Clayton Sets the Record Straight

This week on “Bachelor Happy Hour,” Clayton Echard makes his first appearance on the pod and is holding nothing back! 

Clayton discusses it all, including his single life before joining the Bachelor franchise, what he learned about himself during his time on “The Bachelorette,” and the ups and downs of watching his journey as the Bachelor unfold over these past few weeks. Plus, Clayton addresses the rumors being spread over social media and reminds viewers that just like everyone else, he is human.   

Then, in a round of rapid-fire questions, Becca and Serena give Bachelor Nation what they have been relentlessly asking for — the chance to get to know Clayton!  

“Bachelor Happy Hour” has exclusive interviews every week. Watch “The Bachelor” on ABC and listen to “Bachelor Happy Hour” the next morning.  

Don’t forget to rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome back Bachelor Happy Hour listeners. It's good to be
back with you. I know this week is a little
off because obviously we did not have an episode of
The Bachelor last night, so we have no recap, which
is totally fine because we still have a great episode
coming up for you today. Yes, I definitely missed The
Bachelor this week, but I am so excited for today's

(00:22):
episode because Bachelor Nation, we have heard you when you
have said who is Clayton? We know nothing about him?
So guess what. The Bachelor himself is here today and
we cannot wait for you to all get to know
him a little bit better. Yes, the time has finally
come for us to give all of you people what
you want. Not only do we have his season to

(00:44):
talk with him about, but we also, if you don't remember,
never had him on during Michelle's season, So we have
a full recap with Clayton himself. We'll get into Michelle's season,
his time on her season, we'll get into his season.
But also there's just so much for him, so much
more for us to know about him as listeners. So

(01:05):
today we have a full episode. We'll get into all
of the tea, we'll get to know Clayton for who
he really is, what he thinks about this crazy world.
And I just have to say, let's just get into it. Serena, Huh,
I am so ready. Let's bring on the Bachelor. I
just want all of our listeners to know the real Clayton.
This is why we're having you here on Bachelor Happy

(01:26):
Hour today is to get to know you. Because we've
had so many people out there be like, who's Clayton?
We know nothing about him? While ladies and gents, today
is the day we now know that Clayton eats about
a thousand pounds in chipole a week. He's got a
Chipotle card well on the way. I can't wait to
hang out with you when that finally comes. If I'm
the Chipotle order like the person that works there and
I'm taking your order, Like hi, Clayton, Like what can

(01:47):
I get you today? I got this down like to
a science. I would like two bulls ago with two
tour tias on the side. I went to salad dressings.
Both bulls will be the same. I get white rice
extra right rice, white rice, extra fahita, veggies, no beans,
half chicken, half steak, pico de gaio, corn, guac, lettuce,

(02:13):
and that's it. Yeah, the extra fahita veggis that is
that is a move. That's a pro move. Clean. How
long have you been ordering this same thing from Chipotle?
Leave this in the podcast? Leave this in here? Ever
since I stopped, or ever since I graduated college. So
it's been I'm on six years now. The second I
want to no, no, Okay, So if you you obviously

(02:35):
are no longer in the NFL, you ordered two of
these bowls? How many times a week would you say? Well,
it probably probably once a week, maybe sometimes twice if
I'm feeling I treat myself a little bit. Okay, if
you eat this much right now, how much were you
eating when you played football? I would easily put down
two bowls when I was playing football one meal, like

(02:57):
in one sitting. Yes, it was like people like people
would watch me fin every I wouldn't like to eat
a whole lot in the restaurant because people would just
turn and look at me and they'd be like, are
you going to actually eat both of those? And then
I would just proceed to like not breathe and just
shovel food. And you can eat that much food because
I get through like just over three quarters of the bowl,

(03:17):
and I'm just ashamed that I can't finish that last bit.
But I guess so whole that half your size. I mean,
everyone thinks that it sounds so great, but it's like
a hassle to have to put down that many calories
and just keep just keep in mind what you put
in also coming out. Wow, yeah, just whole new side?

