But Jesse eventually convinced Susie to meet with Clayton and his family. At the meeting, Susie pulled Clayton outside and told him she felt like he treated her “like a stray dog who wandered into your home.” Clayton begged for forgiveness, adding, “I love you and I don’t want to lose you.” Susie still left after the conversation and didn’t spend time with Clayton’s family, leaving plenty of questions about what would happen between them going forward. “My happiness is with Susie right now,” he said, before noting that he owes it to Gabby and Rachel to be honest with them and break up with them. Gabby and Rachel, of course, had just been put through the wringer by Clayton during part 1 of the finale, but on part 2, they got to say their piece about, and make their peace with, how he treated them. Keep reading for everything that went down on Part 1 and Part 2 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale.
What happened on Part 1 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale?
At the rose ceremony, Clayton told Gabby and Rachel that that he was in love with Susie—but also, with both of them. “I also was intimate with both of you,” he added, before both Gabby and Rachel walked away in tears. During a chat with Gabby, Clayton also said, “Whoever I pick, I love the most.” Gabby then said, “This is f***ed up,” and walked away. Rachel also confronted Clayton and said, “I feel like my heart is breaking,” before adding, “It’s just so hard to understand the love that I’m feeling, that you can feel it for three people.” Somehow, both Gabby and Rachel agreed to continue “on this journey” (to use the Bachelor-speak term) and next met Clayton’s family at an Airbnb in Iceland. Both of those meetings went well, and perhaps shockingly, both women seemed back to feeling fully invested in Clayton as a potential future husband… but then Clayton told his family that he thinks the woman he really wants to be with is Susie.
Who did Clayton send home on Part 2 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale?
Clayton sent both Rachel and Gabby home after telling them he loves Susie the most. Even worse? He met with Rachel and Gabby together and jointly told them that he was in love with Susie. “I realize that I’ve caused so much pain and I wish that I could take it back,” he said. “I realize it’s not feasibly possible for me to be in love with three women like I said I was.” Clayton also said that “my heart is no longer here… it’s with Susie.” “I really don’t have anything to say,” Gabby said. “That’s it, I think, for me.” And then she walked out. Rachel looked shocked, as Clayton followed Gabby. “I’m pissed because I spent the last two days away from my friends and family who actually give a sh*t about me and you don’t,” she said. She also confronted him about the fact that he begged her and Rachel to stay, only to send them home two days later. Gabby also called him out for telling her and Rachel that he was in love with Susie as a group vs. separately. Clayton then went back to Rachel and apologized. “What you put us through at the rose ceremony,” she said, crying. “You told me that you were willing to fight for this. I believed you.” She added, “this is going to haunt you that you let me go.” “You didn’t give me anything. What little you gave me, I held onto,” Rachel said. “You gave up on us,” she said, as he walked her out. “I cannot believe you’re going to put me in this car right now.”
What did Gabby say about Clayton on Part 2 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale?
Gabby told host Jesse Palmer during the Part 2 finale that she had been in love with Clayton on the show. But, she said, she realized after the show that she “didn’t have all the information” about him and his journey, and that was frustrating. “I truly feel betrayed,” Gabby told Clayton when they met up during the live finale. “I don’t think you’re malicious at all but I do think I had given you chances in the moment to be more honest with me,” she said. “It seemed like you had your mind set on Susie way before you told us… I just feel extremely dismissed.”
What did Rachel say about Clayton on Part 2 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale?
“The hardest part for me watching this back is knowing how in love with him I was and watching these last few episodes I didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes,” she said. “I just feel like the hardest part of all of this is knowing how hard I fought for our relationship and to see just complete disrespect to both me and Gabby in that he couldn’t even break up with us separately.” Rachel also said that Clayton broke her heart twice. “I’ve never felt the way I felt for him,” she said. “I fought all the way to the end, way past the part that I thought I could go personally… I truly believed it was me.” Rachel also said that she no longer has feelings for Clayton. “I became collateral damage in your journey for love,” she told Clayton directly. “There was no empathy at all for me or Gabby.” She added, “it’s just so disrespectful.” After Clayton apologized, Rachel responded with, “I just don’t believe you. You told us you wanted to give us transparency but you left out the most important things.” Rachel also directly asked Clayton if he told her he loved her to try to sleep with her.
