PODCAST #400 WITH CLAYTON ECHARD TRANSCRIPT
You are listening to the Reality Steve podcast with your host, Reality Steve. He’s got all the latest info and behind the scenes juice on Jen’s season of The Bachelorette and interviewing some of your favorite reality stars. Now here’s Reality Steve.
What’s
up everybody. Welcome. It is finally here. Podcast number 400. And not only are we on audio, but we are on video. It is with Clayton Eckerd. I can’t wait for you all to hear this interview and we’ll get to it momentarily. So I did want to talk about the fact that this podcast was recorded. Not this past Friday, but the Friday before nothing’s really happened since then in the case, not too much.
So the first 30 minutes of this podcast, yes, we do talk about Laura Owens and the case, but not necessarily run down the basics of the case and the details of the case. Cause I feel like if you, it’s not even like you had to have been following Dave Neal for nine months or me or anything like that. You know, the basics, a woman accused him of impregnating her.
He said, I never even had sex with her. So we just kind of go over the basics in the first 30 minutes. This isn’t just a rehash of everything you missed for the last 10 months. But then we get into more of his mental health, and this is the first time I’ve ever spoken to Clayton on the podcast, so we go back to his season of The Bachelor.
Remember how bad it was for him, the public reaction to him when he was announced, basically behind the eight ball from the get go because nobody knew who he was. Then when we do get introduced to him, he’s reading mean tweets about himself on the after the final rose. Then the rose ceremony from hell during his season.
He goes into that. He goes into his relationship with Susie post show, how he felt about himself. Just a very open and honest conversation with Clayton Eckerd here on today’s podcast, number 400. So. Can’t wait for you all to listen. And if you are so inclined, it is also on YouTube. Now, all my Thursday podcasts will be on YouTube as well.
You can watch them on video. So go to my YouTube page is Google YouTube and do a search of reality, Steve, and it will come up. It’s going to be posted. Around 9, 15, 9 30, every Thursday morning Eastern time. So it’ll be up right now. Obviously you’re just listening to the audio, but if you want to give it a chance and go look at how I conduct the interview, by all means, go ahead and check it out, but yeah, all the Thursday podcasts, not only will be in your audio feed, it’ll also be in your video feed.
So just keep that in mind. In addition. The daily roundup was posted a couple hours ago, talked about the premiere of big brother last night. I know it’s a two part premiere, but did you like the first eight people that were introduced? I’ve got some thoughts and you know, I’ll discuss that on the on the daily roundup also going to talk about Tom Sandoval suing Arianna Maddox right now.
That ain’t going to work. Nice try though. And then I’m also going to discuss. Well, by the time you listen to this, I will have already finished the first five episodes of Cobra Kai, but I’m very excited. I’ve waited almost two years for this, so very, very excited to finally get to the final season of Cobra Kai.
So that’s all coming up. And I just wanted to do a shorter open this time because I want to get right to it. This is a 90 minute conversation with Clayton Eckert. So. Before we get to that this podcast is brought to you by Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Tropical Smoothie Cafe believes you deserve a little vacay every day, not just once a year.
Get on tropic time with bright and refreshing smoothies, tropic bowls, wraps, and flatbreads from Tropical Smoothie Cafe. You’re on tropic time now at Tropical Smoothie Cafe. As I said, visit one of their 1400 plus locations, order online or through their app. All right, let’s get going. Podcast number 400.
Podcast number 400. First time doing it on YouTube. Thanks to all of you are coming in on YouTube. I appreciate it. Hit the subscribe button below and join in as every Thursday weekly podcast now will be broadcast also on Apple podcasts and Spotify, but including it’s going to be on my YouTube channel, so subscribe and listen, so here we are in our first.
Video podcast. And I wanted to bring in somebody that I’d say has been in the news for a while. Never had him on the podcast. You know, him as a former bachelor. It is this man. It is Clayton Eckert. Clayton,
how you doing? Hey, Steve. How you doing? I’m doing great. Back home with the family and Missouri. It’s nice and calm here.
Yeah. I was going to say finally some calm in your life after the craziness that’s been the last 13 months. I guess my first,
let’s hope it’s not the quiet before the storm. You know, that’s the one thing
I, you know, it’s just, there’s so much to get to with you. So we’ll just kinda, I’m trying to take it in like eras here of, Hey, you know, part about the case and then part about your time on the bachelor and then the mental health aspect of it, but just kind of right now where you’re at.
God, how, how are you right now, now that the, the, the judge has decided given her decision after 13 months of going through just bullshit, basically, where are you at right now?
I, I’m honestly in a really great spot. I, I just had this conversation with my family last night. Getting that ruling just was like the last.
Lifted off of me. And you know, I had, I was working all through this but it weighed on me naturally. I mean, it was just, there was stressors from work. There was stressors from this situation. And so I was past my threshold or operating maybe right at my threshold of what I could tolerate. So with all this now going in my favor I I just feel like I have a renewed sense of energy.
I feel more confident, resilient. And so I’m feeling that now I’m waking up, I’m like, I can do this. If I’ve went through it, all of this, what can I go through? So I do feel like it’s just built me up. And yeah, it’s just one less thing I have to worry about. So I’m in a great spot.
I know you said, obviously you’ve been working through all of this, but there were a lot of times during this last 13 months where I know you’ve lost out on opportunities, whether it was in the real estate industry or something else.
Can you talk about how your work was affected and the opportunities that you did lose? Like specific examples of things that you lost money that you may have lost out on.
Yeah, I lost a couple brand deals where I had them in writing where they said, listen, in light of the allegations we’re going to forego this partnership.
And so that was more than a few thousand dollars there. I lost out on, I had to stop my speaking because I had a few people respond back. Most people just never responded, but a few said, hey, listen, in light of what’s going on. We can’t bring him into the schools to speak because the parents, even if it’s not true, they’re going to ask, you know, why are we bringing in a guy that’s currently facing an allegation?
So that I completely pivoted and just cut out my speaking engagements because all of the schools were going to Google me right away. Like, let’s see what this guy, who this guy is. And then the real estate. I just, it’s hard because there’s a lot of opportunities I probably lost that I just can’t account for.
