Who Is Clare Crawley, The New 38-Year-Old ‘Bachelorette’?

The Bachelorette has picked 38-year-old Bachelor-nation alumna Clare Crawley to be its leading lady this upcoming season.

The pick came as a shock to fans who are used to seeing a much younger, and much more recent former Bachelor contestant chosen for the show. On Good Morning America, where Crawley announced her new role, she responded to criticism of her age:

“A lot of people put it out there as this negative thing, but for me, it just is more years under my belt, more learning and knowing what I want, what I don’t want and what I won’t settle for,” she said.

This season will be Crawley’s fifth on a bachelor show. She first appeared on The Bachelor in 2014 and came in as runner up on Juan Pablo‘s season. She has also appeared on Bachelor in Paradise as well as Bachelor: Winter Games. She was engaged to Benoit Beauséjour-Savard, who she appeared with on winter games, but they broke up in 2018.

Crawley’s age is a big jump from the bachelorettes of years past. Crawley is the oldest bachelorette to ever star on the show. The second oldest was Rachel Lindsay from Season 13 in 2017, who was 32. The youngest bachelorette was last season’s Hannah Brown, who was 24.

“Babies. I feel like I could be their mom almost,” Crawley joked.

And if 38 still isn’t old enough for you, a senior citizen spin-off of The Bachelor is supposedly also in the works.