(03:38):
Do you clean? I have? I don't hold back clean.
I like you. You seem like a great guy. You're
the reason why I never want to have boys because
they eat so freaking much. Like I used to date
a football player in college and he would daily eat
a loaf of bread with all of the sandwiches and
the toast. I'm like, I never want boys. You guys

(03:59):
are going to be dry. It's expensive, ry, damn the
gross and yeah, my poor mom we have I have
two younger brothers and they also eat like a bunch
of horses. So it's it was whoever could eat the fastest,
because my parents would cook the food and then it
was like, here's here's all the food we have, and
once it's gone, it's gone. So that's I think where

(04:19):
I had to like learn how to re eat in
a way that was like if I was going out
on dates, I had to like catch myself because I
would be like face. I would be like face in
the plate, Like you gotta like free eat before the date,
like you have a free date meal and then you
go and you have your second dinner and then it's
probably a post date meal the way out. Yeah. I
literally people will see me like when I was at

(04:40):
my work when I worked medical sales, I'd bring this
big old trough of food in and I would put
my arm around it and like literally like be like
right here, and it's like almost like a protective mechanism
that I'm like, you're not coming my food exactly. I'm
picturing like Gain melf In, Lord of the Rings with
a stick like thou shall not pass you intern of
your chipole bowl. Oh yeah, I've had I even had

(05:02):
a couple of times people like can I try that?
And they said, like the way my eyes darted up
with them like excuse me, absolutely not slowly please exactly.
Oh my gosh, I feel like we could talk about
food and chipol all day, all day. I hope we
were recording all of this first and foremost we want
to welcome you officially to Batch your Happy Hour because
this is your first time here, so welcome. Thank you

(05:23):
guys for having me. I'm excited. Yes, we could talk
all day about food, but there are other dimensions of me,
so we can try to touch on those other dimensions
outside of the whole foodie I love it well. So
I'm glad that you mentioned the other dimensions because we'll
get into all of the fun stuff of your time
on Michelle season of your own season, but before that,
you've kind of, I mean, you've really had such a

(05:46):
unique experience as personally because you've never watched yourself until
now on TV, because when Michelle's season was airing, you
were actually in the midst of your own season filming,
So there's so much that you've missed. This is really
your first time watching yourself back on TV, hearing yourself
back on TV, hearing what everyone back on your season

(06:06):
has to say. It's it's just like a weird world.
And I know from experience, and I know Serena knows
from experience what that feels like. So first and foremost,
how are you doing now that everything's done filming, it's
finally airing? Like, how are you dealing with the social
media and the dms and all of that craziness. Yeah,

(06:27):
I think at first it was kind of quiet, so
I was able to respond as much as I could,
and again, very just appreciative for the whole opportunity. So
I wanted to be able to let people know, like, hey, like,
thank you for reaching out. It means a lot. Then
the first episode aired and all of a sudden, it's
like it's just like opened the floodgates. And at that
point I started to get overwhelmed, and yeah, I would

(06:49):
I'd be lying if I said it was all sunshine
and roses. I have definitely fallen victim to reading everything,
which again everybody's told me stop reading all the comments,
but I my thought was, if I know what's out there,
there's no surprises. What I found those again is now
I'm watching the show and I see the comments, and

(07:10):
I understand a lot of these thoughts that people are
throwing out there on the Internet, and they're saying, well,
we're not seeing this and we're not seeing that, and
I'm seeing a lot of this for the first time myself.
Just I mean, I'm sure we'll jump into some of
the episodes, but like the last episode with what all
had happened with the drama, I didn't even know that
was going on, and so like, I'm watching it now

(07:32):
for the first time, and I'm like, wow, okay, this
was all happening while I was off talking with other women,
and I had I had seen that and realized what
was occurring, I think I would have responded to it.
I mean, I know I would have responded to it,
but people have to understand I didn't see that. I'm
actually now watching it for the first time with everybody else,

(07:56):
and so it's news to me. A lot of what
I'm seeing now, and that's it is challenging because again
I see people that are coming after me and my
character and saying, this guy has terrible judgment. Why wouldn't
you respond to this? And the answer is, you know,
it's simple. It's like, do you see me in that
picture like they're when they're showing the drama, Am I

