Eureka native Clayton Echard made history during the final episode of the latest season of “The Bachelor.” For the first time in 26 seasons, the bachelor ended the final episode alone.
However, Clayton wasn’t a free agent for long as it was revealed that Clayton and Susie are now in a relationship.
Yep, the same Susie who told Clayton she couldn’t be in a relationship with him after he professed his love for and slept with two other finalists, Gabby and Rachel. The same Susie who supposedly left the show during the “Fantasy Suites” episode. The same Susie who Clayton’s family told him to let go is now in a relationship with him.
In fact, the two are getting ready to move in together in Susie’s hometown of Virginia Beach, Va., the couple told host Jesse Palmer.
That bombshell came after Susie left Clayton in dramatic fashion, rejecting him in one of the wildest final episodes of the series.
The finale, which aired Tuesday (March 15), started with Susie reappearing on the show, only to tell Clayton off. She told him he treated her like a “stray dog,” but she did leave the door open by saying she needed time to think about if she could give him a second chance.
Clayton took the opportunity to break it off with Gabby and Rachel in the worst way possible, even worse than breaking up with them in text message.
After he professed his love for Gabby and Rachel, and after they told him they loved him too and stuck by him until the end, Clayton paid them back by meeting up with them and dumping them at the same time, treating their supposed “relationships” like a band aid that he just wanted to rip off and throw away so he could chase Susie.
Gabby lashed out at Clayton, calling him ridiculous. Rachel broke down in tears and told Clayton his decision would haunt him.
So, for those keeping track, there were no bachelorettes left for our bachelor to pick in the final Rose Ceremony, that is until Susie returned for the ceremony after reading a heartfelt letter Clayton sent her after breaking up with Gabby and Rachel. When she returned, either the show used some great special effects or Mother Nature decided to help out the drama, because there was a light sprinkle for the final showdown.
Susie arrived in an SUV and was escorted into a house where Clayton was waiting with a diamond ring. Clayton didn’t actually propose to her, but he pleaded with her to give him another chance and at one point shook the ring in front of her face like he was holding up a carrot to get a mule to plow a field.
In other words, it appeared Clayton had no clue about how to propose to a woman.
Susie was having none of it. She declared her intentions to leave alone, and Clayton escorted her back to the SUV, closed the door behind her and watched the SUV drive away as he looked like a lost, wet puppy in the rain.
If only the season had ended like that. As I said before, Clayton needs some time alone to take stock of himself and what he wants in a relationship after his performance this season. But instead, he and Susie apparently will try to make a go of it. Good luck kids.
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