The star of season 26 of ‘The Bachelor,’ Clayton Echard, claims he got the villain edit. In a show where you can find true love and a life partner after competing in a series of challenges, Clayton was dismayed. He opened up about his experience on the ABC series.
Echard felt he was “portrayed” unfairly during his season of ‘The Bachelor‘ and seemingly blamed production for his edit.
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Clayton Echard Feels That His Narrative Was Wrongly Portrayed
Clayton, 29 said, “Watching [my season] back, I was embarrassed and disgusted by my actions and the way I was portrayed or seen on TV.” He was one of the least popular leads in recent years – told The Virginian-Pilot on Sunday.
He continued, “Ultimately, I had to live with the fact that my narrative is what was shown. And that was hard because that’s not really who I am. I don’t feel that what I was on the show is who I truthfully am but I did those things, I became that person.”
The reality TV star called his season “a train wreck.” He was also “shocked” that “drama was prioritized over the love story.”
During the infamous ‘Fantasy Suite’ episode, he told the three finalists – Susie Evans, Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia – that he was in love with each of them. However, when he revealed to Evans that he had slept with the other two women, she left the show.
Distraught by her departure, the former NFL player then broke up with Windey and Recchia – the co-leads on this season’s ‘The Bachelorette.’
Evans and Echard rekindled their romance and went public with their relationship during the show’s reunion, ‘After the Final Rose.’
Matt James, ‘The Bachelor’ Of 2021 Criticizes The Show
Echard hasn’t been the only “bachelor” to criticize the production of the show. Matt James, who was the Bachelor in 2021, also accused producers of cutting out important conversations about race. The first black lead claimed the franchise did not make a “concerted effort to take part in that conversation” even though he and the contestants were.
“That opportunity was lost because everyone was afraid and sitting on their hands,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “I understand it, but that’s the kind of thing that happens when you bring people of colour into your space. If they’re not willing to have that conversation, they should strongly consider not going there in the first place.”
“When that didn’t come across on the show, it looked like I lacked substance, I lacked depth,” he continued. “We had the opportunity to have those tough conversations, but the show missed the mark.”
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