The 2020 'Bachelorette' Season: Spoilers, Details, and More
Is this actually the most dramatic season ever?
This season of ABC's 'The Bachelorette' might actually be—drum roll—the most dramatic of all time. Both Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams played the role of the Bachelorette this season, which finally began airing on Tuesday, October 13. According to spoilers from Reality Steve, their season features multiple Bachelor star cameos, at least one major villain, and two unexpected endings. And that's on top of the unprecedented switch-up, which saw Adams taking over from Crawley a few weeks into the show.
Okay, a refresher: First, Crawley was formally announced as The Bachelorette back in March; then the pandemic shut down filming until the summer; and then Crawley fell head over heels for a contestant, Dale Moss. Enter Tayshia Adams, a fan favorite from past seasons. When Crawley left her own season to be with Moss, Tayshia took over as The Bachelorette, and there was a cast shake-up—the 11 men Crawley eliminated did not come back, but four new men came in.
What happens on Tayshia Adams' part of the season?
Crawley was replaced by Adams at the very end of July 2020, slash the very beginning of August, and Reality Steve noted in early September that filming for Adams' season had ended. So it seems that Adams' season filmed for a month, which is a little shorter than the typical 40-60 days. That makes sense—Adams started out with less men than a typical Bachelorette, and with less episodes to fill. "Tayshia got screwed on her end in every way...All just felt very rushed," was Reality Steve's take.
Who wins Tayshia's season?
Per Reality Steve, Adams' top four are: Ben Smith, Zac Clark, Brendan Morais, and Ivan Hall, with Morais being particularly important. (This flew in the face of previous rumors that Bennett Jordan, a.k.a. "the Harvard guy," might win—in fact, Jordan didn't even make it to the top four.)
Fan-favorite Smith goes home first. Then things get interesting: While picking out a ring with Neil Lane—the only part of The Bachelorette this season that feels reassuringly familiar!—Morais gets cold feet and realizes he isn't ready to jump into another engagement. Remember that Morais, like Adams, was married before and has been open about not wanting to suffer a divorce again. (Morais' parents also didn't show up for Fantasy Suites, which suggests they might have disapproved.)
So Morais sends himself home. Per an earlier post by RS: "By all accounts, Brendan is who Tayshia wanted. And when he left, she was pretty distraught but still ended up picking somebody." (More on that in a second.)
Which leaves Ivan and Zac as Adams' final two—and there's a surprise re-appearance from Smith after Morais leaves, so he technically comes in third.
Stay In The Know
Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.
Is Tayshia engaged now?
Ultimately, Zac Clark gets Adams' final rose. Reality Steve, the main source of spoilers for all things Bachelor Nation, initially reported that he and Adams didn't get engaged—which was a big deal because, well, usually the lead gets engaged—but reported hours before the finale that they did, in fact, get engaged, writing:
"I'd be really shocked if she didn’t get engaged at the end of this thing. So that bit [of] info was probably wrong. Tayshia has said the word husband and engaged so many times the last few episodes, it really makes no sense to get to the end and NOT have that. Hell, that’s only happened twice in the last almost 30 or so seasons – Juan Pablo and Colton’s. I just don’t see that happening here. So she definitely picked Zac and good chance they’re engaged."
But that doesn't mean it's smooth sailing in the finale; there's a promo in which Adams' dad tells her she could be making the biggest mistake of her life. Reality Steve noted in a frank blog post that he didn't know what was happening, exactly, but he did give this interesting tidbit: "Over the last month, I’ve had two different people tell me that Tayshia chose Zac at the end, at some point after filming they broke things off, and that she is currently back in touch with Brendan and they are slowly working on a relationship." He added: "This season has just been so weird...right now I think I know more about Matt’s finale than I do Tayshia’s."
Although he doesn't win, Smith does come back, as a promo for the finale confirms. Per Reality Steve, Smith tells Adams he's in love with her, and she has second thoughts about letting him go—but ultimately picks Clark.
Are Tayshia and Zac together now?
The big question! Wrote RS earlier in the season: "As for where they stand now, that’s anybody’s guess. Some people have told me they aren’t together, some have told me they still are but it’s not that solid, and some have said it’s never gonna last. She’s a SoCal girl who wants to be an influencer. He runs a sober living facility in NY. So that’s where we stand at this point."
There is no After The Final Rose this year, so we'll have a different format for getting these questions answered. Per RS: "I guess they figured doing a live ATFR was out of the question. Could have something to do with how everything ends up, could not." Chris Harrison will probably check in on Adams and Clark, and potentially the other final four—none of whom were on The Men Tell All—via Zoom.