I would, you know, I do a lot of cold calling and I would you know, have people that were interested and say, yeah, I’d like to work with you, send me over your information. And I would just be very anxious at that point. Cause I’d send over my info and I’m like, they’re going to naturally Google me cause they’re going to see if my.
If I have good reviews as a realtor, you know what I’ve done and I’m like those type in Clayton Eckert and it’s just going to boom pop up and it’s going to be you know, Clayton Eckert accused of impregnating this woman, blah, blah, blah. So, it was really hard, even if things I didn’t lose opportunities.
Because of this anything that just went dead, you know, radio silence, I assumed had something to do with this,
you know, when this story first broke in September, when the article came out and the sun, you and I spoke, I think, probably either next day or 2 days after, and we had spent a good 90 minutes or so on the phone and, you know, I, you know, Just asked you flat out, like what, what’s going on here?
Cause when you read the story, when it first came out on the sun, there’s parts of it that are like, okay, it’s very possible. And then there’s parts of it. You’re like, wait, something isn’t adding up here. It’s a little bit too much. It’s way too detailed. And did he really say these things in text messages and stuff like that?
So obviously it just went straight to you. I went straight to the source and you know, you, I think the one thing, and the reason why I’ve always believed you in this is because your story has never changed from the very get go, like two days after you’re like, Steve, I never had sex with this woman, period, end of story.
And it’s like, I, you know, it’s just crazy what she’s been through. And this is, and this is still, we’re talking September. I mean, there’s so much stuff still to come that we had no idea about. But in September when we spoke and one theme that I think a lot of people even forget. And. I hate to remind you of this story, but in April of 2022, a girl named Sasha on TikTok says, Hey, this is when you were with Susie still, Hey, I had sex with Clayton last night in New York and you had to deal with this whole thing over, you know, it only lasted a couple of days because it was proven that she would just, I don’t know what her deal was, but she clearly didn’t have sex with you.
You were in Arizona at the time you proved you were. And now that I think about it more, I think I know your answer, but I want to hear it from you. Do you think this story that made the news, made the entertainment sites out there, do you think this played a role in Laura targeting you? Do you think she absolutely knew about this story and is like, This is a guy might be able to trick or play this on.
That’s a good question. I think that I, well, I, I’m not sure. I honestly, I couldn’t tell you what my intuition is saying and whether or not, I know she targeted me. Do I think that she targeted me because she saw that, that I was an easy target from the, and I had a previous accusation and I wasn’t a well liked bachelor.
So did she. Weigh this all into account and say, there’s a good chance that I’m going to be able to get the public opinion to sway in my favor. I don’t, I don’t want to give her that much credit. I don’t think she was that, that smart. But I do believe that. She probably saw my time on the show. She saw how open I was about my mental health struggles, how I’m a people pleaser and likely saw it as this guy you know, is so focused on his public persona and he’s easily manipulated that I can likely take him to a place where I’m going to be able to fully control this man.
And that’s what she tried to do. So. I do think sometimes like being vulnerable and open and saying, here’s my weaknesses. You’re basically giving aggressors. You’re the formula to beat you. You’re like, hey, this is what I struggle with. And so they go right at that. And so that’s why she kept threatening.
I’m going to go public and I’m going to show people how terrible you are. And I was like, just admit you lied and drop this and I’ll move on. I’m not trying to make this a spectacle, but that was her big piece that she was like, once I launched this, it’s going to destroy him because she knew that I was a people pleaser likely from all the interviews I’ve done.
And said how much, and so she knew, thought that that would destroy me. So I definitely think that she factored that in and said, this is somebody I can probably.
And for those that don’t remember the Sasha story from 2022, this tick tock girl, this isn’t even a situation that you were a part of. It’s not like, oh, she’s accusing me something that I never did.
You never even saw this when you weren’t even in the same state. Somehow, some way, this woman. Was tricked into thinking that she had sex with Clayton Eckerd and on a given night in, in April of 2022, when she never did. So this wasn’t something that you put yourself in a situation because some people are like, gosh, this guy just keeps putting himself in situations.
No, you didn’t do anything with the side.
Oh, and I would even go on that one. My intuition tells me, I mean, she targeted me because she knew, I believe fully that she was prepping for this and, and, and, and, and, New that Susie was in L. A. filming a wedding and I had not posted on my socials the night before.
So I think full well, she was probably waiting on a moment where we were going to be separated and I hadn’t posted on my social. So there was no track record of where I was. And I don’t, she did definitely didn’t account for the fact that I was going to pull out location services on my phone, which, you know, thankfully I saw in an article like four, who knows, four years before that, where I just saw that as your phone’s tracking you nonstop.
And so it popped in my head. I went to my phone and I’m like, there it is. And that was, you know, what, what basically exonerated me. But I don’t, she wasn’t anticipating that, but I definitely think that she was like, here’s, I’m going to go ahead and make this accusation now, because. He had no, he didn’t post and show anyone where he was at the previous day.
I’m able to get away with this. So I definitely think she, that was a very targeted attack on me as well. Just thankfully I had a little, you know, a little trick up my sleeve.
Yeah, it was just, it was a wild 48 hours because you, again, had to prove something that didn’t happen. And it’s almost like, how do you prove something that didn’t happen?
And you actually could by showing your location and just, I get, like you said, I don’t think she ever thought in a million years that you were going to be able to pull your location surfaces up. But
when
we, we talk about the Laura case, just. Overall, I know that people, whether people are invested, like the justice for Clayton crew just knows every detail about it.
And then there are people on the periphery that, you know, maybe watch Dave’s videos and maybe have heard me talk about it, but didn’t follow along daily for the last nine months, 10 months, but have an idea and, you know, people are. And one of the questions that I got asked me a lot was like, how could this case last so long?
Like a woman claims she’s pregnant. Clayton says, I never had sex with her. How in the world this drag on for a year? What’s, what’s like the summary you can give of that? The short answer of how this took a year to prove that somebody was pregnant or not.
This, because this was a woman that has done this before that knew how to drag out a case by avoiding doing the things that would basically put the stress quickly, which is provide proof of pregnancy.
She did everything in her power to avoid that. And, you know, she took the initial eight, I call it an HTG test. Cause that’s what it is at this point. I mean, it’s a, it’s, it’s known as a pregnancy test for most people, but not her. So she, she takes the initial test and she thinks this is enough to, to get him to convince him that I am pregnant.
And of course when I first saw it, I’m like, well, I, again, I, I, I said this, I’m either dealing with the craziest woman I’ve ever met in my life, or this person’s telling the truth. That’s where I was at and I gave her the benefit of the doubt because I thought there’s no way that I’m dealing with someone that’s, that’s this mentally insane.
And then I found out I was, but I really gave her every chance to be like, well, maybe she’s telling the truth. I mean, I, I still think she might have tried to trap me somehow. But like, I think she’s, you know, she’s being honest. And so I questioned it cause I just, my mind could not wrap around the fact that someone could go to this level.
But then what happened was, is she thought, Oh, well, here’s the tests here. I’ll take, I’ll take, she said she took 11 tests and I, and. That even rubbed me the wrong way. I thought, why would you take 11 tests? It’s almost like you’re trying to continue to make sure that you are still popping positive for HCG.
So I thought that was odd. I’m like, after about two or three tests, wouldn’t you stop? Cause it’s like, I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant. So she did some things that just were fishy. And then she said, of course, right away. Well, we got to wait 9 weeks for an ultrasound. So I said, okay, that makes sense. So stop talking to me and tell them.
Well, she wouldn’t stop. And then 9 months, 9 weeks later, she I’m like, all right, you’re going to schedule it. And then she said, I’m fearful for my life that you’re going to come and hurt me. So I’m going to not let you know when I take the test. So she then went off the grid and she claimed she took it. I said, well, then send me the ultrasound.
And She was like, you don’t, you know, let’s meet up in person. And I said, no, I’m not meeting with you in person. So she’s like, well, then I’m not going to send it to you. So she, and then she said, I’ll, I’ll, I’ll show you it. If you date me for a week. So it kept the dating stipulation was wrapped into everything.
It was like, date me for a week, or I’m going to, I’m going to have this kid. Then it was, Date me for a week and I’ll show you the ultrasound. Then it was date me for a week and I’m going, and then I’ll take the paternity test. So she kept wrapping that up. And I said, just, I’ll take the paternity test. It’s like, I want to take it.
Cause I was the first one to bring it up. I’m like, let’s do this. And then magically we went from one kid to twins and she’s like, Oh, well, they can’t do it whenever there’s twins involved. So I called every single lab center possible and I found ravgen and they’re like, yeah, we’ll do it. And no problem at all.
And so I, I’m like, Hey, I found somebody. And she responded back like, Oh, great. So I’m, I can’t wait to take it. I said, all right, perfect. So I’m gonna schedule it for this date. She’s like, I’m only going to do it though. If you date me for a week, because honestly, I know I’m pregnant with your kid. I don’t have to prove anything.
So if you’re not going to date me, then we’ll just wait until the due date. And you’ll find out that. So she just kept throwing the dating card out there. And I’m like, I can’t get past this. We went to a media, she scheduled a mediation with the court. Same thing. I, the mediator said, what are you guys going to do to solve this?
I said, I want her medical records. She’s like, I’ll do it. If he dates me, I’m like, well, stop putting that on there. And I was like, can you just show me? And so finally we got to a point where we said, she said, I’m not showing my medical records. Cause I don’t want you to see all the other stuff that’s, that’s, that’s in there.
You know, it’s not pertaining to pregnancy. And I said, okay, then how about we do a paternity test? And she said, sure, I’ll schedule one in the media. I was like, all right, you got a schedule. And I said, she’s not going to, I’m telling you right now, we get off the phone or, you know, off the media mediation.
And she’s like, I’m only going to do this if you date me. So she just threw it back out there again. And then she said, I’m going public. And then when she went public, that was her, you know, she comes out trying to control the narrative narrative and says, I’m listening. I’ve been trying to get this guy to take a test.
He won’t do it. And I’m like, no, no, no. I’ve been calling for this for, for months. So she’s me. I was, everyone saw it was manipulative is manipulative. And she tried to control the narrative by coming out and saying, I’ve been trying to get this man to take this test. And I just, I, that’s why I went to social media.
I said, all right, here we go. Like it’s out there. So I went straight to my stories. I said, Hey, look, here you go. Proof that I scheduled this. Now she has to schedule hers. She did schedule one before that point. And then she canceled my portion. And so I never found out who canceled it specifically. I know it was her, someone related to her, but she goes, all right, I’m gonna schedule it.
And I said, perfect. And so she scheduled it. I scheduled my part. And then I called the, the, the day before to confirm. And as I’m calling, I get an email from her and she’s like, I saw you canceled and I’m on the phone with them. I’m like, Oh no, no, no. I know. So, so I call him and I go, Hey, I want, I want to confirm that my, my test is tomorrow.
They said, no, you canceled it. I said, I did not cancel it. And they go, well, yeah, no, it was canceled. Somebody called in on your behalf from a clinic and it was like in the LA area. And I said, I didn’t call. I said, who called? And they go. And so they gave me a script, a transcript and like, they gave me the name or not the name, like somebody that called in.
So I have the name of the person that like called in on my behalf. It was someone from a clinic and they said that person apparently got a call from somebody else, but they didn’t know who it was, but they said, yeah, I’m canceling on his behalf. So she tried to get me on that. So I, that’s why I called right away.
And then I got to schedule it on my behalf. So she was already setting that up and she then she goes out public and says. And that’s why I was like, no, no, no, I’m scheduling this on my, my account now, because you canceled this on me. So she was again, like setting it all up. And I had to, I realized I had to play, you know, four dimensional chess with her.
I was like, I have to be two steps ahead of her because she’s game planning to make me look like I’m the one that’s being dodgy.
And it’s one of the things that I’ve brought up a lot. When I’ve talked about this case is, you know, people can say, Oh, she’s crazy and she’s doing all this stuff. But the constant, I mean, this is a woman that after your hookup the night of May 20th, you told in a car sitting with her in a car the very next day, like, Hey, I crossed the professional line.
There shouldn’t have happened. I don’t think there’s any future between us. This was one day, May 21st, right? The very next day. And then it’s just like, why? And I’ve said this from the beginning. Why couldn’t her answer have been, Oh, you know, just some guy, you know, got a blowjob from me and now wants to dump me, that sucks.
And just move on with your life. Like it happens, girl, you know, guys, ghost girls all the time. And you didn’t even technically ghost her. You told her to her face. Like, look, I, I shouldn’t have crossed that line. This is what, you know, I know what happened last night. And, but I don’t think there’s anything, any sort of future between us.
And then here you are dealing with it 13 months later. It’s just, it’s baffling to me that this woman has obviously some sort of issue with men saying no to her because you said it the next day and never made it any more clear than, Hey, it’s just not going to happen between us. It’s fine. Two people hook up and they don’t have to date.
I don’t want to date you. I’m not interested. And then she just took it to this level.
Yeah, I so when I, the thing is, and this is what’s scary is she was normal until she wasn’t there was no signs whatsoever the night that she was over at my place, she was a normal woman. I did not pick up on any signs that she had any type of screw loose.
And then the next day when I told her I had made a mistake, she starts crying and that was like my first little yellow flag, I’m like, Whoa, like I just met you, why are you bawling your eyes out and saying like, please give me a chance. And I said, no, I’m sorry. Like I made a mistake. I’ll have you, I’ll, I’ll pass you over to another realtor, a coworker of mine.
They’ll get this done. I don’t want the commission on this. Like, I’m sorry. I made the mistake and I’m willing to forego that. Like, let’s just, I like, let’s just go ahead and, you know, and, and, and move beyond this. And she was like, no, please, I only want to work with you and give me a chance, please. And I finally started to get agitated because I told her no about seven, eight times at that point.
So I finally said, Laura, no is no. Stop asking me to date you like this is that, that it’s over. I made a mistake. I’ve, I’m taking accountability, but stop asking me. I like you’re now you’re being disrespectful to my toe. So how I feel and my decision and I will never forget the look she gave me. It was the darkest, just her face glossed over and she went from crying to just straight face and she looked at me and she goes, Okay.
I totally get it. You have a good rest of your day. I got out of the car and I remember I had chills. I had goosebumps. I was like, I don’t know what that was, but that felt demonic. Like it was the, it just washed over her. She would just completely went stone faced. And I just knew I said, I, she walked out of my car.
I’m like, I don’t know what that was, but like, that’s not the end of it. Whatever the hell that just was. And I did not think it was going to be what it was, but that was the first moment where I’m like, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, this is, I’m dealing with somebody dangerous.
Yeah, I mean, then, like you said. I mean, that was in May of 2023, you know, you finally got a judgment decision on June 18th of 2024, you know, 13 months of this stuff that you basically had to, had to deal with.
And so, you know, like I said, we’re not going to go over all the details of the case. I think a lot of people know them, but the basics of it were, were that, like, she just kept continuing with these lies and, Hey, I’m going to take this and do this and. For the longest time, you know, basically from May since the, the night of the hookup until October and your first hearing that ended up being on zoom, you were repping yourself.
And when you did that, I mean, maybe you just didn’t think about it when you, when you did that, you were repping yourself and you had that zoom case. And it happens it’s over and done with. And you find out you, you didn’t even, that’s the funny part. You didn’t even know you guys were on zoom that day.
Dave was the one that texted you right after you got out of the court. And he said, Hey, good job, man. You’re like, what are you talking about? You’re like, we just watched, we all watched it. I sat there and watched it. And I’m like, he didn’t have any representation. And that’s where, you know, Dave raised to go fund me for you.
When you went to that case, did you think it was over then?
Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah, I did. I mean, so I just bought a house. And I was at a place where I’m like, I’m not hiring a lawyer. I knew the rates and I’m like, I, I’m going to blow five grand a week. Like that’s, there’s no way I don’t have the money for it.
I just spent everything I had. So I, but I also, I I’m like sitting here and I’m thinking, I go, well, you’re the one who’s innocent. It’s really simple. You’re going to go into this case. I’m going to get my injunction against harassment against her to stop her from, from talking to me. And that’ll be it. And then her order of protection that she filed in response.
I was like, I’ll, I’ll get that removed. Cause she can’t prove that she, that I harassed her. And so I’ll, I’ll have that removed and that’ll be it. Once I cut her out, she’ll just give up. That’s what I thought. I was like, if she can’t harass me, she’ll just stop, you know? Cause that’s, that’s her whole, that’s her whole way of, of, of, you know, going about this as she just inundates men with just message after message after message.
So I genuinely thought that she would just lose interest if I got that injunction. And yeah, no, that I, I, I walked out of the case as you said, and Dave sent that text. And I’m like, you’re kidding, but it ended up working out in my favor because yeah, that everyone saw me and I had had a previous conversation at that point.
With a couple of lawyers and they said, you know, here’s my rates. I said, I just, listen, I’m not saying you’re not worth it. I just can’t afford that right now based off of where I’m at financially. So, but you know, once the, once the case aired out there, everyone’s like, what is he doing? And that was when I think, you know, when Nick saw it and was like, this guy does no, no idea still what he’s up against.
So, you know, I have to like step, I have to step in and talk with him and get him to understand it’s important that he’s going to lose off of medical jargon or medical jargon off a lot legal jargon. He’s going to lose off procedures. It’s not a matter of right or wrong. If you don’t know the procedures, you’ll lose even if you’re right.
So he, you know, talk to me, talk some sense into me. And that’s when I got representation.
I mean, during all this, and you know, you, like you said, you’re a big mental health advocate. You had to put it on the back burner through all this. You were losing gigs because of it during all this. Was there a, was there a time or a story that came out or something that she did that was just like, you hit your lowest point.
