CLEVELAND — In a dramatic Women Tell All reunion special for The Bachelor, Ohio's Shanae Ankney was confronted with harsh criticism, not only from the women, but also Clayton Echard.
When Clayton took the stage, he owned up to having a stronger connection with Shanae than with the women who were telling him she was toxic, and confessed to believing Shanae over them because he hadn't yet built trust with others, but then turned to Shanae and said:
"I trusted you, I believed you and it was the worst thing that I could've done."
Clayton told Shanae, and the audience, that watching the show back was difficult and that he felt manipulated by Shanae, and believed that she manipulated the other women.
Shanae responded by telling Clayton, "You asked for openness, vulnerability, honesty... I gave you all of that."
One instance, however, where we know for sure that Shanae lied to Clayton surrounded her apology to the group of women whose group date she crashed, when she threw their football trophy. Clayton called that move "indefensible," and on the show, that's when he asked her to apologize to the ladies.
During the Women Tell All special, Shanae admitted to lying to Clayton about wanting to apologize, saying she did it for him because he wanted her to, and that she didn't mean it, and wasn't sorry for the lie.
"I didn't want to apologize," she said from the hot seat alongside host Jesse Palmer. "I was there for Clayton. He asked me to apologize and it meant a lot to him, so I did."
Several of the women on stage called Shanae the B-word, which was a word that she used early and often in her on-camera interviews, while referring to the other women.
One of the women told Shanae, "you can go rot in Ohio," and another questioned whether Shanae thought any man would want to marry her after seeing her words and actions on TV. To that, Shanae simply replied, "Yeah, I think so."
But there was woman in particular who took special offense to Shanae's words and actions. Sierra Jackson was extremely vocal on the reunion, challenging Shanae to call her a b**** to her face, and eventually telling her she's a "hypocrite" and a "narcissistic, gaslighting b****."
She called Shanae a hypocrite because Shanae was calling other women liars, and saying they were fake because they weren't always friendly with her, while also maintaining that she was never there for the women and wouldn't apologize for going after the man she wanted.
In the end, it seemed like no real closure was gained for the women who have harsh feelings toward Shanae, because she didn't say much in response to their accusations.
Shanae, however, seems at peace with her journey on the show, writing in a post on Instagram: "What a journey…. [rose emoji] An unforgettable experience that I still can’t believe I was a part of. Dreams do come true. Maybe not the way you wanted them to, but this is something I’ll remember for a lifetime."
Now, the show moves on to see what happens with the final three women vying for Clayton's love, including recent Ohio University graduate Rachel Recchia.
Previews for tomorrow's episode show tears all around, including from Clayton, and with host Jesse teasing a live finale next week, reiterating that even he doesn't know how this season ends.
Check back in tomorrow for a recap of what unfolds between Clayton and Rachel, after The Bachelor airs on ABC.
