Getting in the last word! Following her elimination on the Monday, February 7, episode of The Bachelor, Lyndsey Windham is calling out Clayton Echard over how he handled the drama with Shanae Ankney, alleging that the season 26 lead lied about how much he knew about the situation.
“So, tonight on The Bachelor, I was sent home, but there’s one thing I wanted to address before I give my final goodbye,” the 28-year-old contestant began via TikTok. “And that is this: Clayton’s apology to Elizabeth [Corrigan] that he posted on his Instagram Stories a couple weeks ago. As you can see, he said that if he would have known what was going on, he would have sent Shanae home immediately. However, lemme take you back to this night.”
Clayton, 28, came under fire with Bachelor Nation for giving Shanae, 29, a rose over Elizabeth, 32, during the January 31 episode after the Ohio native poked fun at the real estate agent’s ADHD. Shanae, meanwhile, told Clayton that she felt “bullied” by Elizabeth in the house.
“After the Baywatch date, Clayton chose to spend our time asking me about the drama in the house and why Shanae felt so bullied in the mansion,” Lyndsey continued. “And I explained to him, word for word, that I would never want anyone to feel bullied. However, when someone is mocking and making fun of someone’s mental disabilities, that’s crossing the line, and I don’t want to surround myself with people like that, so I’m not gonna go out of my way to be their best friend. At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason and no hard feelings, however, you knew and you kept her.”
The Missouri native, for his part, apologized to Elizabeth via Instagram after the January 31 episode, writing, “I wish I could have seen what was happening when I wasn’t there.”
“I would have sent Shanae home immediately for making fun of you for being neurodivergent, had I known,” Clayton wrote. “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.”
Lyndsey isn’t the only season 26 contestant who is claiming Clayton isn’t being totally honest about what he was told during production, with Sierra Jackson tweeting, “So, again I say. We tried to tell you. #Bachelor #TheBachelorABC #TheBachelor.”
For more on Monday’s episode of The Bachelor, listen to Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast.