Clay Harbor recapped the Monday, July 19, episode of The Bachelorette on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast — and revealed how his cousin Andrew Spencer felt watching his dramatic split from Katie Thurston play out.
“We were texting all last night. He was saying it was a hard watch the show because it brought back a lot of feelings,” the Bachelorette season 14 alum, 34, told Us. “And I’m like, ‘Yo, I know, it’s tough.’ People don’t realize that you really are feeling those feelings and once you separate from that environment a little bit, [you’re] like, ‘OK, maybe, I’m back in the real world,’ but then you have to relive it all. You go back and then you’re like, ‘Wow, that really was how I feel, you know. It was real at that point for me.’ That’s what he said. He’s like, ‘Man, it was tough to watch,’ and I felt bad for him because he was really in his feels, like, ‘Man, I was really in it.’ He really, really liked her. And it was tough.”
After Katie, 30, opted not to give Andrew, 26, a rose during Monday’s episode, he visited her room for a final goodbye. Following an emotional embrace, she asked him to rejoin the season, but the Austrian Football League player ultimately left New Mexico solo.
Social media users — and Clay — were quick to campaign for Andrew to be the season 26 Bachelor.
“I think Andrew would be a phenomenal Bachelor. You obviously got to see some of his personality. The guy’s funny. There’s never a dull moment. He’s just a good dude [and] he’s honestly ready for a relationship,” Clay explained. “He’s a romantic man. He’s one of those guys that he really thinks that his soulmate is out there. And that’s one of the things I love about the kid is he, you know, he wears his heart on his sleeve.”
The former NFL tight end noted that Andrew is ready to “give up football” and “move on to the next stage and next step” in his life.
“I know we’ve got to go through Michelle [Young’s] season and it’s a long way off, but I think it’d be great. I think it’d be great for America too, you know, to have a guy like Andrew, a well-spoken African American man,” Clay continued. “This guy that came from, you know, a certain spot and made it to be the guy that he is today. … We had a [mixed race] Bachelor, let’s do it again, let’s keep going.”
After Monday’s episode aired, Andrew reflected on his time on the series, writing via Instagram, “Thankful to be able to put smiles on faces and share a variety of different feels to you all. I’ve never claimed to be a perfect man nor do i expect to win everyone’s approval. I only seek to touch the hearts of few with my life experiences and joyful love. What you saw is 1000% ME. Maybe minus some of the tears.. they put something in the water there in NM 😂 I hope i represented my momma along with family and friends well and hope i continued to improve the way black men on this show are viewed.”
He also praised Katie, who subsequently took to the comments section to write, “#AndrewforBachelor.”
The Bachelorette airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. For Clay’s complete recap of this week’s episode of The Bachelorette, listen to the “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast.