#Was Clare Crawley surprised by Dale Moss breakup?

Earlier this week, the news first hit the internet that The Bachelorette star Clare Crawley and Dale Moss are officially no more. That was surprising, but apparently it’s not as surprising as the way things went down.

If you recall, the breakup was first confirmed courtesy of an Instagram post from Dale. It wasn’t disparaging towards Clare, and it felt like the sort of thing the two of them planned in advance. (This is, after all, what we often see from Bachelor Nation couples looking to present a united front — they know how chaotic this world can be.)

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Here’s where things get a little crazy — apparently, Clare didn’t know the statement was coming! In a new post on Instagram today, she claims she was as surprised as anyone to learn about the statement from Dale. She makes it clear that their relationship “was not perfect,” but that she was genuinely invested from start to finish. There’s no reason to doubt that; she shut down her own season of the show to be with Dale! It was one of the biggest moves in Bachelor franchise history, and it came with its fair share of blowback. Clare defended it by saying she followed her heart, and if she comes out of this with no regrets then that’s all that matters.

We know that it’s easy to be cynical and harsh about the longevity (or lack thereof) of some couples in this franchise, but we’ll often do our best to root for them. We do believe in love, after all! Isn’t that the point of the show? We watch for the craziness, but like to see some sort of happy ending. It’s a shame that it didn’t happen here.

Are you shocked at the crazy way this Clare Crawley, Dale Moss breakup has unfolded?

Let us know by sharing some thoughts in the comments! We’ll have more updates on Matt James’ season soon. (Photo: ABC.)

This article was written by Jessica Carter. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.