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Clayton Echard talks ‘lowest point’ in his life, polyamory, and navigating being a Christian on The Bachelor

Clayton Echard
Clayton Echard discusses the role his faith played as the Bachelor. Pic credit: ABC

Clayton Echard built up a polarizing reputation as The Bachelor’s lead. 

Many viewers expressed disappointment over how Clayton conducted himself and questioned his character after the way he treated his final three women, Susie Evans, Rachel Recchia, and Gabby Windey.

Clayton has admitted to falling short in several ways as he endured the pressure and scrutiny of being a leading man.

Recently, Clayton was interviewed about how he balances his faith and his role as The Bachelor and whether he feels he was able to honor his values on the show.

Clayton Echard says he had a ‘monogamous’ mindset on The Bachelor 

Clayton Echard spoke on the Truth Over Tribe podcast, where he discussed being a Christian on The Bachelor. 

Throughout the candid interview, Clayton addressed lacking empathy for Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia at the end of the season. 

When asked if he truly was in love with each woman in his final three or if he was just confused, Clayton expressed, “A little of both. I believe that I was falling in love with Gabby and Rachel, but I only had fallen in love with Susie. At the time, I did say I was in love with all three, and I believed it. But I will say, as I look back, it is obvious I was confused and lost.”

Upon reflecting on why he struggled so much as The Bachelor, Clayton shared his revelation that “I was in a polyamorous environment with the show, and I walked in with a monogamous mindset. Quickly realized that I was trying to then switch into this polyamorous mindset, but then realizing at the end of it all I had to get back to a monogamous mindset.” 

Clayton Echard hit ‘lowest of low point’ in his life after The Bachelor 

On the podcast, Clayton also vulnerably admitted that the criticism and backlash he received as the Bachelor had a major impact on him. 

Clayton stated, “I probably hit my lowest of low points in my life a couples weeks ago. I became overwhelmed when I realized that I knew where the ending was heading. I knew that I already wasn’t liked from the beginning…I really just wasn’t liked from the moment I was chosen. And that’s where I thought that it was unfair that I was being hated for just being picked. And so, I already knew that I had people against me. But they really didn’t have a reason to dislike me until I started to give them some reasons to dislike me.

Clayton continued, “And at that point, I knew the ending, I knew it was coming, and then once it happened, I just got a million messages,” including hateful messages encouraging self-harm. 

With so much hate sent his way, Clayton shared that he overcame it by “relying on my support system,” which included girlfriend Susie Evans, who was there for him while they dated privately as the show aired. 

Speaking on his faith, Clayton says he didn’t feel like God was punishing him with the public backlash but also acknowledged, “There are things I did on the show that weren’t Christian-like.”

Clayton stated that his faith was important to him during filming because he was cut off from family and friends, and so he turned to God and would pray and journal every night while starring on The Bachelor.

Clayton shared that being a Christian and The Bachelor taught him, “Faith is the one thing to hold onto as you navigate a foreign environment.”

The Bachelor is currently on hiatus on ABC. 

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