Susie Evans got candid about her thoughts on ex Clayton Echard’s public paternity saga.
“When this was happening, I heard Clayton’s perspective,” Evans, 30, revealed on “The Viall Files” podcast episode on Tuesday, November 21. “And if there’s one thing I can say about Clayton is that he is not a liar. He is not a perfect person but he is not a liar. And I never once questioned him in his honesty to me as a person, human to human.”
Echard, 30, made headlines in September when an unnamed woman claimed that the former Bachelor lead was the father of her unborn twins after a one-night stand. Echard, who alleged that the pair “did not have sexual intercourse,” claimed the next month that a paternity test confirmed he was not the father.
“So when he told me his side of the story very early on, I was, like, pissed,” Evans recalled. “Because I was like, ‘This is wild, this is absolutely wild, and justice needs to be served.’”
Despite Echard’s claims, the anonymous woman told Us Weekly in a statement in October that he was “lying” about the results. She also claimed in court documents filed on August 1 that she “engaged in sexual activity” with Echard on May 20 and “hadn’t been with anyone since March of 2022.”
Echard, for his part, alleged in court documents that the case was “groundless and lacking in merit,” and requested to be awarded attorney fees.
As for how Echard is fairing now, Evans revealed on the podcast, “He’s OK, but, like, there was a period where he wasn’t OK.” Evans noted that she hoped Echard “gets a chance to share his side.”
Echard and Evans met during season 26 of The Bachelor. After Evans initially rejected his final rose during the March 2022 finale, the pair reconciled after filming but ultimately split in September 2022. Echard later revealed that their breakup was a result of the pair’s mental health struggles from the show.
“I didn’t want to get out of bed certain days. My days would start at 11:00 a.m. because I just didn’t want to get out and do stuff because I had no drive to live life,” he exclusively told Us in February. “I remember just kind of looking at each other and thinking like, ‘We have to heal separately because we can’t take this any longer. I’m so destroyed. There’s nothing left. I have zero energy to fight this battle any longer.’ It was just a really sad place to be.”