Do you remember at what point between May of 2023 and in June, where there was a, where there was an absolute low point to this?
I guess it would just have to be, yeah, when it was the, when she came out initially, she, she came out on that date because she knew it was the first day that I was filming for this local reality pickleball TV show.
So it was my first hosting gig and, you know, I was already nervous because I hadn’t hosted before, but it was still exciting. And so she knew that that was the, the first day because I think I had mentioned to it in an email or something. So she launches that and I, it’s getting blown up online and the producers and the owners of the pickleball kingdom, they’re, they’re all going around cameras or, you know, just, they’re, they’re, they’re filming and I’m sitting there and my phone’s blown up.
I’m like, I have to like, tell them right now, they’re going to likely fire me on the spot. Cause it’s day one and they’re going to find a new host. And so I, and my phone’s blown up. I’m getting, people are DMing me. We knew this. He sucks. He always has sucked. This tracks. And that was my lowest moment. And thankfully they gave me just enough support.
I, I grabbed the owner. I said, I need to talk with you. He’s like, okay, is this serious? He goes, it’s very serious. Like grab everybody. And so they, I pull them in a room. I tell them what’s going on. They said, okay, can you please step out? We need to talk about this. So I step out and I remember I’m just like, I’m sitting there.
I’m like, this is it. They’re going to fire me. I am not going to have any speaking gigs. Like all of my employment opportunities are gone. Like I’m down to my final dollars. I spent everything on this house and it’s getting renovated right now. So it’s either going to like, it’s either going to succeed or fail.
I’m like, but I have to find a new source of income. Like, I don’t know where this is going to go. And so I was just feeling super overwhelmed. Thankfully, they pulled me back in after five minutes. They said, promise that like, you’re telling the truth. I said, absolutely. They said, okay, we’re going to stick with you.
That gave me just enough. And then like the players, the pickleball players, they all banded around me and were like, we believe you. And they were like my family and support in that moment. If I didn’t have that, I mean, I was at my lowest of low points because the following days, it was just like, all these news sources were just piling on.
And they’re like, you know, involved in a scandal. And it was basically like guilty till proven innocent. And I mean, that was. That was the lowest point of it all by far. And at the time I didn’t, I didn’t have any, I was going at it alone. But thankfully that my lowest point only lasted maybe a day or two, because then I got a message from, You know, from somebody saying you’re not the only one.
And that gave me a glimmer of hope that I’m like, wait, so this, there’s somebody else, I’m not alone. And then we found out with the previous victims.
You, you had released a couple things here and there on social media, but was it tough not being able to say much about this case while it was going on? I know that you were probably biting your lip a lot and things were getting out.
And obviously Dave was covering it a lot. I was covering it when I can, because I was involved with her. Dave was involved with her because. She was emailing us. She was trying to get her story across to us, but just this bizarre of, well, if you’re not going to listen to me, then I don’t want to come on your podcast.
It’s like, no, you just want us to tell your narrative and you want us to say that Clayton is wrong. And it’s like, that’s, it’s not the way it works. I’ll present both sides, but you know, that’s, that’s how she works. And if you don’t believe her, then that means you’re against her and she’s, you know, possibly coming after you.
So it was just this weird thing, but I know that you were biting your lip during a lot of that.
Oh, absolutely. I mean, I wanted to say so much more, but I had to be so careful because of that B. S. protective order. She has against me. That’s not rooted in any fact whatsoever. And I, but it was weird the way that, like, the judge went about ruling on it.
He said, you can’t. Use your social media to harass her. And I’m like, what, nothing about in person. She even said like, well, I still want to be able to see him in person. I’m like, what is going on here? Like, how are we, how are you enforcing some type of protective order, but not for in person, just online.
Like I was blown away by the ruling and I was like, not in favor of it all, obviously. And I’m like, this doesn’t make any sense. And the whole thing was based off of a, you know, a photo that she claims only I had access to, but she put it on her drop box. And so I was blown away. I mean, I think the, the, the court hearing, you know, the video finally has gotten out there.
And I said, your honor, give me 24 hours to come back and I’ll prove to you. She’s lying right now. Like she sent this to multiple people. They said, no, my decision’s final. And I was just like flabbergasted. I’m like, what the hell, how am I losing this case? Like, and, and, and here now you can’t go on your social media and harass her.
I’m like, well, what does that even mean? That’s so like open ended. So I was very, very cautious about. Okay, I can’t use my social media to speak on this whatsoever because she’s going to just claim it’s harassment no matter what I say. But then, you know, so I was treading lightly, but then I realized, wait, she’s trying to silence my, my largest Avenue.
So then I became, you know, I got a little bit more ballsy over time. And then I got to the point where I just became so angry. And I was like, you know what, actually, I’m going to test this. Like. Go ahead. Like I dare, like if the police show up and try to put me in cuffs for her, like this is going to be a bigger stink than you realize, like, cause then I’m going to fight this thing tooth and nail and be like, this is based on lies, this whole thing.
So if I get grabbed, you know, grabbed by the police and carried away in cuffs, I’m like, this is only going to backfire when they’re going to try to say like you, you, you violated this. I’m going to say on what, on what grounds, like show me the evidence. So I kind of got to this point where I’m like, no, wait, this is all based in a lie.
So this protective order to me doesn’t even exist. I don’t, I don’t really consider it valid whatsoever. And I just don’t, that’s the way I see it now. But I also have found that I’m like, I have a freedom of speech and I’m not harassing her whatsoever by sit by speaking the truth, you know, and she’s a public figure by all definitions.
You know, she has a podcast. She. You know, wants to be known until all of a sudden she doesn’t until her name gets out there and then she wants to quiet everything. So I’m like, you don’t, you, you don’t, you put my name out there and you put your own name out there. I didn’t put your name out there. It was, you put your name out there by leaking this out to everybody.
And they went to the court hearings and they found your name. I’m like, I haven’t done anything to harass you. I haven’t told anybody harass you. I’ve told everyone, Hey, don’t go after her. Like, but I’m like, you should be held accountable. So. That’s why I’ve been speaking openly about it now and saying her name.
