Bachelor Clayton Echard has been eager to watch back season 26 since before the show even premiered — and after the Monday, January 31, episode, he’s revealing his regrets about how he handled the drama between Elizabeth Corrigan and Shanae Ankney.
“I’m sorry, Elizabeth, for what you’re going through. I wish I could have seen what was happening when I wasn’t there. I obviously knew y’all weren’t in a good place, but at the time I thought it was, solely, petty drama,” the 28-year-old Missouri native wrote via Twitter on Tuesday, February 1.
Shanae, 29, came under fire for telling Clayton that Elizabeth, 32, was “two-faced” during a previous episode. While the Colorado native attempted to explain that her ADHD makes it difficult for her to focus on multiple conversations at once, the feud between the two women escalated during Monday’s episode after Shanae doubled down and accused Elizabeth of lying about being in the hot tub when she offered her shrimp.
“I would have sent Shanae home immediately for making fun of you for being neurodivergent, had I known,” Clayton continued on Tuesday. “Overall, the experience for me watching hasn’t been fun, simply because I’m seeing all the damage that I caused. I really meant well, but my actions weren’t always the best as I now can see the repercussions from my decisions.”
He concluded: “I can promise you I’m learning from the mistakes though and am doing everything in my power to come out the other side a better man.”
While Shanae has poked fun at “shrimp-gate” via TikTok, Elizabeth retweeted a message to producers about the situation.
“Dear Bachelor production, While the Shanae shrimp stuff is funny the ease with which she attacks people with neurodevelopmental disorders is not,” the tweet read. “Let’s end this chapter this season and not continue it in Paradise. #TheBachelor.”
The real estate agent also “liked” a tweet that read: “I bet producers intervene to force Clayton to choose the villain. We have seen this almost every single season. ABC is showing they’re not for love and mental safety. They’re for ratings and toxicity. Justice for Elizabeth. She-nono was threatened by grace, beauty & class.”
Both Clayton and Elizabeth have also hinted that the feud will be a hot topic at the upcoming Women Tell All taping.
“I’m looking forward to having an open and honest discussion at the WTA with what all happened. It’s important to hold people accountable, including myself,” Clayton tweeted during Monday’s episode.
Elizabeth replied, “I’m ready.” In another tweet, she added, “Shanae seems to like my shrimp so much…wait til she tries my tea #womentellall #BachelorNation #bachelorabc #thebachelor.”
The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. For a complete recap of Monday’s episode of The Bachelor, listen to Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast.