Salley Carson appeared on The Bachelor season 26 episode 1 and revealed that engaged before appearing on the show, but the timeline of her engagement is quite suspicious. Viewers met Salley for the first time on Monday, January 3 during the premiere of Clayton Echard's season of the reality series. Clayton, who competed on Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette, was rumored to be the lead after he was spotted filming with a camera crew after The Bachelorette completed production.
Fans were initially skeptical of Clayton as he didn't seem to stand out on the show. Not only did he get very little screen time with Michelle, but he also didn't even make it to her final four. Nonetheless, Clayton's season does seem quite captivating considering the women who are competing to become his fiancée. Alas, some of the ladies - such as Salley - may have joined the show for ulterior motives.
News of Salley's engagement has been known by diehard Bachelor fans since the list of contestants was revealed online a few months back. Reality Steve, who is known for spoiling every season, shared on Twitter in September 2021 that Salley was engaged to Avery Buchholz and had her bachelorette party a month prior. The 26-year-old celebrated her upcoming nuptials in Mexico with all of her friends on August 14, 2021, but she had since deleted any pictures from that weekend from her social media. Salley was supposed to get married on September 26, but the wedding was called off a couple of weeks before. With that said, Instagram account Bachelor Data found some photos from the weekend through some of Salley's friends. One friend posted a photo of her and Salley, who competed for Clayton on The Bachelor, referring to her as the bride.
Five weeks after Salley's bachelorette party in Mexico, Salley flew to South Carolina (she lives in Virginia) for a hair appointment, a week before Clayton's season started filming. The hairstylist even shared a photo of Salley's styled hair, revealing she flew back to Virginia once her hair was complete. Despite her wedding being reportedly called off, Salley decided to go on The Bachelor and see if she had a connection with Clayton. However, before all the limo entrances, Salley decided that this wasn't the best move as they started filming during the weekend of her called off the wedding. Clayton chose to give Salley a rose instead, but she rejected it, as she wasn't over the heartbreak from her ex-fiancé. Bachelor Data also pointed out that Salley attended another Mexican getaway in November 2021 as she was tagged in a photo by her friend's husband. The account pointed out that Salley is standing next to her former fiancé in the Instagram snap.
Overall, Salley's engagement timeline is very suspicious as she seemingly canceled her wedding to appear on The Bachelor. However, she clearly got cold feet right before limo entrances and decided not to pursue Clayton any further. While no one knows if Salley is back together with her ex, it seems likely that they rekindled their romance after her short-lived appearance on the show.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
Source: Bachelor Data/Instagram, Reality Steve/Twitter