I’m like, your name’s already been out there. It’s just, this isn’t me harassing you. I’m just trying to hold you accountable.
I’m sure you’ve been on dates since May 20th of last year. How do you navigate your dating life now going forward? Would you, would you prefer to date somebody who already knows about all this?
Or do you mind having to sit down and explain it? Like, Hey, if you don’t know about this, this is here. It is like, I don’t know. Is there a. Is there something that you’d rather do? Would you rather somebody who’s already like, no, trust me. I’ve already read up on you. Yeah. I know you’re interested in all this.
How’s, how’s it been navigating the dating life?
Well, I mean, that really just was, was time specific. So early on, I actually right after I interacted with Laura that one night, I met somebody and I really liked her and we started talking and we were talking for about a month. And you know, at that point I was withholding intimacy.
I didn’t want to like, I was, I’m like, you know what, I made a mistake being intimate, like, let me like withhold this and really get to know this person. And if we get to us that place where we finally go to that next level, I’m going to have to have this conversation because I, this is, you know, a month into the whole Laura fiasco.
And I’m like, I need to, like, I can’t like not tell this individual if she’s going to, if we’re going to go and make this more serious, I’m You know, I need to finally say something. So after a few dates, I realized like this is getting serious. And so I told her, Hey, I need to tell you something. And I told her the whole situation.
And she basically said, I really respect you for letting me know, but I can’t stick around to find out. So, you know, or to find out whether or not it’s true, or I just can’t be a part of this. Like this is, this is asking a lot out of something. If we’re going to start being serious and dates, like this is a lot of baggage.
And I’m like, no, I totally understand. So that fell off and that just like, you know, went by the wayside. But now I mean, now that I’ve, you know, I’ve been exonerated now that, you know, I’ve won the case and there was a finding of not paternity and she’s getting referred to the county attorney and to be investigated potentially like.
Now that that is happening. I mean, I would prefer a woman not know what I what my past is. And I just mean more so from the bachelor. I don’t I get hesitant when somebody knows what I what my past is because I’m like, Are you really talking to me for because you like me or do you like what I’ve done? So that’s the that’s where I try to withhold it.
I don’t tell people what I am. You go on my social media. I mean, I don’t really oftentimes when girls say, Hey Hey, what’s your Instagram? I’m like, I’ll just give you my number. Cause I do try to skirt around. Like, I don’t want you going on my social media. Cause they’re gonna be like, why do you have so many followers?
Okay. We’ll just start scrolling down. You’re going to figure it out pretty quickly. I don’t have all those followers cause my dance moves. They’re not, they’re gonna, they’ll watch one dance video. And I’m like, it’s certainly not because of that. So I try to hide it just until I, so I can just feel comfortable.
Like this woman’s not here. Because of what I’ve done, not here for the fame or because of the attachment to it. This person’s here for me. And then when it comes out naturally, they’re like, why didn’t you tell me? And it’s just a simple, because I just want to make sure that you’re here because you like me for me.
Did you lose people close to you, friends, did they kind of separate themselves from you thinking you were too toxic during all this? I mean, obviously that first girl that you dated said, hey, I’m out. Don’t want to be a part of it. Were there any other people in your life that kind of said, gosh, I can’t associate myself with Clayton right now?
No, there were people that were being quiet, but they had to be quiet because they’re high profile individuals. And they, they sent me support in privacy. I had a lot of support from people that, that texted me, messaged me and just said, Hey, I’m, I really feel for you. They didn’t make public statements, but I didn’t really care.
I’m like, I don’t need the public support. I, you know, Once you all to obviously believe me and I hope I don’t lose friendships and over this, but I got a lot of support privately. And here’s the thing, like I saw this online and people said bachelor nation didn’t come to my, my defense. And I kind of want to come to their defense for a second, because I, I ostracize myself from bachelor nation.
Like I, I had a bad taste in my mouth when I came off the show and I just got so far away from it. And I attributed all the people. That went on the show to like the negative experience that I faced. And so I just, like, I went far away. I had people reaching out from time to time. Hey, we’d love to, you know, meet up, collab, whatever.
And I just wasn’t answering them. And so I don’t know this for a fact, but I think that a lot of bachelor nation, like thought this guy either thinks he’s too good for us. Or he just like, doesn’t want anything to do with us. So why would they come to my defense? You know, I, I, I, I ostracize myself. I, I, I went away from it all and chose to, to be, to not, you know, go to those meetups and not be present there and not interact on their socials and.
So I, I’m not surprised they didn’t, you know, speak up for me. And here’s the thing. I don’t think I’m better than any of them. And I found out that it was like, Clayton, you can’t attribute your experience on the show and all these people to being superficial. Like there’s really great people that went on, that go on the show that, that are really kind hearted, that are, you know, Driven individuals that are awesome people to like, that you could grow with.
And I just clumped everybody in to like, you’re all fake and superficial at first. Like that was wrong on my part because I had such a bad taste in my experience that I, I played the victim when I came off the show, I was like, man, I got torn to shreds and this isn’t fair the way they edited me and. You know, I didn’t take any accountability really at first.
I was like, this is BS. The show painted me as this, you know, villain bachelor and all these people set me up and, you know, for failure. And so I, you know what, screw all of them. I think that’s why nobody came to my defense because they’re like, well, this guy doesn’t really want anything to do with us, so why would we support them?
I think in the early going. Pretty shortly after the Sun article came out I think Susie went on a podcast and she was one of the few that had come out publicly and, and defended you and just said, look, I, I know his character. I just, I, I. You know, not knowing every detail. She said, I have spoken to Clayton and, and she, you know, came to your defense.
And, you know, obviously Susie’s moved on. She’s with Justin now. I don’t know if you have any sort of, do you, do you keep in touch with Susie at all? Do you ever nothing?
No, no. I mean, and I was so grateful. Like when she came out, I saw that and she said, listen, Clayton might be a lot of things, but he’s not a liar.
