is real... but I don't know why this is so hard for me," Clare cries to the camera. 

Dale plays with the ring box, seemingly deciding whether or not he's going to propose. 

We'll find out.... after commercial break!

The guys can't believe Dale would be ready to propose, but they know Clare's "rip roaring, ready for a wedding." Guess time will tell!

Clare is freaking out, and crying to a producer about not wanting to put pressure on Dale. "I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with Dale. But if he's not at the same place as me, what do we do?" she asks, crying. "It scares me because love has always been so hard for me... I've literally begged guys to love me." 

Chris walks in and rearranges the furniture again. 

"So you're in love with this girl?" Chris asks, as Dale says "yeah." 

"Let me fill you in on some gaps," Chris says, telling Dale that he's going to propose. OK, OK, he first says Clare broke up with the other guys. "There are no other steps. This is it." 

"Clare is going to be waiting for you. She's going to be waiting for a proposal," he continues. Dale is now stone-faced. Womp womp!

Chris FaceTimes Neil Lane to tell him the deal: "I need to get the ring today. There's going to be hopefully a proposal today." 

Let's see what Papa Neil comes up with. Dale is in his new, very masculine suite. He is sitting on a leather coach and opening up about how he's looking forward to seeing "where this goes." Is that the same as proposing? Asking for a friend. 

"This has been wild, huh?" Chris asks him, with his eyes wider than before. "Where's your heart?" 

Dale says he's "not stressed." That makes one of us!

After Clare leaves, the men reveal how they really feel -- and they are PISSED. Canadian Blake talks about the book on dementia he bought to understand more about her mom. 

"If she wants a true marriage, I don't think you got the route with Dale. You know nothing about him!" he says. "I'm really nervous for her." 

Kenny is concerned about whether he's going home. Ivan is an aeronautical engineer. Just a reminder. 

Clare breaks down a little.

"You guys have given up so much to be here, and it means everything to me. From the bottom of my heart... I'll apologize if I wasted your time. I'll apologize if I hurt you, but I'm not going to apologize for love," she says. 

Ivan and Ben (so proud for knowing these names) praise Clare for her courage and wish her the best. 

"I'm going to miss you guys," Clare says, asking for hugs from the guys. 

Jason is "crushed." "I hit bottom when I gave my last hug to her and said goodbye. I just... I don't get it. You're letting go of something you thought was real," he says. 

Then, Clare leaves and cries into producer's arms. "That was so hard," she cries. 

The faces we are seeing from these guys right now is a major election week MOOD. Funny how life works out, right? 

One guy whose name we don't know says he's bummed he didn't get more time to spend with her. (Why? She clearly was not into you?)

"I just hope you don't get hurt, and I'm scared in 24 hours -- you're going to be hurt and be devastated after this," Blake the Canadian says, adding that he's concerned with how fast she's fallen in love. "But you gotta trust what you think. It just sucks for the guys who truly thought there was something there." 

Interrogator Kenny asks Clare if she and Dale spoke beforehand. She says no -- but he still wants an apology. "You should apologize to the group." 

"I'm not going to apologize for love," Clare replies. 

"I just feel like a lot of time was wasted... I could tell your head wasn't there," he says. "So, you should apologize for faking it, when you should have admitted you were in love with Dale after the first night, because that's what it looks like." 

Kenny the boy band manager says Clare needs to take responsibility for what's happened. 

So, enter Clare. "This is so hard for me, because you guys are all such amazing guys," she begins. "Essentially, when I came here, I was so ready and open and willing to like, find the love of my life, and what I came here for, I think I found. And it's with Dale. I know each and every one of you have so much to offer... I'm a woman who knows what I want, and I'm going for it." 

"I just have so much respect for you guys that 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 or any of the energy I had with you guys," she adds. "I hope that what I found in Dale, I sincerely want the same for you guys." 

With Clare locked in with Dale (who maybe will, maybe won't propose), she needs to break up with the other guys. 

"I'm not going to pretend like it's not happening," she tells the camera. 

"This is so stupid," Eazy says. Astute observation. 

"I know!" Clare tells the camera. "But does Dale want to get engaged to me? I just hope he's ready for this." 

Uh, shouldn't we know that before Chris scheduled this proposal? They are really rushing this thing through, aren't they? 

Clare gets emotional about how Chris never giving up on her has led to the man of her dreams, and we think we just caught Chris laughing? 

Either way, Clare is thrilled, and we hope it works out for her. 