(08:17):
they are present? And the answer is no. So I
didn't know about it. I was left in the dark.
I only knew what the women brought to me. And again, like,
what I'm seeing is like a lot of what was happening.
I just kind of got bits and pieces through the
conversations I had, right, Yeah, And I think what people
need to remember is there's one of you and about
thirty women, so the ratio is off. You're not going

(08:39):
to be part of every single conversation in every single realm.
And I think how you said it is perfect, Like
if you don't see Clayton in the room, that means
he probably wasn't privy to what was happening in it.
And I know that even as a contestant, you know,
I remember getting dms being like, well, why didn't you
stick up for this person or why didn't you speak
up in this situation? And I had a similar experience

(09:00):
where a lot of drama happened the week of my
one on one day and I wasn't in the room.
So it was like, you can't be held accountable for
your actions when you weren't present to even act well.
And to both of your points, I mean, if anyone
watches the show, they obviously know there's a lead, there's
all the contestants, and there's a team of producers who

(09:23):
work on the show to really navigate every situation, all
of the dates, all of the conversations to a certain extent,
but in less Clayton, as you were saying, and less
a girl is sitting with you bringing up a certain
situation or certain drama. No one, producers included, aren't going
to go to you and be like, hey, Clayton, so
and so said this, So how are you going to

(09:43):
address it? It's really up to you to figure out
and navigate every conversation with the women face to face.
No one's telling you the dirt or the jews, really
until somebody comes to you directly and sits you down
and really brings that to light. And so that's what
I want, you know, to anyone who watches the show,

(10:04):
to anyone who listens to the podcast, like Clinton, you
are a human. You are as one person is trying
to navigate this crazy world. And it's a world that
you had never watched before. You really had no idea
or expectations. You're just doing the best you can. So
I would really ask everyone to just have patience and
have a little bit of grace and wherewithal to know

(10:25):
that you're doing your best. You're just like everyone else.
You're trying to find love, You're trying to find a partner.
It just makes it very difficult when there's so many
people on social media popping up and coming out of
the woodwork and saying shit. And I know I was
kind of like you, I would say, in a way
where at first I was like, I have been given

(10:47):
this incredible platform and there's so much support and I
want to reply to everybody and thank them and really
you know, be as humble and as gracious as possible.
And very slowly I realized like there's a lot of
haters out there, and there's a lot of trolls, and
there's a lot of people who will say whatever the
hell they want to say to get their two seconds

(11:07):
of fame or they're fifteen minutes of fame, if you will.
And so I know, even like this week, crazy things
on social media have been popping up of things that
happened when you were single, when you were in your
twenties and just a man dating. So is there anything
that you want to address here first and foremost to
really get out there so all of our listeners can
hear it from you directly. Yeah, I mean there's so

(11:28):
much I want to address, and that's where I'm like,
I can I fit all into one podcast. Probably not,
But again I'm a big talk rest people will see
especially on these podcasts, which was a little bit different
from yeah on the show, where again I think that's
something I've seen as people say, oh, like, he seems
that he doesn't have much to say to these women
who are giving him there telling them their life stories.
And I remember I went into the whole experience with

(11:50):
my family saying, Clayton, you're a great talker, but try
to be a really great listener, like make sure you
emphasize focusing on keeping your mouth shut and listening. And
I think that's what I did a lot early on,
and I had a lot of women say, hey, you're great,
You're such a great listener. But as far as like
the Chris isn't being like, hey, the guy doesn't really
say a whole lot, I think again it's kind of twofold.

