Clayton Echard shared a new shirtless picture in bed and The Bachelor season 26 contestant Kira Mengistu humorously claimed that she took the photo, thus jokingly implying that they could have been together when this intimate picture was taken. It's no secret that Bachelor Nation fans have found Clayton's season of The Bachelor to be boring so far. In 2020, viewers were shocked to find out that Clayton had already been chosen as the season 26 lead before Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette had even aired on TV.
Despite many fans keeping an open mind when watching The Bachelor season 26 premiere, most of their worst fears about Clayton came to the surface. As previously seen on Michelle's season, Clayton's reserved personality didn't mesh well with reality TV. It also became clear that even the contestants vying for Clayton on season 26 had a hard time describing what they liked about him. Nonetheless, Clayton and his cast of women have done what they can to entertain Bachelor Nation on social media.
On Monday, January 17, Clayton shared a picture of himself shirtless as he leaned over a bed. "Self-timer mode?" he wrote in the post. The caption heavily suggested that Clayton's current partner - whoever that might be - took this picture of him. But given that he's not allowed to spoil the end of The Bachelor, Clayton joked that he took his own photo with the help of a self-timer. In any case, Kira Mengistu didn't miss out on the chance to lean into the joke and tease Bachelor Nation. She commented under the picture, "Hey, I deserve photo credit [angry face emoji]."
Viewers know that Kira is still competing on The Bachelor, so it is totally possible that she could indeed be with Clayton right now. However, regardless of any potential spoilers out there, one must admit that the winner of Clayton's season wouldn't have shared such a revealing comment in one of his Instagram posts. Usually, the Bachelor lead and his final-one contestant do everything it takes to hide their relationship while a season is still airing on TV to avoid spoiling it for the fans. As seen in the screenshot below, Kira then doubled down on her "joke" by sharing Clayton's picture via Instagram Story and writing: "When bae forgets to credit your photography skills [crying face emoji]."
Despite the apparent recklessness of this comment if Kira indeed ended up with Clayton at the end of The Bachelor, some might argue that her strategy here could be to "hide in plain sight." Truth be told, though, this seems more like a silly joke between two people who are still appearing on a dating show together but are now just friends. On the other hand, anything can happen, so fans must keep tuning into The Bachelor to find out.
The Bachelor season 26 airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
Sources: Clayton Echard/Instagram, Kira Mengistu/Instagram