Spoiler alert! This story discusses the February 7 episode of The Bachelor Season 26, so proceed with caution if you’re not caught up.
Somehow we’ve made it to Episode 5 of this season of The Bachelor, and Shanae Ankney is still on the show. After she mocked another contestant’s ADHD. After she falsely accused the other women of bullying her over shrimp. After she crashed a date she wasn’t supposed to be on. After she bragged to producers (multiple times) that she had fooled Clayton Echard into sending another woman home. Shanae Ankney is still on this show.
Clayton Echard has lost control of Season 26, and as he watches it all back with the rest of America, he’s even stopped trying to defend himself against the baffling choices we’ve seen him make over the past couple of weeks. Echard gave Shanae Ankney another rose at the beginning of Episode 5 — after several women in the house warned him about her — and if Bachelor Nation thinks the past few weeks have been hard to watch, imagine how Echard feels. Actually, you don’t have to imagine, because he tweeted it. And yeah, it’s gotten so bad that he’s even roasting himself.
Haven’t taken off the paint for 3 weeks now!!#TheBachelor https://t.co/k3Lq1mpiMGFebruary 8, 2022
After Elizabeth Corrigan’s elimination in Episode 4 following Shanae Ankney’s crocodile tears and false accusations of being bullied, Clayton Echard told angry fans on social media that this snafu would be addressed in the “Women Tell All.” However, amid mounting pressure and some nasty social media backlash, Echard issued a public apology to Corrigan. Corrigan herself responded, asking Bachelor Nation’s loyal fans to respect everyone’s mental health and stop sending hate messages to Echard.
Clayton Echard was full of self-deprecation as he tweeted during Episode 5. When one fan commented on how scary it was that Shanae Ankney could manipulate the bachelor so easily, Echard agreed it was downright criminal.
Lock her up! She’s killed all my credibility already 😭#TheBachelor https://t.co/vtNnnFyjYuFebruary 8, 2022
This season has been so bad for the fashionably challenged Clayton Echard that fans have actually been asking him for “reparations” after watching The Bachelor. Echard shared on his Instagram Stories a screenshot of the charges fans keep requesting.
Clayton Echard included a laughing emoji in telling fans to stop, but quite honestly, nothing about this Shanae Ankney situation has been funny or entertaining, and I don’t think Echard thinks so either. This man hasn’t stopped being brutalized since they made him read mean tweets on the finale of The Bachelorette, and for as much as we know the producers manipulate the show, I’d be pretty mad if I were Echard that they let things get this far out of hand.
The cliffhanger at the end of Episode 5 showed Shanae Ankney and Genevieve Parisi on a 2-on-1 date, which all but guarantees at least one of them will be eliminated. I’m hoping that if and when Clayton Echard gets wise to Ankney’s antics, I’ll be able to recover and enjoy the rest of the season. The question at this point is: will Clayton?
The Bachelor airs at 8 p.m. ET Mondays on ABC. Check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what shows are premiering soon.