(12:11):
On one aspect, I was trying to be really good
just a listening aspect. The other side of it, I
also it's you know, thirty women come in the house
and you're talking so far as is day four or
five or whatever it is that people are seeing this
episode are and these women are starting to open up
and tell me some very personal stories. I'm still trying
to figure out, Hey, who this person is, what they're,
how they are, like, what are their inner workings, and

(12:32):
how can I best respond to something so personal? And
so I think, just because how the environment is, you
really jump into those intimate discussions very early on. But
if you don't, if you're still getting to understand that person,
I think at least I find myself being cautious because
I don't want to, you know, I'm still trying to
figure out who that person is and I don't want
to say something that might be misinterpreted. That's something I

(12:54):
saw on the side. As far as addressing what I've
seen online, Yeah, I've seen a lot of these tickto
that have come up as lately regarding my past, you know,
or the relationships that I had in the past, and like, listen,
here's the thing. I never claimed to be some saint
per se or some or celibate. For the last six
years of my single life, like I was single, and

(13:18):
you know, I enjoyed that singleness. There's a period of
my life where like, yeah, I wasn't looking for anything
serious and I was just having fun and enjoying that
aspect of it, and you know, I think that's just
something maybe everybody goes through in some capacity. And I
went through that, and so I am now starting to
see a lot of these things that are coming up.

(13:41):
I mean, listen, I I don't understand a whole lot
of white people bring it up per se, because I'm like,
I think we all went through this, but and maybe
some people more than others. But the thing was is like, yeah,
I went out and dated and and had my fun,
and really what it came to is like it came
to a head on this year, Like on my twenty
eighth birthday, I realized that I was doing the same things.

(14:02):
I hadn't changed my dating life, per se. I haven't changed,
you know, my work. Everything was just kind of stagnant,
and I felt like I was going through the motions
and I realized, like, you need to start making changes
to see change, and that also can't cut into my
dating life. I realized that I can't keep going down
this path of just kind of loosely dating because that's

(14:25):
not going to bring me the happiness that I'm looking for,
which is ultimately another person in my life that I
can wake up to every day. And that's and they'll
be there with me along that journey of life. So
I see the things online, I think it's it is
what it is. Yeah, I guess for me, it's like yes,

(14:45):
and some of the what I've seen is absolutely ridiculous.
It's not factual. Like I've seen some things that it's
like I saw one today the guy said, hey, oh
he was this I walked down on him with my girlfriend.
I'm like, I don't even know who this guy is.
Or someone else said like I've been dating date him
for five years. I was like, how can you make that?
Like how can you say you date me for five years?

(15:06):
Like where is the evidence? But again, like there's other
It's just there's just so much and I don't know
I for what it is. I just want people to
know like, hey, I didn't claim to be this guy
who just didn't date around or it was just like
in my inner hole for the last five six years,
like I went and had my fun. I did, but
that obviously transitions. Once I hit my twenty birthday this year,

(15:27):
thinks I realized I started needing to make some changes. Yeah. Yeah,
and I don't think you dating and living your single
life equates to you being a bad guy. You were single,
you were an adult, and you had every right to
date and have experiences, and you were a freeman and
now you're not. And I think that's where the line

(15:48):
gets blurry of people they're seeing you on the Bachelor
dating and they forget that this period of your life
happened before you went on the show, when you were single.
So you know, I don't think you have any need
to apologize for any of that. People are going to
come out and they're gonna say dumb shit, and you
know the truth. And I think that it's great having

(16:09):
you on the podcast because people are going to get
to see and learn more about who you are and
that you are a genuine guy, and that's gonna help
hopefully with this. There's always going to be haters, there's
always going to be trolls, but yeah, I mean, I
do want to ask you because you have been reading everything,
and I know when Beck and I went for drinks

(16:30):
with you, I think it was like last month you
were saying, you know, I like reading everything. It hasn't
been too bad, but I know that that does change
once the show begins. What do you think moving forward
like do you think you will continue reading everything? How
are you gonna kind of tackle all of that? I
was so naive when when I met up with you
guys a month ago. I have now seen that I'm

(16:53):
starting to see the light and it's shining bright and
blinding me almost. At this point, I had to take
a step back, and I don't think going forward, I
will be reading all the comments because it can be detrimental. Yeah,
you start to go down this rabbit hole of you
read one comment and then the next one piles on,
the next one piles on, and you just realize very

