Clayton Ray Echard born on April 29, 1993, is an American television personality best known for his appearances as a contestant on season 18 of The Bachelorette, and as the star of season 26 of The Bachelor.
He played college football for Missouri and spent training camp with the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL) in 2016.
When Clayton Met Susie!
Filming for Echard’s season of The Bachelor started in September 2021. Echard met Susie Evans on night one, and her vibrating buzzer handshake helped her stand out. Although Evans didn’t win Echard’s first impression rose (that went to contestant Teddi Wright), and their connection was clear. In January 2022, Echard opened up about that memorable meeting to Us Weekly’s Here For The Right Reasons podcast.
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“Susie was very fun coming out of the limo. I like somebody that has a sense of humor,” he explained. “‘Cause you kinda think, like, coming out that limo, cameras are all around you and you can still maintain that poise, that confidence — that says a lot about somebody. I was very impressed by her.”
During the pair’s fantasy suite date in Iceland, Echard and Evans broke up after Evans found out that he had been intimate with Recchia and Windey and expressed feelings of love for both of them. Following which, Susie broke up with Clayton.
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Following the pair’s tense breakups in Iceland, Evans decided to reach out to Echard, and slid into his DMs. The pair talked on the phone that night and continued communicating daily for weeks before meeting up again.
Their Break-Up
Echard and Evans announced their split in a joint Instagram statement on Sept. 23, 2022.
“With incredibly heavy hearts, we wanted to share that we have decided to go our separate ways. For anyone who has ever loved, knows this was a painful decision to make and not one taken lightly,” they wrote.
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Echard and Evans said they are “focused on continuing to work on ourselves, so we can be the best version of ourselves” going forward. Though it’s “not an easy time” for either of them, they’re continuing to support each other.