But a few weeks before her finale, Adams was spotted wearing what looks to be an engagement ring on her Instagram Story. Allow me to present the evidence:
Here's Reality Steve's take: "I can’t imagine she’d be that stupid to take a pic with her ring on if she’s engaged, but, we’ve seen people spoil it in the past, so I guess it can’t be that unbelievable."
Does Tayshia's ex-husband Josh Bourelle show up?
On TikTok, an eagle-eyed user spotted that the captions for a Bachelorette preview credited a line to Josh Bourelle—otherwise known as Adams' ex-husband. This sparked a frenzy of speculation that Bourelle would appear on the season (I mean, it's The Bachelorette, can't you just see it?).
But Reality Steve, Adams, and Chris Harrison have all denied that Bourelle is appearing on Adams' season, with RS writing: "Uhhhh, no he’s not...Chris Harrison says, yeah no, not happening. He doesn’t know how her ex’s name appeared in the closed caption, it wasn’t on the network level, and her ex-husband has nothing to do with this season. "
What happened with contestant "Eazy" Nwachukwu?
Trigger warning: References to an alleged sexual assault ahead. Reality Steve had mentioned numerous times that Bachelor Nation should expect allegations to emerge about Eazy, who played a major role in this season and was a hit with fans. Those allegations came to light on December 18, when HuffPost published a major investigation into the contestant, which you can read here.
Jenny is the Digital Director at Marie Claire. A graduate of Leeds University, and a native of London, she moved to New York in 2012 to attend the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She was the first intern at Bustle when it launched in 2013 and spent five years building out its news and politics department. In 2018 she joined Marie Claire, where she held the roles of Deputy Digital Editor and Director of Content Strategy before becoming Digital Director. Working closely with Marie Claire's exceptional editorial, audience, commercial, and e-commerce teams, Jenny oversees the brand's digital arm, with an emphasis on driving readership. When she isn't editing or knee-deep in Google Analytics, you can find Jenny writing about television, celebrities, her lifelong hate of umbrellas, or (most likely) her dog, Captain. In her spare time, she writes fiction: her first novel, the thriller EVERYONE WHO CAN FORGIVE ME IS DEAD, was published with Minotaur Books (UK) and Little, Brown (US) in February 2024 and became a USA Today bestseller. She has also written extensively about developmental coordination disorder, or dyspraxia, which she was diagnosed with when she was nine.
-
'Dune: Prophecy' Shows the Bene Gesserit's Rise to Power—Meet the Next Gen Actresses Leading the Max Series
And if you need a refresher on House Atreides and Harkonnen lore, we've got you covered.
By Quinci LeGardye Published
-
Prince Andrew's "Anxiety is Through the Roof " Amid Royal Lodge Battle
The royal "is generally very lost," a source claims.
By Kristin Contino Published
-
Nicole Kidman Addresses the Popular Meme Referencing Her Divorce From Tom Cruise
"That wasn't real life."
By Amy Mackelden Published
-
Are Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple Still Together After 'The Golden Bachelorette' Finale? Here's What to Know
The Bachelor Nation lovebirds have an exciting future planned.
By Quinci LeGardye Published
-
'The Ultimatum' Season 3: Everything We Know
The 'Love Is Blind' sister show follows six couples through a brutal test of commitment.
By Quinci LeGardye Published
-
The Best TV Shows to Watch If You Love Food
From high-stakes cooking competitions to dramas set in the world of restaurants.
By Katherine J. Igoe Published
-
What Former 'Love Is Blind' Stars AD, Jessica, Bliss, and Zach Revealed in the 'Love Is Blind' Season 7 Reunion
The Netflix reality stars offered some shocking updates on their love lives.
By Quinci LeGardye Published
-
'Love is Blind' Season 8: Everything We Know
We already know when more episodes of the hit reality show are hitting streaming.
By Quinci LeGardye Last updated
-
When Is 'Love Is Blind' Season 7 Reunion Coming Out? What to Know About the Release Date and Time
Here's when to tune in to the special episode.
By Quinci LeGardye Last updated
-
Are 'Love is Blind' Season 7 Stars Marissa George and Ramses Prashad Still Together?
It's safe to say the Navy vet and the nonprofit worker had a tumultuous relationship.
By Quinci LeGardye Last updated
-
'Culinary Class Wars' Season 2: Everything We Know
Here's what we know about the confirmed season 2 of the Korean reality hit.
By Quinci LeGardye Published