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Former “The Bachelor” winner Susie Evans is opening up about her relationship with her ex Clayton Echard.
Susie made an appearance on the Tuesday, March 21, episode of “The Viall Files” where she admitted she questioned why Clayton chose her over runner-ups Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey.
“To this day, I still kind of think, ‘Why did you pick me?'” Susie told host Nick Viall and guest Andrew Spencer. “We aren’t compatible.”
The ABC star said that, in retrospect, she thinks her ex would’ve been more compatible with runner-up Rachel Recchia.
“You really don’t know if you’re compatible until you get out of there,” she said. “I remember looking back and being like, ‘You are way more compatible with Rachel. I remember thinking — I was like, ‘Why did you pick me? You have somebody that you probably would have been really compatible with.'”
What Happened Between Susie Evans & Clayton Echard During Fantasy Suite Week?
Susie met Clayton on season 26 of “The Bachelor,” which aired in the winter of 2022. The two had instant chemistry and Susie quickly became a frontrunner and a fan favorite.
However, Susie’s relationship with Clayton became complicated during their Fantasy Suite date in Iceland when Clayton revealed he had been intimate with both Gabby and Rachel. The confession upset Susie, who felt she could not move forward with Clayton after learning he had expressed his love for the other contestants. The two ended up breaking up over the conflict.
After Susie’s departure, Clayton tried to move forward with Gabby and Rachel. However, the football star could not shake his feelings for Susie and ended up breaking up with Gabby and Rachel in Iceland.
Clayton sent Susie a letter asking her to meet him before leaving Iceland. The wedding videographer agreed to meet but ended up rejecting Clayton’s request for a second chance.
After the dramatic finale, fans thought Susie and Clayton were over, but on the May 14 “After the Final Rose” special, the two revealed they had reconnected after the show and were an official couple.
Unfortunately, the reconciliation didn’t last long. Susie and Clayton announced their split in a September 2022 Instagram post. The couple released a joint statement telling fans that with “heavy hearts,” they have decided to go their separate ways.
Susie Evans Calls Her Relationship With Clayton Echard ‘Emotionally Taxing’
Susie addressed her split from Clayton in an emotional blog post in November 2022. “The Bachelor” alum called her relationship with Clayton “emotionally taxing” and revealed her friends noticed something was off during the relationship.
“The people around me could see that my sparkle had dulled and I was far from thriving. Sure, I had joyous moments often, but deep down I was struggling and felt misaligned with the best version of me,” she wrote. “I believe this was because I was trying to make something work that just wasn’t a natural fit,” she continued. “It’s emotionally taxing and not good for the soul.”
In the blog post, Susie said she felt “overwhelming emotional pain” after the breakup, telling readers she wondered if “it would ever get easier.”
“Suddenly I was experiencing this overwhelming emotional pain and the person I would normally have beside me through the tough stuff is no longer there,” she wrote. “I remember feeling physically sick at times and wondering if it would ever get easier.”
The ABC star added that she got better at managing painful thoughts as time passed.
“The biggest game changer for me was realizing that I had to interrupt those thoughts in their path,” she wrote. “When I started to feel overwhelmed or got the desire to check up on my ex, I would intentionally not engage with those thoughts.”
“Our brain learns what is important to us based on which thoughts we engage with,” she continued. “Understanding this helped me more than any other piece of advice I’ve ever been given during a breakup. As I practiced being intentional with my thoughts/actions, it proved true. Even when those heavy emotions hit, they would go away more quickly than the time before.”
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