"This is crazy," Chris says, as Clare jokes it's "true Clare fashion." 

"What do we do?" Clare asks. 

"The next step? Proposal," Chris says with a straight face -- but if we had wine we would have just spit it out. "Tonight." 

HOW IS THIS SHOW REAL? 

The men still have no idea what's going on, but by now, we feel like they should have a pretty good idea. 

Chris goes to visit Clare, who is LOVING LIFE. "I need that so bad, that time with him was just priceless," she shares, adding that Dale was "even better than I expected" when the cameras turn off. 

She says she and Dale feel the same way (but didn't he just say he thought there was more time?). "He didn't run away!" she raves to Chris. "It's unbelievable to me, and it's surreal. He's exactly what I'm looking for, and I would be so honored to be with this guy for the rest of my life, easily. And I don't even hesitate on that." 

Chris is giving us hardcore WIDE EYES, and same, dude. "You've broken every record -- everything we've ever had on this show," he says. "But you fell in love." 

Clare tells the camera she really did want to give the other guys a chance, but NOTHING compares to Dale. "I could most definitely, GLADLY spend the rest of my life with Dale," she gushes. 

Dale leaves Clare's villa, and he's feeling great. "I didn't expect a lot of things to happen this quickly," he says. Yeah, us neither!!!

However, he thinks there's still "a lot of time left in this process to nurture what we have and see where it goes." Again, surprise b**ch!!

We are finally back after the longest commercial break ever. 

It's the morning after Clale's (Dare's?) first date, and they are nekkid in bed together. Just kidding, Clare has some clothes on, but Dale is shirtless. 

"I felt it, and like, even more now," she says. "I just want to be with you and spend time with you." 

"What do you think is going to happen next?" Clare asks Dale. 

Dale says he hasn't thought about it, and Clare would like him to at least try. "It's been a game changer, and I just never knew how to approach what to do. I don't ever want to turn away how I'm feeling," she says. 

Dale looks like he is actually asleep. "We didn't plan for things to happen this way," he says. 

Clare suggests they take a lie detector because "nobody will believe us" that it happened this way. OK, Clare. 

Dale says he's not shying away from his feelings, and Clare is sure he's her "person" as they head off to bed together. 

Chris and Bri's song ALMOST covers up the lip smacking of Dale and Clare's makeout session... which we speculate is only the beginning........ 

Dale and Clare are literally sucking each other's souls out of their bodies with this makeout session, but it's OK, because they're in love. 

"To every single person who has ever told me to settle and that the man I'm looking for is not out there, I'm having dinner with him right now," she tells the camera. OK girl, we gotchu. 

Dale and Clare finish dinner and head over to watch the Listen to Your Heart winners Chris and Bri sing a song we've never heard before. 

Clare, meanwhile, tells Dale she's "all in this process." Uh, are you girl? 

"We've just started this process," she says, telling Dale she's tried to convince herself to be open minded about the other guys. "But everytime I wake up, I think about you. And when I go to bed... I think about you. I can't even put it into words how you make me feel. It's insane to me." 

Dale looks slightly scared? But also flattered. 

Then Clare drops the big bombshell. "I'm so falling in love with you," she gushes. 

"I'm falling in love with you through this process," Dale tells her. WHAT? OK. OK. "My heart is open, and I'm not going to fight that. I've been dying to share that with you." 

The poor guys at the villa are wondering if Dale or Chris ever came back. "We haven't heard a peep. What does that mean?" the Shemar Moore lookalike says. 

Jason looks like is intoxicated??? And he is angry. 

"I don't see it working out with Dale and Clare," Canadian Blake says. "It's too early!" 

OK, so Clare and Dale are at least having A serious conversation. Maybe this is what relationships are built off of. 

Dale says he hadn't felt emotions "in years" until seeing Clare come out as The Bachelorette. 

With that, it's time for Clare's big moment. She needs to tell Dale she's IN LOVE. "What is he going to say?" she asks the camera. 

YES, WE'D LIKE TO KNOW AS WELL. 

Dale says his dad ALSO hitchhiked to go meet his mom, so that's one thing he and Clare have in common. 

On a more serious note, he and Clare connect over losing their parents (Dale's mom and Clare's dad) and how tough that was. 

"I couldn't feel," Dale says of himself after his mom's death. "This went on for two years." 

"I felt so much of that when my dad passed away. It hurt to even feel anything," Clare says. "But then for me, it was just like -- my dad wouldn't want that for me." 

Dale at least seems entertained by Clare, and tells her he wants to know more about her parents (because he literally knows nothing). 