Who did Clayton send home on Part 1 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale?
Clayton didn’t send anyone home, but Gabby came very close to sending herself home after refusing the rose Clayton offered to her. “I can’t, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not in the business of competing with anyone for love.” Gabby also challenged Clayton. “Did you regard what it would feel like? Just say you’re sorry or something.” But Clayton ended up convincing Gabby to stay, and she decided to accept the rose. So… no one went home on Part 1 of the season finale.
What did Clayton Echard’s family say to him on The Bachelor Season 26 finale?
Clayton’s whole family—his mom, dad, and brothers Patrick and Nate—all flew out to Iceland and seemed blown away by Clayton’s updates regarding what happened to Susie and where his head was at with Rachel and Gabby. Clayton’s dad said that Susie’s choice to leave “makes sense,” adding, “They have a right to be upset with you. You screwed the pooch, in my opinion.” Clayton’s family ended up meeting Gabby first and got along well with her. “I do love you,” Gabby told Clayton afterward. She also told producers, “I’m ready now more than ever to be with him.” Rachel met Clayton’s family next and repeatedly told his parents that she’s “really in love with him.” She told producers, “I want to see this through. I don’t know where his head is at.” After all that, Clayton ended up immediately telling his parents that he’s realized he’s still in love with Susie. In response, Clayton’s dad told him, “You’re grasping at straws. That’s done… When somebody walks away, it’s done. It’s finished.”
Who did Clayton Echard give his final rose to on the Part 2 finale of Season 26 of The Bachelor?
Clayton wrote a note to Susie and had it delivered to her hotel room. He also asked her to meet him at the final rose ceremony, where he was waiting with a ring. Susie ended up showing up. “I want you to know that I’m so fully committed,” he said, before showing her the ring box. “I want that and with you I see that, to grow, have a family, and go through all the stages of life together,” he said. “There’s no doubt about our connection,” she said. “The love that I have for you is so real and I know that you have it, too. But I don’t feel that the kind of love I have for you is the kind of love you have for me.” Susie said that she made the decision to leave Iceland alone. “I don’t think that I’m your persona and I don’t think that you’re mine,” she added. Clayton ended up not giving anyone his final rose—on the live portion of the show, in front of the studio audience.
Did Clayton Echard get engaged during Part 2 of The Bachelor Season 26 finale last night?
Nope. Clayton made it clear that he was ready to propose to Susie and that he was willing to fight for her—but she wasn’t in the same place. “To me, I feel like it’s not over until you say that it’s over,” he said. Susie’s reply: “I feel like it’s over.”
Is Clayton Echard still single?
“For the first time in history, the Bachelor was rejected at the end of his journey and he ends up alone…or does he?” Jesse said. During a sitdown with Jesse, Clayton shared that “someone” reached out to him afterward—Susie. “We’re happy to be here together,” she said, before calling Clayton her “boyfriend.” “We were able to reestablish that relationship because we took that time apart,” Susie said. She later also said “I love you” to Clayton. He also said that he “couldn’t be happier” to be with Susie again and said that he’s moving to Virginia to be with her. Clayton wrapped things up by asking Susie to accept his final rose—and she did.
So, who is the next Bachelorette?
Jesse said the decision was “the hardest we’ve ever had to make.” So, producers ended up picking Gabby and Rachel to be the next Bachelorettes. Jesse said that he “honestly has no idea” how this will work, so it sounds like details are still being ironed out. “I’m ready for us to both get our happy endings,” Rachel said. Next, take a look back at how The Bachelorette Season 18 ended with Michelle and Nayte’s adorable engagement!
