When Clayton Echard’s renewed romance with Susie Evans flared up, they faced accusations of fraud.
“I can’t even believe I’m talking about this, it’s ridiculous, but let’s make it as simple as possible,” the 28—year-old Missouri native said on Saturday, April 9, in an Instagram Story video, revealing his iPhone settings. revealed that he was at Mountainside Fitness in Arizona on Friday, April 8th.
Earlier that evening, a TikTok user claimed that she contacted the former “Bachelor” star, who was still engaged to his final choice, after meeting at a bar in New York. Although she did not initially name her casual connection, she later admitted in the comments that it was Echard.
“The people who make these false accusations should be brought to justice,” the former footballer added in the caption. “Trying to gain influence by destroying relationships is shameful and extremely immature.”
The reality TV star, who claimed to have been in Arizona with her brother Nate Echard, doubled down on her defense and shared the alleged screenshot with a social network user. In the messages, she allegedly wrote that the Bachelor is “proof is not proof.”
It looks like he answered: “I hope you will learn a valuable lesson from this. Not all advertising is good.”
Although neither Clayton nor the influential New York man spoke further about their alleged meeting, several Bachelor Nation members quickly came to the defense of the University of Missouri graduate.
“It doesn’t add up: there are receipts, [and] Clayton is a good person,” Michael Allio, who participated in the 17th season of The Bachelorette, explained in a Saturday video of his “Story,” noting that fans “incorrectly” comment on this. “I know him [and] he’s my friend. This is the flip side of what people don’t see, meaning anyone can make these false accusations against you. You can’t protect yourself.”
The 37-year-old Ohio native continued, “Their comments hurt people’s character, they ruin people’s lives, [and] they shouldn’t be entertained.”
Clayton shared the business owner’s post on his page, captioning it: “Thank you, brother. Having people like you in my corner means a lot.”
The Bachelorette season 18 graduate was the host of the franchise earlier this year, where he established a strong bond with 28-year-old Evans. The wedding videographer eventually left the show after learning that her beau was close to fellow finalists Gabby Windy and Rachel Recchia. Later, Clayton admitted that he was most interested in the Virginia native, sending two girls from season 19 home to revive their relationship.
“We will give this every chance we can. We love each other. And at the moment we are both very, very happy. But relationships take effort. They are heavy at times. And that’s why we know that such moments are waiting for us ahead. There are never any guarantees in life, but at the same time I am incredibly happy to be with her. I’m so excited that I can just go out to dinner, go camping, do it all with her, travel.”
Scroll below to see how Bachelor Nation defended Clayton’s character:
Susie Evans
“Lmao, I know that this man adores me to hell. He would never,” Evans wrote in an Instagram comment on Sunday, April 10.
Michael Allio
“Do the right thing [and] don’t give [TikTok user] father time,” the single dad concluded in his video Story. “She’s clearly chasing something that doesn’t exist, and it’s sad.”
Brandon Jones
The Bachelorette season 18 finalist, who hung out with Clayton and his brothers on Saturday, called the “influence hunters” in an Instagram Story video posted to Patrick Echard’s Story.
Noah Erb
The Oklahoma native, who is dating Abigail Heringer after the finale of “Bachelor in Paradise” in September 2021, claimed that TikToker described the wrong man.
“The poor girl needs to be told that she was deceived, and that this man was actually not the guy from The Bachelor,” Erb signed the post on Saturday.
