The news of Clare Crawley’s speedy engagement to season 16 contestant-turned-fiancé, Dale Moss, has left Bachelor Nation scratching their heads. That said, dating expert Maria Sullivan exclusively tells Life & Style “it is definitely possible for people to find their soulmate after only knowing each other for a couple of weeks.”

“It doesn’t happen too often,” the vice president of dating.com notes, “but sometimes when a single meets the right person, they just know it is who they were meant to spend the rest of their life with.” 

The Bachelorette, 39, threatened to quit the show after a mere 12 days of filming because she had “already fallen in love” with Dale, 32, an insider exclusively revealed to Life & Style on July 30. 

“More times than not, couples will experience lust within the first weeks of a relationship and confuse it for love,” says Maria. “However, there are some people that know what they want in a partner and fall in love as soon as they find someone that checks all their boxes.”

Of course, “experience” plays a part in everything. “A single may have been on many dates and have had previous partners that showed them exactly what they like and don’t like,” Maria details. 

Given Clare’s history in the Bachelor franchise, it’s easy to apply that logic to her current situation with Dale. First, in 2014, she competed on Juan Pablo Galavis’ season. Ultimately, the California native made it to the finale before Juan, 39, chose contestant Nikki Ferrell.

Bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis Stands in Blue Suit During Final Rose Ceremony With Contestant Clare Crawley in Teal One Shoulder Gown and She Pushes Him Back
YouTube/ABC

“I thought I knew what kind of man you were,” Clare told Juan at the time. “I lost respect for you. What you just made me go through … I would never want my children [to have] a father like you.”

After that moment, Clare solidified herself as a fan favorite in Bachelor Nation. Months later, she joined the cast of Bachelor in Paradise season 1. Unfortunately, the hairstylist had no luck in the love department and decided to leave the show as a result of too much drama. 

In 2015, she rejoined BiP for season 2. This time, she found herself in a love triangle with Jared Haibon and his now-wife, Ashley Iaconetti, that led to her elimination. In a last-ditch effort to find love, Clare signed on for the Bachelor Winter Games in 2018.

By the end of the series, it seemed like she finally met her match in Benoit Beauséjour-Savard. The Bachelorette Canada alum proposed to Clare in February 2019, but the pair ended up calling it quits two months later

According to Maria, “it is common for people, the older they get, to wait less time before settling down because they have had so much experience dating throughout their life that they usually have a better idea of what they are looking for in a person.”

On August 3, an additional source exclusively told Life & Style that Dale, who was formerly a professional football player, “is super charming, very friendly, makes you feel important and is very supportive of other people’s ambitions.”

Dale “loves working out, sports, of course, and anything involving health and fitness,” the insider added. “He’s very cautious about what he eats and likes to try new healthy things. He also loves dogs.”

It sounds like Clare found The One!

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