All The Clues That Clayton Winds Up Single After The Bachelor

As we near the end of another Bachelor season, viewers are anxiously anticipating who Clayton Echard will choose in the end. Will it be Rachel Recchia, the 25-year-old pilot with whom Clayton shares electric chemistry? Gabby Windey, the quirky ICU nurse from Denver? Or Susie Evans, the 28-year-old former pageant girl and Hannah Brown look-a-like?

Ultimately, it may not matter. In recent weeks, speculation has begun swirling that Clayton doesn’t end up with anyone at all. It’s been clear since the trailer for his season was released that things kind of implode at the end: sometime around Fantasy Suite dates, he reveals that he’s in love with all three of the remaining women and that he was intimate with at least two of them.

This obviously doesn’t go over well. “You can’t be in love with three people. You cannot,” one woman says in a voiceover followed by, “I’ve never felt pain like this before.” Through tears, we see Susie say, “I don’t know what to do,” while Gabby tells Clayton in a later conversation, “I can’t believe anything you say, not one thing.”

When Clayton talks to his parents about the situation, he explains that none of the women want to be there anymore. His dad tells him sternly that he has no one to blame but himself. “This is exactly what I was afraid of. How can I go forward? I don’t believe in anything anymore,” an alone and dejected Clayton tells the cameras, seemingly implying he may even quit the show.

There is certainly evidence that Clayton winds up single. Though Clayton confirmed in December interview on Good Morning America that he did indeed find love, that’s not really what’s in question; he’s been clear that he found love with all three remaining women, and that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s engaged or even in a relationship now. In a more recent interview with Glamour, Clayton seemed to be going through it, even saying that he could use “a shoulder to lean on.”

“I don't think anyone expected my journey to end the way that it did, including myself, nor did I want it to be that way,” he said when asked about his ending. “Everyone will be kind of surprised. I wish it could have went any other direction, but it went the direction that it did.” That does not sound promising.

Adding further fuel to the fire, both Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss and host Jess Palmer have said the season is “not over” and that they don’t even know how it will end — curious, considering Palmer would have been there for the final rose ceremony and thus would know who Clayton ends up with if he does indeed leave the show with someone. Bachelor blogger Reality Steve has also shared his findings about ending (which we won’t spoil here), claiming that Clayton has not been on any Happy Couples weekends — aka when the lead and his winner get to secretly meet up while the season is airing — since filming ended. Interpret that as you will.