CLEVELAND — The Bachelor Clayton Echard is being dragged today on social media, following his reaction to Susie Evans drawing a line in the sand over him being physically intimate with Ohio University graduate Rachel Recchia and fellow contestant Gabby Windey.
When Susie told Clayton she couldn't move forward with him after learning that he'd taken that step with two other women, while claiming to "love her the most," Clayton went cold and told Susie he didn't recognize her any more and that everything between them had been "invalidated."
The episode started off calmly enough, with Rachel being invited on the first overnight date, before devolving into complete chaos by the end.
The foursome were in Iceland for the notorious fantasy suites dates, where the lead and the people left vying for their love get the opportunity to spend an uninterrupted night together.
On Rachel and Clayton's date, they took in the sights from a helicopter, something especially meaningful to Rachel as she's a private pilot and flight instructor.
The two then went on an excursion deep inside of an inactive volcano, before making their way to dinner where Clayton told her he was "falling in love with her." Little did Rachel know Clayton would say the same thing to Gabby on the next overnight date, and then tell Susie he "is in love" with her, before Susie asked the hard question of whether he had those same feelings for the other women, and whether he had intercourse with them.
Without that information, Rachel chose to stay the night with Clayton, and on his way out the door the next day, she yelled "Hey! I love you!" and Clayton yelled back with a huge smile, "I love you, too, Rachel!"
It's hard to say what was going through Rachel's mind when she came home from her overnight date, but she acknowledged how difficult the situation was, especially when the ladies have to come back to shared space with women who are dating the same man.
"I know this is really awkward and I respect you guys so much," Rachel told the ladies upon her return. "I’m really sorry in advance. I think it’s just going to be a tough week for all of us, just seeing all of us come home.”
Gabby was up next, and the two had a great time riding dune buggies, before Clayton told her he was "falling in love" with her, and they chose to stay the night together, as well.
Then it was Susie's turn. After a romantic spa day, Clayton dropped the L bomb again over dinner, and when Susie questioned how he could say the same thing to other women when he felt "so strongly" about their connection, and proceed to sleep with them, he lost his cool.
In the end, Clayton sent Susie home and told her that she "wasn't his person" because she wouldn't stay and work through this with him.
It was not a good look for Clayton, who was accused by many social media users of gaslighting Susie by trying to blame her for her emotions and exercising what is clearly an important boundary to her, rather than taking accountability for his actions.
Clayton kept getting hung up on language Susie apparently used, when she told him to "fully explore other relationships," which Susie told him she meant wholeheartedly, but that in her mind she also believed that if he felt the need to get physical with other women, then it meant their connection could not end in engagement. What Clayton seems to be forgetting here is that actions have consequences, there really are no rules on The Bachelor, and these women have agency, as well.
What made things worse was when Clayton told Susie that if he had known having sex with other women was a deal breaker for her, then he would not have done it. After that comment, the question Bachelor Nation is left wondering is this: If Clayton believed Susie was "the one," like he seemed to suggest while trying to convince her to stay, then why did he sleep with the other women?
Fans didn't get the answer to that question on Tuesday night, but we did see Clayton tell both Rachel and Gabby that he was in love with Susie, that he loves both of them, and admit to sleep with both of them, while standing across the room from each of them during a rose ceremony.
That's when previews for next week's two-part finale (which is expected to be partly live) show Rachel and Gabby breaking down in tears and questioning how they could have arrived to this point.
We also see Clayton talking to a man who appears to be his father, with his father telling him he has no one to blame but himself and he really "screwed the pooch."
Check back next week on Tuesday and Wednesday for the final recaps of Rachel and Clayton's journey for love, after The Bachelor two-part finale airs on Monday and Tuesday on ABC.
