I’d say today is going to be one hell of a day. I say that because ever since the first promo of the season, it has long just been accepted that certain things happened this season and there was apparently no room for debate. It was just blindly accepted that what they showed us in that first preview is what happened and that was that. I mean, on the surface it seems to make sense. This show gives you something in a preview, you’re gonna dissect it til your eyes bleed and draw your conclusions. However, this show isn’t stupid enough to give away their ending in the first episode. While season previews can give away locations, dates, people, where people are on dates, confrontations, etc, it can’t necessarily give away storylines. And in terms of this seasons trailer, it seemingly gave away a major plot point that was universally accepted all season long, including by myself until 2 weeks ago. I even referenced it during my open in my podcast with Rob Cesternino. And we all know what that assumption was: Susie eliminates herself at the final 3 because we have the footage from that Iceland rose ceremony of Clayton seemingly talking to just Gabby and Rachel uttering the line, “I was in love with her, and I’m in love with each of you, and I was also intimate with both of you.” Well, that doesn’t happen.
The details surrounding what happens with Susie, I’m guessing, we’re not gonna see the ramifications of until next Monday’s episode because I’m pretty sure we’re not even gonna get to that infamous final 3 rose ceremony tonight. We’ll get the overnight dates (Rachel first, then Gabby, then Susie) and on Susie’s overnight, this conversation gets things going:
So we’ve clearly seen from the promos that Susie is distraught by this conversation, we’ve seen clips of her getting up to leave, we seen Clayton having a meltdown with producers over it, yada yada yada. You’ve seen it 100 times by now. That is over this conversation with Susie. Last week I told you I had found out what happened in Iceland but wanted to wait until today in hopes to get a little more clarity on the things that happened before it. Well I didn’t get those things so I’m just gonna have to give you what I know and we’ll then discuss the things that happen before it, because you’re going to have questions. I certainly do. The reason I know why Susie didn’t eliminate herself at final 3 is because of this:
Susie is convinced to stay, and at the final rose ceremony, she rejects Clayton’s proposal, and Clayton left Iceland single.
That’s why I tweeted yesterday the narrative is about to change. For a couple reasons: 1) All anyone has talked about all season is Rachel and somehow this season revolves around her, and her being with Clayton, etc. Ultra reliable IG accounts who’ve never spoiled a thing in their life were officially reporting Clayton was with Rachel. I have no idea why they reported that, I have no idea where this Rachel ending came from, and I’ve never been told all season that Rachel had anything to do with ending (except in the first month or so when I was hearing every name with zero evidence), so yeah, it is kinda funny to laugh at. She didn’t then and she doesn’t now. Sorry. 2) Not only did Susie not end up self-eliminating at final 3, she does something we’ve never seen in 45 previous seasons of the show: reject the leads proposal. So yeah, I’d say the narrative around this season will now change going forward since this will be the new major talking point everyone will be discussing.
Now, lets get to some of your questions I know you’ll have regarding this ending and how does it fit into the bigger picture. Most I don’t have an answer to but will try my best to lay out for you. First off, saw this interview Clayton did at the WTA taping and this answer to “are you happy with how things are now,” was, well, quite revealing in light of what we know now:
“I don’t think anyone expected it to end the way that it did, including myself, nor did I want it to be that way. There was a lot of things that I just never would’ve thought would’ve happened the way they did. So everyone will be kind of surprised. I wish it could have went any other direction, but it went the direction that it did. Ultimately, I had to react accordingly.”
I’d say that answer is pretty telling that things did not go his away in Iceland and he ended up leaving the country happily ever after.
Two weeks ago I reported 4 things I felt confident in reporting:
-It wasn’t a traditional ending – check
-He’s not with Rachel – check
-There was no finality in Iceland – we’ll get to that in a second
-He has not had any Happy Couple weekends since filming ended – lets discuss
I was told numerous times yesterday that Reddit found the AirBNB’s Clayton was taking pics in over the last couple months. Here’s all I know: I’ve been told since two weeks ago that Susie rejected Clayton’s proposal and that he left Iceland single. And was also told over the course of the last 3 months since filming ended that he was single. I just didn’t know what happened at the end until 2 weekends ago. So if he’s been seeing anyone post show, that is news to me. I’ll stick by my sources on this one. I do not believe he’s had any Happy Couple weekends since the show ended because he’s been single.
The Susie rejection of his proposal at the end was not a “Fuck you” from what I’ve heard. Obviously I wasn’t there so I have no idea what was said and the details of how exactly it went down. Did she wait until he literally got down on one knee to reject him? That’s what I’ve heard. But moreso in a “I can’t do this” manner than anything harsh or contentious. But we’ll have to wait and see how that all plays out.
Which then begs the question, “Where are Clayton and Susie at now?” So while I said 2 weeks ago there was no finality in Iceland, it’s possible that part could be wrong. Susie rejecting his proposal seems like there was finality in Iceland but maybe there’s not finality overall. But nothing I’ve been told recently makes me believe Clayton is anything other than single. I’d find it hard to believe she rejected his proposal but then changed her mind and they’ve been seeing each other ever since on Happy Couple weekends. That would be news to me. And as for Gabby and Rachel, again, I’ve been told they have no part of the ending, nor is he trying to date either one of them post show. If there’s anything happening post show with any of the women, it’d be with Susie, but I don’t see it, nor has it ever been mentioned to me.
More questions to ponder on Page 2…
