Bachelor Nation

Clayton Echard on The Bachelor Finale: ‘I Wish It Could Have Went Any Other Direction’

Looks like his love story is still unfolding months after filming ended. 
The Bachelor Clayton Echard rose ceremony suit
Craig Sjodin/ABC

The beginning of most interviews are usually lighthearted, which is why I'm a little thrown when I start chatting with The Bachelor's Clayton Echard. I jokingly ask whether he's received one of ABC's press mailers that included a huge Bachelor body pillow, and his answer is quite telling. “I have one, but not with me,” he says. “I need a shoulder to lean on right now, so I wish I had one.” 

Hmm. Now, in all fairness, that could mean a lot of things. This is The Bachelor after all. Clayton's just been in the hot seat at the Women Tell All taping, and facing nearly 20 women you've dated—or just Shanae—could send anyone running for cover. Or for the nearest body pillow. 

It's for that reason that I think nothing of his comment until later in the interview, when he reveals this stunning piece of info: “I don't think anyone expected my journey to end the way that it did, including myself, nor did I want it to be that way. Everyone will be kind of surprised. I wish it could have went any other direction, but it went the direction that it did.” 

What?! Not to be all dramatic, but it sure sounds like whatever happens at the final rose ceremony in Iceland next week isn't “final” at all. We already knew the remaining three women don't react well to finding out that Clayton was in love with each of them and intimate with two of them, but this sounds even more serious than that. It looks like Clayton's not the only one who needs a Bachelor body pillow—viewers will need to cling to one for comfort too. 

But first, the fantasy dates are in order and then the two-night finale next week. So just what is going on? And what does Clayton wish he could go back and change? Here he opens up about all that and a whole lot more.

Glamour: So when did you move to Scottsdale, Arizona, and why?

Clayton Echard: I moved December 27, to be exact. I took a road trip from Missouri. Nineteen hours all the way through, and I'm now living with my brother, who lives there. It's been fun. It has made the constant travel back to L.A. much more palatable. It's only a 55-minute flight versus an eight-hour travel day when I was going to and from Missouri. It felt like the best thing for me to do in the short term.

Since you’re now living with your brother, did you know that one of your brothers DM’d Teddi on Twitter?

[Surprised.] No. Did she say which one?

Teddi said she’d let us figure it out. She never responded to him even though she said it was innocent but somewhat strange. 

My brother told me he was going to reach out to her. I didn't know he actually did that, but he was definitely interested. I'm sure many other people are too, so he'll have to get in line. I can't believe he went through with that. My brothers are loose cannons.

So which brother is it?

I think it's Pat, my youngest brother. Honestly, I wouldn't put it past either of them. They both cannot be tamed. Listen, I love my brothers, but their nicknames are Pat the Rat and Nasty Nate. Is that a surprise after you hear those names? Probably not.

Clayton and Teddi

John Fleenor/ABC

Something I’ve been curious to get your opinion on is the interesting way the ladies this season pronounce your name. It’s a mix of a very pronounced “Clay-TON” and a very fast “Claytin.” 

So I heard this term…a glottal stop. I don't know if it's a Midwestern thing, but the way I pronounce it, you don't say the t. You don't say, “Clay-in” or “clay-on.” It's Clayton. It's a glottal stop from what I read online. I saw people online saying, “These women pronounce his name wrong.” I was like, “No, they don't. This is exactly how I introduce myself to them.”

At the Women Tell All, you said that as you’ve watched the season back, there are a few things you were upset with yourself for in terms of your actions. What were you referring to in particular?

The biggest thing is with Shanae. I picked the wrong side. I had a lot of women come to me over the course of that journey and voice their opinion. I started to speak on it, but the women didn't want to hear it. That's fine. I totally respect that. But in those moments I was looking for something that I could hold on to, something that was an action. For instance, Shanae threw the trophy in the pond. That, to me, was indefensible. In that moment I was like, “Hey, you either apologize or you're gone.” I didn't say it that way, but I was waiting on something that I could hold on to that wasn't a comment like, “Hey, she's not wife material,” or, “Hey, she's affecting other women's mental health.” Because that's what Shanae was saying—that her mental health is being affected. So I was looking for something cut and dry, something that I could say, “Hey, you did this. I can't defend this. How do you feel?” She apologized in the moment. I thought it was sincere. It wasn't. I saw her true colors, but unfortunately, I saw them after the fact.


John Fleenor/ABC

Her testimonials where she admitted she was totally playing you or faking things were jaw-dropping. 

I was shocked. I think I tweeted about it and said, “I feel like I'm watching a completely different movie.” Because I did not realize what she was saying behind the scenes. It was manipulative behavior. She did it to me and she was manipulating other women. I was shocked. As I watched it back, I was played. She definitely convinced me. I guess I have to hold it on myself though, that maybe I could have asked some other questions to figure it out and see that. But for what it was, she tricked me all the way up until I watched it back.

In one of the finale previews, you tell one woman that “I’ve given you everything. Did you just play me the entire time?” And then the woman that they cut to looks like the silhouette of Gabby, followed by you saying, “I need to get out of here.” Are we supposed to think it’s Gabby? Or is it to throw us off?

I'll be honest with you, I can't speak on that. What you see is what you see. Those words that I said…people will see who they were said to at the end of it all. But I really can't speak on that right now, but it will be apparent once the show airs.



Going into the final three, did you think you knew who your person was going to be at this point? And how much did that change as the final week went on?

Yeah. I started to maybe have an idea of who I potentially thought it could be. But I really had the door open to continue to explore the relationships, because any one conversation could change the outcome of which direction I had as far as with what woman I wanted to proceed forward with. There was a point where I started to kind of narrow it down and believe it could be one person, but the door was never closed. There was always a possibility that it could be somebody else.


John Fleenor/ABC

I feel like it could be any of those three women. For the first time in a while, I truly have no idea who it is.

I think that's a testament to the women that they brought in. They're incredible, and everyone's seeing that. I think that's where people will probably say, “Hmm, maybe I can see why you fell in love with multiple women.” Because they're all incredible, and they all deserve happiness. Unfortunately, there was an end to it all. I had to come to that decision-making process of, Who do I proceed forward with? But I don't think anyone's shocked to see who those final three are, because they are truly phenomenal women. There's strengths to all of them and very few weaknesses.

You haven’t said whether you’re engaged or even with the final person or not, but are you happy where things are right now? It’s been nearly four months since you filmed the finale.

I don't think anyone expected it to end the way that it did, including myself, nor did I want it to be that way. There was a lot of things that I just never would've thought would've happened the way they did. So everyone will be kind of surprised. I wish it could have went any other direction, but it went the direction that it did. Ultimately, I had to react accordingly.

Clayton, that’s such a tease! Now I’m like, “What the hell happened?”

It's a lot. It's a lot, to say the least. I think people are going to scratch their heads, have a lot of questions, and I will have answers when that time comes. We'll have to wait and see, but it was a lot. 

The Bachelor two-night finale airs Monday, March 14, and Tuesday, March 15. Read what Jesse Palmer has to say about the finale and why he still doesn't know what will happen next week.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. You can follow her on Instagram @jessicaradloff14 and on Twitter @JRadloff.