Clayton Echard is regretting his decision to send Elizabeth Corrigan home over Shanae Ankney and, following the dramatic "shrimp-gate" episode of The Bachelor, has issued an apology. The tension between the two women began when Shanae felt Elizabeth snubbed her at the pool. Though the latter explained that she was hyper-focused on another conversation, a result of her ADHD, Shanae ultimately laughed off Elizabeth's mental health struggles. Bachelor Nation was in an uproar after Clayton chose to keep Shanae around and send Elizabeth packing. But now that he's been able to view the entire conflict on TV, Clayton has major regrets.
On the most recent episode of The Bachelor, Clayton was trapped in the middle of Elizabeth and Shanae as they simultaneously shared their sides of the story. While Shanae argued that she was being alienated in the mansion because of Elizabeth, Elizabeth countered that this wasn't the case. There was also the battle of the shrimp. Moments after Elizabeth cooked some for the group, Shanae scarfed down almost the entire batch. She then made her own shrimp and was offended when the other women refused to take any. In the end, even after crashing a group date, Shanae was given a rose and Elizabeth was eliminated, much to the confusion of contestants and viewers alike.
Following the episode, Clayton took to Twitter to issue a lengthy apology to Elizabeth for his poor decision making. Clayton admitted to thinking the feud between her and Shanae was "solely, petty drama." However, after watching what happened when he wasn't around, Clayton knows that wasn't the case. He said, "I would have sent Shanae home immediately for making fun of you for being neurodivergent, had I known." For Clayton, experiencing his The Bachelor journey on television "hasn't been fun" because he's seeing firsthand "all the damage" he caused. "I really meant well, but my actions weren't always the best as I now can see the repercussions from my decisions," he added. "I can promise you I'm learning from the mistakes though and am doing everything in my power to come out the other side a better man."
In a separate tweet, Clayton said he intends to have an "open and honest discussion" on the forthcoming Women Tell All episode. "It's important to hold people accountable, including myself," he tweeted. Elizabeth retweeted and said, "I'm ready." She also hinted that something regarding Shanae will be exposed on the show. Elizabeth said, "Shanae seems to like my shrimp so much...wait til she tries my tea #womentellall." A number of Elizabeth's followers were happy that she took the high road and stayed true to her character. They also shared their own stories of dealing with ADHD and thanked her for shedding light on it.
At this point, Shanae has yet to issue a statement or apology. Given her last TikTok, which shows her dancing in front of a picture of shrimp, it seems Shanae feels she didn't do anything wrong. Many fans applauded Clayton for owning up to his mistake of sending the wrong person home, but Shanae is receiving little to no support from Bachelor Nation. Comments on her TikTok included insults such as "certified lunatic" and "pathetic."
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
Source: Clayton Echard/Twitter, Elizabeth Corrigan/Twitter, Shanae Ankney/TikTok