Clayton Echard’s Season 26 of ‘The Bachelor’: Everything We Know

Credit: ABC/Pamela Littky

Clayton Echard’s Season 26 of ‘The Bachelor’: Everything We Know

A new direction. Clayton Echard will be the lead for season 26 of The Bachelor when the reality show returns in 2022. Speculation ran rampant about who would take on the role after Katie Thurston’s season 17 of The Bachelorette aired in the summer of 2021, ending in her engagement to Blake Moynes. Us Weekly reported in August that her former contestants Greg Grippo and Andrew Spencer were in the running, while season 15 alum Tyler Cameron was also being considered. According to an insider at the time, the studio wanted to pick someone “who’s going to bring in higher ratings” and “also make for good television.” ABC threw a curveball in September 2021, with Us confirming that the network selected a cast member from Michelle Young’s season 18 of The Bachelorette instead. The move was unconventional since, at the time that the news broke, the teacher’s journey to find love was not scheduled to premiere until one month later. A source told Us in September 2021 that Echard was set to be the next Bachelor after he was spotted filming season 26. “Clayton stood out right off the bat,” an insider explained later that month. “Producers ended up going with him because they believed he was the best fit for the role. They wanted to switch things up and go with someone new and someone who hasn’t been in the spotlight yet.” [jwplayer Zkkeb6pE-zhNYySv2] The women looking for love with the former football player were just as surprised by the casting as everyone else. “The mystery makes it more exciting for the prospective contestants,” the source said. “The crew found out about it last minute. The decision wasn’t even made until about a week prior to filming his intro.” ABC did not immediately confirm the news — as Echard had yet to make his franchise debut when production on The Bachelor began — but the Missouri native did so himself in September 2021 while filming the reality series in his hometown of Eureka. “I’m excited,” he said in a video shared by St. Louis’ Fox affiliate. “I’m also very, very nervous, and I’m looking to find my person.” Amid the whirlwind, Echard showed gratitude for his friends and family via Instagram later that month. “Behind every good person is an even greater group of people,” he wrote. “Feeling thankful.” Scroll through the gallery below to read everything we know so far about season 26 of The Bachelor! [podcast_block]

Credit: ABC/Pamela Littky

Clayton Echard’s Season 26 of ‘The Bachelor’: Everything We Know

A new direction. Clayton Echard will be the lead for season 26 of The Bachelor when the reality show returns in 2022. Speculation ran rampant about who would take on the role after Katie Thurston’s season 17 of The Bachelorette aired in the summer of 2021, ending in her engagement to Blake Moynes. Us Weekly reported in August that her former contestants Greg Grippo and Andrew Spencer were in the running, while season 15 alum Tyler Cameron was also being considered. According to an insider at the time, the studio wanted to pick someone “who’s going to bring in higher ratings” and “also make for good television.” ABC threw a curveball in September 2021, with Us confirming that the network selected a cast member from Michelle Young’s season 18 of The Bachelorette instead. The move was unconventional since, at the time that the news broke, the teacher’s journey to find love was not scheduled to premiere until one month later. A source told Us in September 2021 that Echard was set to be the next Bachelor after he was spotted filming season 26. “Clayton stood out right off the bat,” an insider explained later that month. “Producers ended up going with him because they believed he was the best fit for the role. They wanted to switch things up and go with someone new and someone who hasn’t been in the spotlight yet.” [jwplayer Zkkeb6pE-zhNYySv2] The women looking for love with the former football player were just as surprised by the casting as everyone else. “The mystery makes it more exciting for the prospective contestants,” the source said. “The crew found out about it last minute. The decision wasn’t even made until about a week prior to filming his intro.” ABC did not immediately confirm the news — as Echard had yet to make his franchise debut when production on The Bachelor began — but the Missouri native did so himself in September 2021 while filming the reality series in his hometown of Eureka. “I’m excited,” he said in a video shared by St. Louis’ Fox affiliate. “I’m also very, very nervous, and I’m looking to find my person.” Amid the whirlwind, Echard showed gratitude for his friends and family via Instagram later that month. “Behind every good person is an even greater group of people,” he wrote. “Feeling thankful.” Scroll through the gallery below to read everything we know so far about season 26 of The Bachelor! [podcast_block]

Credit: Courtesy Clayton Echard/Instagram

The Lead

Us confirmed in September 2021 that Echard will be the season 26 Bachelor after vying for Young during season 18 of The Bachelorette.  

Credit: Clayton Echard/Instagram

The Premiere Date

In November 2021, ABC announced that the new season will debut on Monday, January 3.

Credit: Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock

The Host

A host has not been named following Chris Harrison’s exit from the franchise in June 2021. This will be the first season of The Bachelor to not be helmed by Harrison since the show’s debut in 2002. Former leads Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe stepped in to host seasons 17 and 18 of The Bachelorette, while a rotating group of celebrities guest-hosted season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise and Wells Adams served as master of ceremonies.  

Credit: Courtesy Clayton Echard/Instagram

Filming Dates

Production on Young’s season ended in September 2021, and filming for Echard’s began later that month. He was spotted shooting the show with a camera crew in his Missouri hometown, where a banner was displayed that read, “Go Find Love Clayton!” 

Credit: Courtesy of Clayton Echard/Instagram

Potential Contestants

Weeks after Us Weekly confirmed that Echard would become The Bachelor for its forthcoming season 26, ABC teased 30 potential contestants who are ready to vie for the former football player’s heart.

“We are giving you an early look at the women who may be on this season of The Bachelor! Leave a 🌹for who would get your first impression rose,” the show’s official Facebook account captioned a slideshow of 30 women in September 2021.

Credit: Courtesy of Twitter/Mike Fleiss

The Return of the Mansion

After filming multiple seasons at resorts amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Bachelor will return to the iconic mansion for season 26. "We’re back, baby!!! Feels good," creator Mike Fleiss tweeted in September, sharing a photo of the location.

Credit: ABC

There Will Be Tears

ABC gave fans the first look at season 26 in November 2021, releasing a trailer that showed Clayton and his suitors hitting their breaking points. “I’m just a Midwest guy from Missouri that just wants to find love,” the Bachelor said in the clip as scenes from his journey play in the background. “And I believe more than anything that my future wife is here.”

The teaser also included a shirtless moment of Clayton on the beach and a few clips of him making out with his contestants. The trailer, however, wasn’t all fun and games. In addition to watching one contestant storm off while another is painted as a villain, Clayton appeared to get frustrated by the process.

“She f—ked it up for everybody,” he said at one point, before crying off camera. “I’m done. It’s over. I’m just so broken.”

Credit: ABC/Pamela Littky

The Results

"I did find love," he said on Good Morning America in December 2021. "I was a little skeptical going into the whole journey, but I'm so pleasantly surprised that things worked out much different than I thought. Again, I'm just so excited to watch it back and have everyone else watch it as well."

He added that he had a "checklist" of what type of partner he was looking for and "the women blew my expectations out of the water," adding, "They brought all of that and so much more, so the expectations continued to rise, and I realized that, ultimately, I was going to find everything that I wanted and so much more."