Tayshia Adams is finally here, and boy did she make a splash.
The second Bachelorette of 2020 made her very first appearance at the very end of last Tuesday's episode
of The Bachelorette—an episode that Chris Harrison calls the "greatest episode we've ever produced"—and it was a true grand entrance. Tayshia emerged from the pool like some sort of water goddess or, as we we can't stop describing it, a contestant in the opening credits of Love Island. It was a moment designed to both jar you and let you know that the show is ready to embrace all those reports and rumors that have been everywhere for the past few months.
"There was a massive easter egg dropped at the end of this last episode," Chris confirmed in an interview with E! News to promote his new line of rings with Manly Bands. "It was something that we debated a lot—what we will do, when we will do it, how we will do it. And we thought something very abrupt and something just very jarring would be perfect and also something that was a bit of a tip of the cap to famous movie moments like Phoebe Cates in Fast Times and Halle Berry and the rising from the ocean, or getting out of the pool. So there was there was this very large easy easter egg for people to see, and we just wanted a slap in the face to Bachelor Nation of, we're leaning into this now we know where this is going. Buckle your seat belts, you're in for a wild ride."
As for how exactly Tayshia's involved, Chris can't exactly talk about that yet. We know based on source reports that Tayshia comes in to replace Clare Crawley as the Bachelorette when Clare leaves with Dale Moss, but all the show has confirmed so far is that Tayshia...gets out of a pool.
Here's what Chris could say:
"Clearly into this episode, we could tell, as I said to Clare, if we continue down this path, it doesn't end well for anybody," he said. "Something needs to come to a head because a decision needs to be made or we're gonna lose this whole thing. And what you're gonna see next week is the culmination of all that. All of your questions will be answered, you will see how and when and if Tayshia is going to be involved, what decision Clare is going to make, what's going to happen with these guys, are there more guys involved, all of those answers are going to be answered next week. But before that we really wanted to lean in and just let everybody know we're with you. And just wait because it's so good."
Clare's season so far has been nothing if not unusual. She saw Dale get out of that limo and never looked back, despite how hard she might have tried to give the other guys a chance. Naturally, the other guys are mad and some fans are frustrated with Clare, but Chris—who has never witnessed anything like this in 18 years of hosting this franchise—doesn't see the problem.
"At the end of the day, Clare came here to find love," he said. "She made no bones about it she was here to sincerely find the love of her life. If she did that in 10 weeks, great. If she did that in 10 days, great. The goal is for me to help her find love. If she does it early, I've done an even better job and I feel like that should go on my record."
People can have their opinions on the internet, he said, but why are we all so mad at someone for how they feel?
"I am by no means am mad at Claire for falling in love and doing so quickly," he continued. "That's why she's here. It just means she was sincere and ready for it. If lightning strikes, and she finds love at first sight, then who are we to say that's wrong? Who are we to say that there's a timeframe that goes into this?...If you want to take umbrage or have an issue with things that she has said or done along the way, and how she's treating the guys, great, I get that. There are maybe some points where you thought maybe she could have handled it differently, but falling in love? It's hard to be mad at someone for that."
Finally, the next episode of The Bachelorette will give us all the answers we've been waiting months for as Tayshia begins her own journey to find love, but it's not just going to be smooth sailing from there.
"There's always more crazy twists coming," Chris said. "It's The Bachelorette. Come on!"
If one of those twists involves an engagement, perhaps Chris can help when it comes time to find a wedding ring. He just released his own line with Manly Bands, available now for anyone looking to add a little pizzazz to their band.
The Bachelorette airs Thursday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
This article was originally published on Oct. 28.