Yeah.
And that meant a lot to me, you know, I, because she didn’t have to say anything, but like, that’s somebody that I got to know on a personal level. You know, pretty, you know, pretty deeply and, and I, she didn’t have to, but she was like, listen, like. I know that my voice is going to, you know, get people to understand, like, or come around.
And so she decided to put herself out there, you know, potentially in the line of fire. And I’m just really grateful that you know, she like, we’re. I wouldn’t say we’re friends at this point. We don’t keep in contact. I mean, and Justin’s cool. I’ve had conversations with Justin. Like there’s, there’s not like this weird, awkward, you know, tension between us.
I mean, like, I’m really happy for them. Like they seem to be way more compatible than like what I, like what Susie and I were. They feel like a natural fit. They’re very creative. They, they’re, you know, if she’s a videographer, he’s a photographer. I mean, they, they seem to mesh really well. And so I’m just, I’m happy.
And I liked, again, like I’ve talked to Justin a few times on social media. He’s cool. I think I met him in person. I don’t know why I’m blanking right now. My brain just, but I’m like, I’m pretty sure we’ve hung out a couple of times. Super cool guy. And so, but it’s just, there’s just no reason for me to be interacting with her for what, for what reason, right?
I mean, it’s just a matter of like, you’re dating him. And I, if, if I saw them out or something, yeah, we’d hang out. We’d all have a good time and there would be no animosity. But I just, there’s just no reason to talk to her.
I know she did an interview after the breakup between you two and, you know, she said some things and I’ve obviously this is the first time I’ve ever spoken to you about Susie, about your season.
I was just curious. She said some pretty. Like blank made some blanket statements of, I think along the lines of, and if I’m wrong here, correct me, but she said, I don’t even know why Clayton picked me in the first place. And she made it a point to say that you weren’t even her type. Did that, I mean, especially after the breakup and I’m sure obviously breakups are all hard, especially a public breakup coming from this show.
When she said stuff like that in an interview, did it? Did it kind of be like, you didn’t need to say that. Did it bother you a little bit? Or you were like, no, she’s, she’s right. I don’t, I don’t know.
Yeah. Yeah, no, it did bother me. There were a few things she said that I was just like, why why, why bring this up, but you know what?
I mean, relationships are complex. There is a lot of our relationship that people will never know about. They don’t need to know about it. There was, we had the option to basically. When we broke up to either decide to point fingers at who was the problem, or we could just decide to say, let’s just keep this mutual.
And let’s just say that we both had an equal part in this. And I, I think we tried really hard to do that. Were there a few points where I was like, come on, Suze, like, you’re not making this equal. You’re starting to make this seem like I was the problem. Like, and yeah, I’ve certainly felt that as a few times.
And I’m like, I’m not over here attacking and saying anything that you’ve done that I didn’t like. But ultimately we kept the cordial and I was like, you know, I get it. It’s emotional breakups hard. And sometimes you, maybe you say something and I really don’t think she meant ill will and I’m like, you know, she did help me out so much and with growth and my life and she pulled me through a really hard time.
And so I’m like, you know what, maybe I don’t like everything that she’s said since, but she did help me out. So I’m just going to focus on the positive of the relationship. I’ll let her, you know, she can say a few things and I’m not going to fire back off at her because I don’t want to be the couple that’s like taking subtle shots at each other that become no longer subtle.
And then it’s like a toxic relationship. I’m like, let me remember her for the good. The things that she. Helps me get through and I’ll just, I’ll just bite my tongue. Like certainly there were things she did in our relationship that I was not a fan of, but what’s the point of me going out in public and saying, here’s the, here’s some things she did that I didn’t like for what, what, what do I win?
You know? So people go, Oh, well, maybe she’s not as great as we thought. Okay. And then what, like, What do I, what do I, you know, what is, what do I, when, you know, what do I, what do I get out of that? Nothing. So, you know, I, I, she said it, but I, the thing she said, I’m like, I get it. It was a emotionally charged time, you know, relationship.
And certainly there’s things you don’t like that you, that I did and vice versa, but like, whatever, let’s just, let’s just try to get past this and let’s just be cordial and let’s just be, you know, supportive of each other, supportive exes. And I think overall we’ve accomplished that.
Yeah. It just seemed like it was out of left field for her to say that.
Cause it was like. So far, I can’t remember how long after the breakup it was, but to her, he hear her say, like, I don’t know why he didn’t pick Gabby or Rachel. They’re better matches for him. It’s just like, it was just, like I said, it was kind of out of left field. And I didn’t see it coming. And like I said, you and I have never spoken about your season.
It’s obviously a season, like you said, where you were not painted in the greatest of light and. You know, it almost started from the very beginning. And I, you know, I don’t know how much of a fan you were of the show and no going in, but for a guy who finished, I believe ninth place on Michelle season, I think it was ninth, right?
Was it a ninth? Were you aware that just, just the idea of you being the bachelor and your bachelor season, you know, I had to go back and look at, I, I had it in my head, but I wanted to make sure I got it right. Michelle’s season started airing on October 19th. You were basically almost at hometowns of filming your season before anybody ever saw you on camera.
And this was like, the show had never done this before. Everybody assumed, cause this was coming fresh off of, I think Katie season. Cause then we went into Michelle’s, everybody assumed our bachelor was going to be somebody from Katie season, Greg Rippo, or possibly Michael Alio, something like that. And then we start hearing these rumblings about a guy that’s on Michelle’s season is going to be the bachelor.
And then some pictures get out of you shooting your intro video in, in Missouri, and it. Clearly it’s going to be this Clayton guy who we know nothing about and it’s never happened before. Our bachelors always been from the season before we’ve watched their journey. We’ve seen them in hometown dates.
We’ve usually seen them getting, you know, very far, even final two, final three. We have a journey with them. And then once they get dumped, it’s like, okay, we can get behind this guy.
Yeah.
I felt like we were behind the eight. You must’ve felt like I’m behind the eight ball from the very get go. Cool. And the first time they announced you as the bachelorette, you have to be up there on stage reading all this negative shit that people were writing about you on the internet.
