Clayton Is Taking A Break From Social Media & For Good Reason

Fantasy Suite week is over and Bachelor fans now know why Clayton Echard is taking a social media hiatus. The Season 26 lead revealed that he would be taking a break from social media on the “Click Bait with Bachelor Nation” podcast last week. “I think I will probably take somewhat of a hiatus in the next few weeks on social media,” he revealed. “I will probably still be posting a little bit but not nearly as much, nor reading, because yeah, I’m aware of what’s coming up.”

Fans saw some of the drama unfold on the March 8 episode of The Bachelor. During the episode, Clayton professed his love to all three remaining women and later confessed to Susie Evans that he was intimate with both Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia. This did not go over well with the 28-year-old video producer, who revealed a little too late that physical intimacy with the other women would be the ultimate dealbreaker.

“If I find out that he’s falling in love with other women or that he has become physically intimate with another woman, that would be devastating,” Susie said in a confessional. She also said that she was “spiraling emotionally” and needed reassurance from Clayton that he was on the same page. Unfortunately, they were most definitely not on the same page.

After Clayton revealed that he was in love with Susie on their one-on-one, she asked if he had slept with any of the other women or told them that he loved them. “To answer your question, yes, I have slept with someone else here,” he said. “And yes, I’ve expressed feelings towards someone else of falling in love.” Clayton tried to save their relationship by telling Susie that he loved her “the most,” but it didn’t work.

“I don’t think I can get past those things,” Susie said. “I just don’t think I can.” The situation rapidly deteriorated from there. “Had I known how important that was to you, that it was literally a dealbreaker, I would have changed the way that I approached things,” Clayton said. “I would hope that what we have is something that worth fighting for.” Soon enough, his disappointment turned to anger.

“I don’t even know who I’m looking at anymore,” Clayton told Susie after accusing her of invalidating their relationship. “You just dropped a bombshell on me, and I don’t agree with it at all how you went about it. I think it’s BS… I’m sorry that I even raised my voice. It’s because I cared so much, I really did love you… Anything you say to me at this point doesn’t matter to me anymore, so I’m going to walk you out.”

Before any of this played out onscreen, Clayton said on the podcast that it would probably be best if he took “a step back for a couple of weeks.” And after watching his date with Susie, Bachelor Nation couldn’t agree more. “I hope Clayton has his social media off,” Twitter user @chachatowel wrote. Several other fans on Twitter echoed that sentiment.

It’s not a total surprise that Clayton is trying to lie low. A source told E! News last month that he’s been “struggling with the criticism” and knew that “things could get worse for him” towards the end of the season. Not to mention, a March 8 spoiler post from Reality Steve suggests that things are only going to get more dramatic from here.

Per the spoiler, Clayton will have a falling out with Gabby and Rachel during the two-night finale, which is set to air on March 14 and 15. Susie is not only rumored to return to the show, but will apparently be the last woman standing at the final rose ceremony. The trailer also suggests that there’s a surprise in store for Clayton. In other words, what happens next is truly anyone’s guess.