(17:13):
quickly you can't keep everybody happy. There's nothing you can do.
Like I saw recently a post that said they talked
about how Clayton is too reassuring to the women, like
he's giving them too much reassurance, and because of that,
it's like coach speak. For one, I'm like, yeah, I
was a former athlete, so I probably will use as

(17:34):
far as my vernacular, like it's gonna be pretty similar
to how like athletes talk because that's my entire life.
But people critique me on that, and then now that
I'm being critiqued on, well, he's giving these women too
much positive affirmation where they're going to end up being hurt,
and it's like, so I'm giving them too much or
not enough. It's just you realize it's all over the
board across the spectrum. I'm either saying too much or

(17:56):
I'm not saying enough. Listen, I get there's certain things
that I'm like, yes, are certainly annoying, like the licking
my lips thing. I didn't know I did that until
I noticed that they've never noticed it. When I'm watching
the show, I forget. I am so sorry because you
will Now that's all you'll see because once you realize it,

(18:16):
like I realized that because I'm I'm very hyper aware
of like myself and how I'm portrayed, So once I
saw it, I was like, oh my gosh. And then
certain then all of a a sudden, tweets start coming in,
and yeah, it's everything gets critiqued, and I don't know
why I do it. I think maybe it's a nervous
kind of tick per se or whatever it could be,
but all of it, Yeah, it's just so heavily scrutinized,

(18:38):
and you realize that you're like, I can't keep everyone happy,
so instead of me trying to maybe I should just
go ahead and push it all away and just take
a step back and focus on other things that actually
do make me happy and stop trying to please everyone. Well, Clayton,
I don't know if you knew this, but sign up
for the Bachelor, you're supposed to be perfect, like, you
can't have a past, you can't have dated in the past,

(18:58):
you can't have slept around. Basically, you can have no fun,
no personality, must personality. Listen you, I mean, you said
it best. You're not going to please everyone. There's always
going to people that say you do too much, too little,
and if they don't say about you, they're saying it
about somebody else on the show. It's just there's no

(19:20):
way to make everyone happy. So you just really have
to focus on what's going to make you happy in
this world now that you're in it. One thing and
kind of going into that comment about how you're too
reassuring to the women and then going back to what
you just previously said in one of your answers, is
you're listening so much, You're really taking in all of

(19:42):
the things that these women are saying. It leads me
to kind of take a step back and remember those
first couple of weeks when I was the lead, because
I remember meeting twenty five thirty men who already knew
enough about me and the position that I was. I
really felt like I was kind of in your shoes

(20:05):
where I was listening so much because I was really
trying to pick apart all of these men and to
see who could actually fit into my life and be
a good partner for me. And so I remember those
first couple of weeks listening so much, and really they
weren't asking a lot of questions about me. It was
more at the other end where I was asking so
much about these guys. Is that kind of where you

(20:25):
felt yourself in this role is because you were really
trying to pick apart each woman, each relationship to see
who would be the best fit for you. Oh yeah, absolutely.
I think for me and what I caught early on,
it was actually pretty interesting because I saw there was
a contrast between Michelle season and mine. We went in
on Michelle's side of things knowing kind of who she was,

(20:47):
right or having the basics. I mean, we didn't know
her truly down to her core, but we had an
idea she's a teacher's former athlete, like we had a
background and on this side of things, as I found out,
the women didn't really know who I was at I mean,
they showed up night one and they're like, who, what's
it gonna look like? We don't know, Like I think
they found out a few days before they showed up
on you for the limos, And I found like early

(21:10):
on our conversations the women would be asking, you know,
like we'll tell me about you, but I would switch
it back on them because I knew, like night one,
I had five maybe at most five minutes with some
of these women, so I would switch it right back. Well,
I'd be like, okay, hey, like you know, I'll answer
the question. Then I would go right back to but like, hey,
like so tell me about you know, kind of like
what you've done, what you did prior, how did you
get here? Like I wanted to get to know them

(21:32):
as much as possible, because again that night, the first night,
you sent home like seven women. So you know, for me,
it's like I need to know as much as I
can know about someone in five minutes so that I'm
not sending somebody home. Potentially that could be like the
perfect match for me, I just missed out on maybe
like getting the right like the little tidbits that I
needed to make a conscious decision. And the fact of

