Update 8/5: News that Claire Crowley's replacement is Tayshia Adams has been confirmed by none other than People (opens in new tab), despite the program's official silence. Not only that, but also this little tidbit from a source who told People:

"One of her candidates found a way to get in touch with her and they started talking. No one else had a chance. Over the next few dates, it became obvious that her heart wasn't in it. Then she said she wanted to break up."

In other words, this indicates a potential possibility: if Moss and Crawley were linked before the season began, it makes sense that their bond was strong before they met at La Quinta.

However. The plot continues to grow strangely thick. Peter Weber's season Bachelor alum Hannah Ann Sluss was spotted with a rather large suitcase at La Quinta (opens in new tab), where the show is filming. Confirmed by that same article and spoiler account (opens in new tab), it was speculated that Becca Kufrin was also spotted at the La Quinta Hotel.

Having an alumna in the current season is not necessarily a new thing, especially to offer advice and guidance to one or both of us bachelors, but it is still an interesting wrinkle. Why does Thrasse have such a huge suitcase when she was only there for a day, and is she related to either of the Bachelorettes? When the interview was taking place, there were rumors that Sluss was originally a candidate for the Bachelorette (opens in new tab). More on that in a future issue.

Update 8/3, 4 p.m. ET: According to E., (open in new tab) Claire Crawley's replacement (open in new tab) is Tasia Adams after Crawley found love earlier in the season; according to E.'s sources, "Then Claire will complete her journey and Tasia will be the lead. We will be announcing that." Production on Claire's show has only just begun after months of delays due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Bachelorette spoilers ahead. Guys, I don't know about you, but the more I hear about this season of Claire Crowley (open in new tab) and The Bachelorette, I affectionately call it The Bachelorette: the quarantined version, or Bachelor in Paradise, but with only one woman, I affectionately I call it. The rumors of extra drama shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise, given the nature of this year's shoot: all the contestants and crawlies will head to La Quinta for COVID testing, then be quarantined and spend the entire season in the hotel as a closed set with no travel outside the hotel whatsoever. But if recent rumors are to be believed, that may not be the craziest of events. If you've been perusing the Bachelorverse Instagram over the past few days, the question that comes to mind is this: wait, is Crowley going to be fired, replaced, sent home, or otherwise not going to be the Bachelorette anymore?" let's break down what we do know.

But first, some background: two days ago, Redditor Throwawayspoiler2020, claiming to know what was going on, provided a lengthy and detailed spoiler about Crowley's season (opens in new tab). Let's leave it here:

Further evidence comes from an Us Weekly (open in new tab) article (open in new tab) verified by Reality Steve (open in new tab) Reddit moderator Throwawayspoiler2020 has confirmed that the sources used are legitimate, but at this time the rumor has not yet been verified.

Reality Steve jumped in to confirm the information and said it has "serious validity" (ohm).

Reality Steve then did an Instagram Live with Ashley Spivey from Brad Womack's second Bachelor outing. In it, RS revealed what he said he knew. One, Crowley is at odds with the producers, and two, she has told production that she has her heart set on a certain contestant and doesn't want to date anyone else. Rumor has it that it is a super handsome man named Dale Moss (opens in new tab) and that she may have even chatted with him before the season officially started.

According to Reddit, her salon actually follows Moss (opens in new tab). If Crowley, a veteran of the Bachelor franchise, is just going to put her foot down and quit for a guy she's crazy about, I kinda like that argument. Especially since this Bachelorette is the oldest ever, and the association of "older" = "angsty" (as Spivey pointed out on Instagram Live) could be valid.

Tayshia Adams, who was on Colton Underwood's Bachelor season and "Bachelor in Paradise," was apparently in the top three Bachelorettes this year. That means they are picking an alternate. I love Tayshia, so this is very exciting for me, but it may be a bit of a headache for her to show up mid-season with a bunch of men pre-selected for someone else.

At the moment, when Adams last posted on Instagram, she left this cryptic caption and didn't say where she was:

And fans immediately jumped to comment asking for confirmation of this news. Reality Steve chatted with her friend and Bachelor alum Demi Barnett on the same Instagram Live. Barnett texted Adams (who did not respond), but admitted that the text message appeared in green instead of blue. Reality Steve took that as a good sign that Adams was at least in La Quinta, combined with other information he had heard. Undecided.