Speaking their minds. Clayton Echard‘s exes Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia didn’t hold back during After the Final Rose on Tuesday, March 15.
Earlier in the episode, Clayton, 28, broke up with Gabby, 31, and Rachel, 26, at the same time in hopes of rekindling his relationship with Susie Evans. The two women he rejected later got the chance to say their piece during the live portion of the finale.
The women’s comments came during the explosive two-part Bachelor finale, which began on Monday, March 14. After Susie left because Clayton confessed that he was also in love with Gabby and Rachel, the former football player decided to tell his remaining two contestants what happened.
In what Jesse Palmer called “the rose ceremony from hell,” Clayton told the women that he’d been intimate with both of them during fantasy suites. The Missouri native confessed the same fact to Susie, 28, during the March 7 episode, at which point she left amid a heated discussion.
During an interview with former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe, Clayton claimed that all three finalists told him to “explore” other relationships “fully” before making a decision. “I assumed — this is where I made one of my biggest mistakes [and I wish going forward I learned ask more questions and never assume — because I assumed given the environment that we are, me being the Bachelor in this environment dating 30 women that the real-world rules did not apply,” he said during the Thursday, March 10, episode of the “Off the Vine” podcast. “There was some leeway — because this is a very particular environment.”
On Monday’s episode, Clayton quickly realized his mistake. After his jaw-dropping reveal, Gabby initially told him that she couldn’t continue in the competition and didn’t accept his rose. Rachel, realizing that she would end up the winner by default, also confronted the Bachelorette alum about the situation, telling him that she felt like their time together was no longer special.
The medical sales rep eventually convinced both women to give him another shot, but the drama didn’t stop there. After the contestants met Clayton’s family, he realized that he was still in love with Susie.
“I can’t shut down what my heart’s telling me,” he explained. “I love both Gabby and Rachel, but when Susie left, my whole life just got flipped outside down. How am I supposed to just let that go? I’m questioning everything. I realized that, like, through meeting my family, it didn’t stop me from thinking about Susie.”
Jesse, 43, revealed that Susie was still in Iceland after Clayton confessed that he was still holding out hope for a reconciliation with the videographer.
“I just want closure with Susie,” he told the host. “I just want to talk to her again. I feel that what we had was one-of-a-kind and I’m willing to see if there’s still something there.”
Keep scrolling for more revelations from After the Final Rose.
