Michelle Money is slamming rumors surrounding her friend Clare Crawley's sudden and dramatic exit from "The Bachelorette."
According to multiple reports, Clare fell in love with one of the men in the very, very early stages of filming and didn't want to continue the show because she had already made up her mind. Clare abruptly exited the show, reports said, and fan favorite Tayshia Adams stepped in to replace her.
Since then, there have been allegations that Clare was secretly communicating with the man via social media before filming began, giving him a head start over the other suitors.
Clare "never spoke" to the man, Michelle said on her Instagram Story this week. "That is 1,000 percent factual information. Never happened, fake news."
Former "The Bachelor" star Michelle added that Clare "never DM'd, never texted, never talked" to her new beau before the cameras rolled.
Although ABC has been silent amid the mounting reports that Clare has left the show (which has yet to air), Michelle all but confirmed the rumors. She also praised Clare for her "self-respect and respect for the other men it takes to stop production, stop the whole process of amazing, romantic dates with numerous guys. Including the guy she 'fell in love with,' we don't know for sure. That says so much about Clare."
Sources told E! News that Clare and the man had an immediate spark.
"Everyone is under the impression they began communicating before filming. He got her first impression rose and that was basically that," the source said. "She did not want to go through the motions of pretending to be interested in other men. She was done."