(21:54):
the matter is is like night one, I don't think
I spoke to five or six of the women. You
just can't get around to all of it regardless. So yeah,
I found early on I was like, just ask as
many questions as you can. But that's what people are
seeing now on TV is the women are doing a
ton of talking and I'm just over there like, yeah,
it's because like I'm asking the questions and then I'm
just letting them speak because that's how I was going

(22:15):
to get to know him so I can make those
decisions at the end of it all. Two months is
two months, and I found out two months is plenty
of time when that's all you have to focus on
his relationships. But the last thing I wanted was to
feel like I ran out of time with somebody. I
didn't want that to be the deciding factor, right. And
I'm sure like coming from because you know, I was
on Matt season, which was the last season I came
in as a contestant, and I feel like as a contestant,

(22:38):
you come in and you know, Okay, I might only
have three to five minutes with this guy tonight, and
at the end of the night, he has to make
a decision. So as much as I want to see
if there's a connection there, I really want to show
him who I am so I can leave feeling like,
you know, if it didn't work out, I showed him
who I am. I shared my story. He got a

(22:59):
vibe for my person soonality. So, and I mean they've
I don't know what the quarantine was like on your season,
but we were in a room for like five days.
I mean I was ready to talk for hours when
I go out of there. So I mean, I'm sure
you're finding You're asking questions, and these women are excited
to share with you who they are. Yeah. The big
thing was again, it's like in the real world, if

(23:22):
you went out on a date, you would have a
nice back and forth, you would have you know, you'd
ask some questions, they'd ask them some questions. Hopefully you
would get that fifty fifty kind of effort on both sides.
But in this environment, it's like, you really hope for me.
At the end of the day, I was like, listen,
like hopefully over a time, like you guys will will
be able to get to know me the longer you're here.

(23:42):
But like a lot of these conversations are gonna be
ninety ten, right like you, ninety percent of time you're talking,
I'm listening that you know, for that ninety percent, and
then I'm talking for the other ten And it can
be a lot. It's kind of a it takes a
little bit of an adjustment period. And I could tell
like at first kind of women they want to ask
the questions, but I would just turn it right back
because again, when I was back on a shell season,

(24:03):
I felt like I had three minutes and I'm like
clocks ticking. Second I sat down, I was like, all right, Michelle,
I'm a medical sales I played football like I was
just like firing off bullet points. And it felt kind
of forced. And I remember walking out of that first
conversation with her being like, yeah, I feel like I
just read my resume to her like that was it.
I don't know if there's any personality involved. I just
straight up read it off. But that's kind of again,

(24:27):
three minutes boom, next guy could come of walking in
smiling and you're like, all right, well there goes that
speed dating. Yes, yes, very much so well, And what
people need to keep in mind is we're only two
weeks in, Like, we've only seen two episodes, so of
course it's going to be more getting to know all
of these women. As time goes on and as the
cast goes down and you have more intimate one on

(24:49):
one time with most of these women, We're going to
see you more. We're going to see more of your personality,
more of the conversations, more of that banter, more of
these connections form. We've only seen two episodes and this
week unfortunately didn't get one, so that will come. I
know it seems like a lot right now, and a
lot of those comments about you know, you not doing enough,
for being too much of this or that, whatever it
might be. But let it breathe everyone again, give him

(25:12):
some time, give him some patience. It's not easy being
the Bachelor, I know, as fun as it is dating
thirty people. Clayton, how difficult was it? Truly? Extremely difficult? Again,
the biggest thing that I wanted to early on was like, okay,
don't forget names and don't mix up stories, because the
last thing you want to do is go into a
conversation and be like, yeah, remember when you told me

(25:33):
about that experience you had so and so, And she's like,
that was one of the other girls, Like you don't
want to you don't want that to happen, Like I
think you're talking about one of the other women. So
early on, I'm like, just get the stories straight. Make
sure that like you're being the best listener possible, because again,
like that's important for relationship. I think I've seen studies
where it's like people that are great listeners tend to
be more well liked because again it's like everyone likes