Like, were you aware that you were behind the eight ball from the start? I
wasn’t aware in that moment because I was so oblivious to the show and how it, how it all went. I mean, I grew up, my mom watched it every year. So I saw it in the background when I was walking around my house. Had a few girlfriends that watched it.
So I had seen maybe a handful of episodes. But when I became the bachelor, I mean, I, yeah, I didn’t know, like it was all new to me, everything was new to me and you know, I know why I was disliked, I mean, because what you said, no one knew who I was. I basically was forced out of everyone’s throats, you know, and Michelle season on like the last episode before I get sent home.
And then all of a sudden it’s like, here’s your bachelor and everyone’s like, well, this guy was already chosen without us even getting to know who he is. And we never saw him on Michelle season. And, you know, it was a really tough dynamic because listen, I, this is just, I, I gathered all the reason why I was disliked.
Was because I was chosen over six men of color. I think that was a major part of it. Everyone’s like, why this guy was chosen at number nine. Why did you skip over these six other men? And it’s like, oh, because you want the stereotypical white dude. And so I was already, you know, behind the eight ball on that which I understood.
I was like, why did you choose me over these other men? Like, these guys are great guys. It’s like, it’s almost like you skipped over a lot. And so, You know, so I knew that I was already that I was up against that. You know, then also I was already announced as the bachelor before Michelle’s season was aired.
So how, how do you show Michelle’s season with, and then incorporate me into her season without having me outshine her. So as people started watching her season, it’s like, we know this guy’s the bachelor, like we already know. So, so now you’re playing this game of like, well, we don’t want, you know, a white man to overshadow You know, a black badge to red.
I mean, I think that’s, that was another dynamic where it’s like, we got to show him, but we can’t like make this his season. It’s still her season. Right. So I think, I think, you know, I, this is just my thoughts, but I think the producers were kind of like, how do we show him without like making this, you know, like making this just nasty and just feel wrong.
And like, we’re like overshadowing. So they were trying to like, show me without showing too much of me. But then like people weren’t a fan of me. And so like I had a promo that I did that was like, I thought super great. It was basically about this, you know, just this guy from Missouri. That’s like, you know, just trying to find love.
And like, they pulled the promo, they pulled my appearances, you know, and it’s like, so now no one, like all these moments where I can be potentially put in the spotlight so people can get to know me. All of it was being pulled and it’s like, no one’s going to know who this guy is. And then all of a sudden it’s like, here’s your bachelor, take them or leave them.
And everyone was like, screw this guy. We didn’t want him. We wanted, you know, Rodney, you know, we wanted Brandon, we want Olu, everybody besides this guy, you know? And, and so, but it’s like, no, too bad. You already got this guy. So. Everyone’s on Twitter. I’m not, you know, making all these malicious comments and the show’s like, Hey, like, let’s just feed into this a little bit and have fun with it.
And are you cool with reading these comments? And I was like, yeah, yeah, that’s fine. I, I didn’t really anticipate the hatred being like, I was like, oh, we’re just gonna like, I’m gonna laugh with everybody. But then I did the segment and afterwards, like I, it just kept piling on. I’m like, oh, wait, we’re not, I’m not laughing with them.
Like I’m being laughed at, you know, and like, and, and at the end of the day, we all know this, the show plays on extreme emotions. It’s. So if people say like they don’t want lukewarm because lukewarm doesn’t make us, you know, a spicy season, they want extreme love or extreme hate. And when the show realized that I was going to be hated, they’re like, let’s just lean into it then.
Like, let’s just make him hated because that’s going to give people something to root for on the other side. And it was the women. And so I just became a natural villain bachelor. Now, again, I want to say as well, I took actions like, you know, that weren’t favorable on the show. So I’m not trying to dodge any responsibility.
I also don’t hold any malice towards the show. I think they just like, at the day, I gave them a show and they’re like, we can’t not show this man. Like you’re not well liked and you just did all this crazy stuff. Like we, we would get fired if we didn’t show this.
Yeah,
no, it just like was a perfect storm and, and I just walked into a hill and at it, it just was what it was.
Yeah, it was just really weird. Like you said, how it became about, because when Michelle season starts airing on October 19th, that year, like I said, you were right around the time, you know, you bachelor starts filming end of September. I think you were about a month into filming. So you obviously, you weren’t even watching yourself on Michelle season.
Cause you were off filming your season. You were off in Croatia. So you had no idea what the sentiment was and. We, as viewers, like you said, we knew, okay, this guy, Clayton, he’s going to be a star on Michelle. So he’s going to be a guy that we’re all going to love. And we watched the four or five episodes that you’re on.
You’re just like, this guy’s in the background. This is our bachelor. Like they didn’t even show you in a positive light, but like you said, there’s a reason they couldn’t have you outshine their bachelorette. It made, it would make. No sense. It probably upset a lot of people. So yeah, there just wasn’t anything there.
I thought we were going to get this, Oh, I can totally see why they picked this guy when we don’t even know his story. It’s like, Oh, it makes sense now. And it just, it didn’t, you know, it was just like, it
was a perfect storm. And just as a perfect culmination of like, there’s no way that we can make you look good.
I mean, it’s just like, we’re, we’re really, I mean, it’s, it was a complex matter for them. But again, I. And so that was just how it played out. And I, and I just, I’m like, okay, I get it. I’m not, I’m not upset even like those. Some people, I was like, I get why you’re upset with me. I understand. You know, I see online, people want more diversity.
And so I, I, it’s like, you pick the six, five white dude. Where’s the diversity? I’m not like, I was like, I get it. You’re all, but like, You’re attacking me for accepting this role. Like, as I took it away from them, I’m like, why would I not accept this position? Like it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, you know?
And so I understood why people were upset, but I’m like, I’m not taking this away from anybody. I just took the opportunity cause it was presented. So yeah, it just is what it was, what it was. And I don’t really like, I get it. I mean, I understood it just, but even though I understood it, it made it really hard still to swallow that, all that, you know, anger and aggression.
