Like all Bachelors and Bachelorettes before him, Clayton Echard will be in the hot seat when his exes reunite on Monday, March 7.
“I do wear my emotions on my sleeve, especially with facial expressions,” the 28-year-old reality star exclusively told Us Weekly at the recent Women Tell All taping. “A few of the women come up afterward and [to] tell me, ‘Hey, smile.’ I think it’s pretty apparent that I was a little rattled by this. It really hurts me.”
Clayton added that he’s “always been a people pleaser,” which made it difficult to take on the role of the Bachelor.
“I’ve always tried to keep as many people happy as I interact with. And tonight showed me that I really frustrated a lot of these women, and I hope that they can forgive me, ultimately,” he continued. “But I could only say what I felt was needed to be said. I hope they understand that I’m human. And I tried my best.”
Bachelor Nation will see some of the controversial contestants, including Shanae Ankney, at the Women Tell All.
“I don’t like to hold onto anything. I am willing to forgive everyone for their actions. I was shocked by Shanae,” Clayton admitted to Us about watching the show. “I think she showed me one thing and did another on camera, but you know what? I think everybody deserves some grace and I certainly hope that if she feels apologetic for what she did, then I can forgive her.”
Overall, the Missouri native told Us that he wishes he navigated the conflict “a lot better” during the season.
“I should have asked more questions. I don’t necessarily know what in particular I could have done specifically,” he said. “I mean, our days, we were running around doing a million things. It’s not like we had downtime, but I could have in those moments just asked another question or two. And that may have uncovered what I needed to uncover.”
Clayton explained that he felt like he experienced “five years of growth in two months” as the ABC lead.
“These women taught me so much about myself,” he said. “They identified areas of weakness that I have that I need be better about as a man. … I would have not experienced half of this — I wouldn’t be who I am even right now if it wasn’t for these women and teaching me the things that they did.”
The Bachelor: The Women Tell All airs on ABC Monday, March 7, at 8 p.m. ET followed by the fantasy suites episodes on Tuesday, March 8, at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Hannah Kahn