(25:55):
to feel like they're being heard. And that to me again,
as I've seen in the medical profession sales, it's like
everyone loves to talk about themselves, so you know, lend
that ear to them, and that's how you get to
I mean, people will give up so much information about
themselves if you just sit there and actively listen, and
so I try to do that. But with thirty women,
it's like there's thirty different personalities. And as I'm seeing

(26:17):
from just the first two episodes, I was like, man,
I live this experience, but when I'm seeing almost feels
like an entirely new experience because I didn't know this
was happening, and I do actually want to address something
head on right now because I've seen it. It's kind
of been bubbling up on social media and it was
frustrating for me to watch as well, this is kind
of pertaining to this is pertaining to Elizabeth and shine

(26:37):
that drama. I didn't realize that sheney that you went
after her to the degree that she did about her
at ADHD. I don't condone that behavior at all. It
was very upsetting for me to watch and realize that
someone would make a joke out of someone having a deficit,
and that was something where again for me seeing for
the first time, I was frustrated by it because I

(27:01):
don't think that anybody should be doing that, coming after
someone for something that again like they were born with
their have and they have to deal with on a
daily basis. I also am very impressed by what I'm
seeing from Elizabeth. I know she's now using her platform
for good, but yeah, you know, you see these aspects
of the show that like I didn't know we're happening,
We're occurring, and it's again it's eye opening and but

(27:27):
That's where again I go back to people say why
didn't you react to this, and it's like, I didn't
know the severity of the situation, and unfortunately it did
occur as we've all we all saw and now it's
like okay, people like are saying, like, how can you
keep someone around like this? It's like, just again, I
keep in mind that if I'm not there on screen,

(27:47):
I'm not there, which means I'm not privy to it.
But I just I just actually just wanted to bring
that up because again, I think it's important for people
to understand that, like I personally don't support that kind
of behavior coming after somebody for for deficit so that
they may have that they're working their best to overcome,
and especially through on a national platform. I can only imagine,
you know, what Elizabeth was going through, having to have

(28:08):
that cast out not only to the women but to
the entire world. I think she's doing a great job
of it, and I'm glad to see that she's being
able to find some positive avenues to drive this focus towards,
you know, fostering some good discussion and putting like this
all towards a fundraiser. Thank you for bringing that up.
That's a good point, and that's something that Serena and

(28:28):
I had touched on last week on the podcast, and
obviously it was a big conversation in the episode that
we saw last week. So I appreciate you taking this
time and some moments to speak on that. Absolutely. Yeah, yes,
and I do think you know, it's only been two episodes.
You clearly haven't been afraid to take the steps to
send people home and when we saw it in the
first episode with Claire, So I think everyone can just

(28:50):
be a little patient with you. Give you some grace.
I think you can give yourself some grace. You're doing
a fantastic job, and just let the season unfold. You know,
we're going to see a lot more of you, a
lot more drama, and I'm sure there's gonna be tons
of opportunities for you to get friends and situations, both
on the show and through the podcast. Yeah, patience is key,
and that's where like, even me, I'm like, Clayton, be patient.

(29:12):
You know how this story unfull is, And yet you're
the one who's like, now like listening to all these
comments and being like I'm getting impatient. I just want
this to happen, and it's like, oh, like, just give it.
There's plenty. You got eight more episodes, havery more episodes
I've had. This story will unfold the truth. Let it breathe,
Let it breathe, baby, let's get Let's just bring it
back to the very very beginning, because obviously, again we

(29:36):
didn't have you on Michelle's season on our podcast to
talk through anything to get to know you. So I
want to know because I don't think you'd ever watched
the show before. So how did you get cast on
Michelle season? I was reached out to on social media.
Funny enough, I think I made like an Instagram. I
think it's just a year ago that I made one,

(29:56):
just because it seemed like all my friends had funneled
away from f book. So I felt that I was
out of the loop. And so I was like, I
have to download Instagram. I remember trying to creep on Instagram,
like go on like instagram dot com. I didn't. I
didn't want to actually download the app. And then I
realized you have to download the app to see the content.
So I made the Instagram and then, yeah, I was

