Y’all, I’m going to say it. This season finale of The Bachelor actually does sound like it might be the most dramatic ending in Bachelor history. Clayton Echard already made franchise history early in the season — when he took a rose back from Cassidy Timbrooks after she lied to him — and it looks like he’s going to do it again, with a finale situation that’s never happened on either The Bachelor or The Bachelorette before.
There are MAJOR SPOILERS ahead, so consider yourself warned!
Clayton Echard and his final three — Susie Evans, Gabby Windey, and Rachel Recchia — are headed to Reykjavik, Iceland, for Fantasy Suite dates, and now we’re getting to the part of the season that’s been teased all along. The promos appear to show Evans self-eliminating after finding out that Echard was in love with all of them, followed by the lead's confession to Windey and Recchia that he’d also been intimate with each of them. We know better at this point than to trust the promos, though, right? Because the rumored ending, according to Reality Steve, features Evans making franchise history:
Susie is convinced to stay, and at the final rose ceremony, she rejects Clayton’s proposal, and Clayton left Iceland single.
Wait, whaaaat? We knew it was a possibility that Clayton Echard would end up single — even Bachelor Nation alumni were predicting that. But convincing a woman to stay, only to be rejected during your own final rose ceremony? Brutal! No wonder Teddi Wright expressed concern at that infuriating “Women Tell All” about whether Echard was okay.
It’s unknown why, if Susie Evans ended up being the last woman standing, she wasn’t present at the rose ceremony where Clayton Echard apparently makes his confession. Was it another editing trick from the sneaky Bachelor producers, or did she leave and then return later? We’ll have to watch to find out, but Reality Steve pointed out that this would be an ending never before seen on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette:
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 lead's proposal.
While it is true that a lead’s proposal has never been rejected, The Bachelorette leads don’t propose at the end of the season; they offer a final rose. So in that show’s case, while proposals have been turned down, no lead’s final rose has ever been rejected, which would make Clayton Echard the franchise's first lead to be turned down by their final choice.
If this rumor is true, Clayton Echard will also have the distinction, not just of being the first lead to take back a rose, but also of getting both his first and last roses rejected. Before Echard even arrived at Bachelor Mansion to greet the limos, he offered a rose to Salley Carson when she was expressing regrets about coming on the show. She ultimately turned down his rose and never even went to the mansion.
So now that we know, presumably, that Susie Evans turns down the proposal, is that it for Clayton Echard? Not so fast. Jesse Palmer hinted during the “Women Tell All” that even he doesn’t know how this season ends, which makes me think there may be hijinks in store when we get to “After the Final Rose.”
The drama isn’t over yet, and I know I’ll be tuning in when The Bachelor returns at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 8, on ABC ahead of next week’s two-night finale.
