Clayton Echard, star of The Bachelor season 26, explained his controversial decision to break up with Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey at the same time rather than speak to each of them separately. Clayton had one of the most dramatic season finales in Bachelor history. After Clayton told Rachel and Gabby that he loved them and that that he slept with each of them on their respective fantasy suite dates, Susie Evans left the show because she was unable to accept Clayton's actions with the other women just a few days before he might potentially propose to her. Susie and Clayton had a controversial argument, during which Clayton became very angry, saying that she should have told him that this was a dealbreaker for her much earlier in the season.
After Susie left, Clayton had to face Rachel and Gabby at what host Jesse Palmer called "The rose ceremony from hell." He told them that Susie had left and that he loved them both and had been intimate with both of them. They both broke down in tears. Gabby was going to leave until Clayton convinced her not to. Both women accepted his roses and met his family. However, Clayton soon realized that he still had very strong feelings for Susie, and he wanted to see if he could reconcile with her. Clayton went to the hotel and broke up with Rachel and Gabby together, explaining the situation to both of them. Gabby was angry, and Rachel was devastated. Clayton received harsh criticism for this. During the season finale, Gabby said that she felt betrayed and hurt, and Rachel said that he showed "complete disrespect" to both of them because he did not break up with them separately.
In an interview with Becca Kufrin and Serena Pitt on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, Clayton explained why he made the controversial decision to break up with Rachel and Gabby at the same time. Clayton explained that, watching it back, he realized he probably should have broken up with them separately. However, after seeing how supportive Rachel and Gabby were of each other during the rose ceremony, he thought that it was a good idea. He said that even though they were "distraught," they were "holding each other, consoling each other" and "them being together in that moment seemed to be beneficial and kind of helped take some of the blow out all of the severity of that." He explained that "it kind of seemed like they were able to lean on each other."
Clayton went on to say that when he realized he needed to break up with Rachel and Gabby in order to fully pursue Susie, he went back to that moment and thought, "The last time you did this, they were there for each other. They were hugging each other. They were just reassuring each other that they were both there in it together, and it was tough." Clayton shared that his hope was they could console each other and then, once they wanted to talk to him individually, they could step aside and talk privately. He thought that maybe it could be helpful and "soften the blow a little bit" if they were together. Clayton said that he did not know what the best way to do it would be since he had never dated multiple women at one time and never will again. Clayton said that it was his thought in the moment, but "that doesn't mean it was right." Clayton admitted that if he could do it again, he would certainly break up with them individually. But he reiterated that, at the time, he thought that they could be there for each other and "it would make it a little bit easier to process and handle."
The Bachelor's Clayton's decision to break up with Rachel and Gabby together was one of many mistakes that he made in his season. Although the women obviously did not want to be broken up with together, one good thing did come from the way that they supported each other through this difficult season and the bond of friendship that they shared: Rachel and Gabby will both be the stars of the upcoming season of The Bachelorette, which premieres this summer. Hopefully, Rachel and Gabby will find the happy ending that they deserve.
Source: Bachelor Happy Hour/Apple Podcasts