Relationship redo! Clayton Echard and Susie Evans were reunited on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose on Tuesday, March 15, after their emotional breakup — and revealed they are giving things another try!
Following her initial exit during the March 8 episode, Susie’s return was teased during part one of the finale on Monday, March 14, after Clayton admitted he was still in love with her. The realization came after Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey met the Missouri native’s parents.
After the two finalists were informed of Clayton’s lingering feelings for Susie, Rachel and Gabby left Iceland and he penned a letter to the former Miss Virginia. During the final rose ceremony, however, Susie ended things with Clayton. Then, post-show, they reconnected.
“I left Iceland, and I had to make that decision for myself. It was the best decision I could have made. … [But] I always had love for Clayton. I always had love in my heart,” Susie said. “I loved him as a person before he ever fell in love with him. … He’s incredible and we all make mistakes and we both made mistakes on this journey but we both have so much love for each other.”
Clayton then told Jesse Palmer that his journey was “thousand percent” worth it to end up with Susie, adding that he is moving in with her in Virginia.
“I spent the last four months with her,” he said. “She just impresses me more and more every day. And she continues to give me reason after reason why following my heart was the best decision I could have ever made, and I could not be more in love with this woman.”
Prior to the explosive finale, Clayton admitted he was “petrified” to relive the end of his season.
“I went in there hoping that I could make it as seamless as possible. And I think, honestly, it was the closest thing to a trainwreck,” he exclusively told Us Weekly earlier this month.
The former football player also addressed his decision to tell Rachel and Gabby that he was “intimate” with both of them during Monday’s rose ceremony. (He made the call after Susie’s disapproval of him falling for all three of the finalists.)
“I took the actions that I took thinking that they were the right actions to take at that time. I since found out that, looking back at it, I should have asked more questions and made sure that all the women were on the same page,” he said to Us. “It was a mess and I feel terrible and it hurts me, but I know I have to talk to these women and we all need our closure. I’m not looking forward to [it] because it’s going to be very emotional.”
