Clayton Echard's season of The Bachelor doesn't premiere until January, but he has already revealed that he did find love on the show. Clayton, a 28-year-old former NFL player who now works as a medical sales representative, first won the hearts of Bachelor Nation on Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette. Although the Missouri native was eliminated before the hometown dates, he made enough of an impression on the producers that he was asked to be the next Bachelor in season 26. Clayton's season was announced on the Nov. 30 episode of The Bachelorette along with a drama and romance-filled teaser trailer.
Clayton's last appearance on the show was during a group date in which Michelle's students chose one of her suitors to spend some one-on-one time with her. Clayton made a great impression on them by building pillow forts and having genuine conversations. They picked him to have dinner with Michelle, but she ultimately sent him home without a rose because she didn't feel that she had as strong of a connection with him as she did with the other men. In Clayton's diary room session, he cried, stating that all he wants in life is a wife and a family. Although there was a bit of backlash against the producers when rumors began to swirl that Clayton was chosen as the next lead, many fans of the show are excited to see him announced as the new bachelor and have a second chance at finding true love.
During an appearance on Good Morning America, Clayton revealed that he found love during his season. He shared, "I did find love. I was a little skeptical going into the whole journey, but I'm so pleasantly surprised that things worked out much different than what I had thought. And again, I'm just so excited to watch it back and have everyone else watch it as well." He spoke about how he found success on the show by going into it with "a checklist of sorts." Clayton said, "I was looking for somebody that was funny, intelligent, driven, put forth effort, and so I figured, 'Okay, that's a good list and hopefully I'll find that. Well, what I found was very quickly the women blew my expectations out of the water." He was happy to see that the woman fulfilled all of his expectations and more, and he knew that he would have a good outcome.
Clayton also explained that he still gets chills when he hears that he is the new Bachelor and it doesn't feel real to him at times. He said that he was "so incredibly honored and just humbled" that he had the opportunity to be on the show, and he learned a lot about himself in the process. Although it was a short period of time, his journey taught him new things about life. Clayton revealed, "There were so many things that I learned. I think the biggest one would be, just be calm and comfortable with being uncomfortable and stepping out of that comfort zone. It really challenged me to grow as an individual."
It is always satisfying for fans when they watch The Bachelor knowing that there may be a happy ending. Although Clayton's journey to find true love with Michelle Young was cut short, he seems to have fallen in love with someone else from his season. Bachelor Nation will have to spend the next month wondering about Clayton's final rose and if that rose came with an engagement. Whatever the outcome, the fact that Clayton seems happy with his decision is the most important thing.
The Bachelor season 26 premieres Jan. 3 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Source: Good Morning America