Clare proceeds to tell him how her dad, James, proposed to her mom, Lily, (Harry Potter anyone????) after meeting her ONCE. 

This whole thing is making a lot more sense.... 

Anyway, Clare's parents were married for 42 years, so maybe this will work out? 

For her big love declaration, Clare takes Dale to a "haunted" area of La Quinta. 

"This entire thing for me, I've been doing it my way. I know it's not the traditional way, but I come from a space of really knowing what I want and believing in it," she says. Don't doubt you there, girl. 

"I was thinking about the guys on the date last night. I literally wasn't able to give a rose to any of them because I was thinking about you," she continues. 

Clare points out that this is HER VERY FIRST DATE with Dale, but she's ready. She's prayed for a man like Dale for years. And after less than two weeks, she knows they're meant to be. 

Here it is. The night is here! Clare's first date with Dale, where she will PROFESS HER LOVE. 

"I'm so in love with him," she tells the camera. Clare admits it sounds crazy, but she's feeling it. However, she's ALSO scared he might not feel the same thing. "This is such a big risk... I have no idea what he's going to say tonight. I don't know if it's mutual." 

Dale's BREATH HATH BEEN TAKEN by Clare in that red dress, so that's a good sign??? 

Poor Dale is even a little confused about what's going on, but he's going along with it. 

Clare says she'll be "crushed" if Dale's not at the same place she is... but we'll find out soon enough. 

Coming up, Clare looks FIRE in a red dress, tells Dale she's falling in love with him, and he gives an "uhhhh." THE SUSPENSE!

Chris waltzes in to tell the guys that Clare is emotional, and has canceled the cocktail party and rose ceremony... for everyone but DALE. 

"Dale, can I talk to you outside?" he asks as the other guys FREAK OUT. 

Chris says he didn't want to do this in front of the guys (who BTW are conflicted about whether Dale is the problem). "Clare wants to spend time with you tonight," Chris says. 

Blake from Canada says there's no way Clare has made up her mind early. Surprise, b**ch!

The guys talk about the upcoming cocktail party and how they have questions for Clare about what's going on. Kenny, who wants CLARE-ity from Clare, is the most vocal about his concerns. 

"I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a quitter," some other guys says. "I'm willing to fight for this... and that's the attitude I'm taking into tonight." 

Sorry to this man, but seems like you won't get the chance. 

Clare is now full-on crying about how long she's waited for this, and we can't tell if Chris just wiped away a tear or if he just needed to scratch his face. 

Clare asks how to proceed, and Chris says they have to "reinvent this whole thing." "What would you like to do?" he asks her. 

"I would so just love to spend as much time as I can with him," Clare says of Dale. "I want to be able to let him know how I feel and see if it's something he's feeling as well." 

"In your mind, right now, is this over?" Chris asks -- to Clare's "yeah." 

"Congratulations, you've just blown up The Bachelorette," Chris tells her. BOOM! 

Clare continues, talking about how much she related to Dale just by looking at his social media. 

"Can I ask you a very honest question? Don't bullsh*t me. Did you guys talk before the show?" Chris asks. 

Clare swears they didn't. "That's why I'm so into this. I've just spent years knowing what I don't want, and it's given me so much clarity. ... I feel like Dale is my match," she says of the man she HASN'T EVEN HAD A ONE-ON-ONE DATE WITH. 

Clare tears up talking about how Dale has "continually" showed up for her over the past seven days. Ah, a recipe for success! 

Chris rearranges Clare's furniture and he looks out of breath. Did he run over here? Is he that stressed out? BECAUSE WE RELATE. 

He tells Clare the guys in the house are "unhappy, they're confused." "They're not dumb... they know what's going on," he says. "The path we're on right now, we can't continue." 

Chris tells Clare to cut the B.S. "I'm totally head over heels for Dale," she admits. "I feel like the universe was working in my favor." 

We then get a shot of Clare in her villa, journaling about Dale. 

"Dale is what I want," she tells the camera. "What do we do from here?" 

Enter Chris Harrison, who will tell her what to do. 

Chris Harrison said we "won't believe" this episode -- but we think the men might have more trouble. 

The episode kicks off with the guys (whose names we are still learning -- whoopsie, but honestly this is Clare's fault, not ours) wondering what the heck is going on. 

It's time, friends! Pop your bottles and prepare to drink up. We are promised tears! We are promised angry men! We are promised ANSWERS TO ALL THE RUMORS.