The Bachelorette host and former lead Kaitlyn Bristowe weighed in on The Bachelor lead Clayton Echard and his upcoming season.
Kaitlyn Bristowe met Clayton firsthand since he was a contestant on Michelle Young’s season of The Bachelorette.
Kaitlyn appeared on Us Weekly’s Here For the Right Reasons podcast and weighed in on the future Bachelor lead.
“I can tell you this guy, Clayton, is one of the most sensitive, in tune with his emotions kind of person that I’ve ever met,” she gushed. “And I think that will make for a good Bachelor.”
She also explained why one of his best qualities will make The Bachelor a challenging experience for him.
“It’s gonna be extremely difficult for him because of how, you know, sensitive and emotional he is,” she added. “But that’s such a great quality [that] you wanna see in a Bachelor. I think it’s gonna be a really great season.”
Kaitlyn explained why Bachelor Nation has split opinions on Clayton Echard
Kaitlyn admitted that she understood why some members of Bachelor Nation aren’t convinced that he’s the best choice for The Bachelor.
She agreed with The Bachelorette viewers who felt like they didn’t get to see enough of Clayton this season.
“I kept thinking, like, if you’re gonna make him the Bachelor, you gotta show more of him and why he’s gonna be our next Bachelor. Because, I mean, if we’re watching [Michelle Young’s season], we’re rooting for Rodney [Matthews] to be someone to be the Bachelor — someone that we’re like, ‘Whoa, we fell love with that person, and we’re rooting for them to find love,’” she explained.
She continued, “With Clayton, we’re kinda like, ‘What? Oh, OK.’ And now we’re rooting for him, but we don’t know much about him.”
However, Kaitlyn definitely knows Clayton better than the average viewer, and he seems to have her seal of approval.
Why Clayton was chosen as The Bachelor
Clayton was rumored to be The Bachelor before Michelle Young’s season of The Bachelorette even aired.
This put a lot of pressure on Clayton to perform well once the season started airing.
However, many felt they didn’t show enough of Clayton or that he didn’t stand out enough among the other guys.
Then Clayton’s standout episode came around. Michelle’s students planned all of the dates that week and gave the men a visit. Clayton made a special effort to connect with the kids and offered to help build him a fort. The kids ended up choosing Clayton for the special one-on-one date with Michelle.
Even though Michelle sent him home after that date, the kids left him letters wishing him the best. One of the students even declared that she thought Clayton should be the next Bachelor.
The producers’ decision to make Clayton The Bachelor suddenly made sense for some viewers.
For others, they still weren’t impressed. Additionally, some were peeved when Clayton’s Bachelor slogan dubbed him as “the underdog” when Rodney Mathews declared himself the underdog that season.
Regardless, Clayton will be the next Bachelor, and viewers will be able to start watching his journey in the new year.
The Bachelor returns to ABC on Monday, January 3 at 8/7c.