Clayton Echard has three women left on his season of The Bachelor, but who will take away his final rose and the key to his heart? Will it be Susie Evans? Gabby Windey? Rachel Recchia? Or will he leave alone?
In last week’s episode, Serene Russell was eliminated after hometowns, and while she kept it together, viewers could tell she was incredibly hurt, upset, and angry.
While some of the women have told Clayton they are in love with him (including Serene who was eliminated), Clayton has yet to say those words back to any of the women.
Clayton Echard explained to Bachelor Nation why it took him so long to reveal his feelings for the women
As Clayton joined Joe Amabile, Natasha Parker, and Deandra Kanu on their podcast Click Bait with Bachelor Nation, he explained why he took as long as he did to say anything back to the women.
Clayton revealed in the podcast, “It was really scary for me to accept that I was falling for multiple women, and I kept fighting it from the beginning. I remember talking to Jesse [Palmer] at the beginning of the show and I told him, ‘Listen, I do not want to fall in love with multiple women. That sounds like a mess. I don’t think it’s even possible.’”
Little did Clayton know that it was going to happen to him. He told listeners that the reason he didn’t say the words “I love you” sooner was that he never thought it could happen with three women, so he was fighting those feelings internally. He was basically trying to tell himself his emotions weren’t real.
He went on to say that he was glad Serene told him she loved him because it made him realize that he needed to open up himself. Clayton said he realized, “If I don’t show these women where I stand, then they’re gonna start questioning everything about their connection and may start putting up walls.”
While viewers have yet to see Clayton tell any of the final three women that he loves them, they have seen it happen in the previews. However, those previews could have been edited to make us think otherwise; viewers won’t know until the show airs.
Clayton did say that he never thought it was possible to fall in love with multiple women on the show but soon realized that was not the case. He also said, “I don’t really know how I can explain it to you. You’re just gonna have to take my word for it.”
How has Clayton Echard been handling fan backlash since the show aired?
Clayton was also fully aware that he will continue to receive criticism, more than he already has, as his season wraps up. However, he told the podcast co-hosts and Bachelor Nation that he has been lucky enough to have his family around while the show has aired.
He said his brother, whom he lives with, has been great for him. Not only has his brother been supportive, but he has made fun of Clayton and tried to lighten the situation every week as they have watched the show back together.
Clayton went on to say that his mom, dad, and older brother have checked on him weekly since the show was filmed and has aired. Moreover, former Bachelors and Bachelorettes have talked him through quite a few things throughout as well.
Clayton did say to fans during the podcast that he “hasn’t done things perfectly,” and that he hopes fans would “wait until the full story is out before they start casting judgments.”
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.