(30:16):
reached out to that way, and of course I thought
it was fake and I was like, Okay, this is
Brye some spam. But but yeah, that was there. Was
reached out to that way and just kept going step
by step through the process and now all the way
on this side of it. So wait, you know, come
full circle. I have to know. So you don't let
an Instagram about a year ago, but you like you've

(30:37):
lived your single tunnies, did you have girls comment on
the fact that you didn't have Instagram, Because frankly, when
I was dating, if someone was like, oh I don't
have Instagram, I'm like, Okay, either you're a creep or
you're lying and I'm gonna find you you're a serial killer. Yeah,
I had a lot of Yeah, I've had like a
few women that they brought it to my attention to
there like yeah, I definitely sent my location to my

(30:58):
friends because I couldn't find many pictures of you because
you just have a Facebook and that's about it. And obviously,
like some of the dating apps, like I had my
few pictures, but they couldn't like go and see yeah,
like his Instagram, Like why is this guy to have
an Instagram? Is this really him? Like all those questions
I had and it was never enough for me to

(31:18):
be like, Okay, I need to make an Instagram because
my character was being questioned or even my identity. But certainly, yeah,
that was a conversation I've had a couple of times. Well,
the good thing is going on the Bachelorette. There's no phone,
so you don't even need Instagram. But I mean, we
saw a little bit of you on Michelle season. Do
you want to just touch on how your experience was

(31:38):
on the show? I mean we saw your journey, looked
like you were growing feelings for Michelle and obviously it
didn't work out. Yeah, it was That was really the
whole experience helped second way me very well into the
role as the bachelor, and it was a lot with
having to do with like not only Michelle, but the
other guys as well. I was blown away by the

(32:00):
quality of men that they brought on. There were so
many of them that had very successful backgrounds, They had
a lot of confidence. They just were very comfortable in
their own skin, and that was something that I struggled
with definitely coming into it. I you know, being in Columbia,
Missouri and dating dating, it's like if you're kind of

(32:20):
like you can be a big fish in a small
pond per se. But then all of a sudden, you
go and you can get these guys that are all
like they picked from all across the country and they
were really just like incredible human beings that I started
seeing my confidence start to waver coming on the show.
First person I saw was Nate. I remember that was
the first person that I saw, and I'm like, he's
six foot eight, good looking guy, and I'm like, oh

(32:41):
my gosh, Like I'm gonna be like it's gonna be
a whole basketball team of guys and I'm gonna be
the shorty at six foot five, and so yeah, it
was like a shock to me. And then I started
talking to the guys getting to know them, and the
whole experience really allowed me to step back and I
had a lot of help from the guys who talked
to me one on one. More than a few guys

(33:03):
reached out obviously or we're actively helping me along the way.
You know. I roomed with Brandon on the tail end
of the show, and I mean we bonded so hard,
like in those you know, that week or so that
I was there as his roommate because we just talked
about life. We sat up, we called a pillow talk,
and we would have talked for like three or four

(33:23):
hours and then up being wiped out the next day, like, hey,
did you have three to four hours to talk? I
feel like we got no time alone, no time to sleep.
How did you squeeze in those hours? Well, we would
get That's the thing. We would get, like we would
get maybe five hours to sleep and we would talk
for three, so we'd end up getting two hours. And
I would always be like, Brandon, I'm going to that.
He's like nah Man's pillow talk time. And I was like,

(33:45):
oh my god, that's so cute. But He's I grew
very quickly. I was like, this, guys is incredible. He
taught me a lot. He taught me the power of
just like if you really care about somebody, go above
and beyond right. He was a big note writer. He
truly was like any moment I could get with her,
like I want to show her that I care. And

(34:05):
that's where he showed me, like, hey, write a note,
whatever you can do, go the extra step to show
somebody that you truly care about him. He got me
into journaling. That was so critical. On my side of
things where I used that as much as I could
because I didn't have friends of family around, so I'd
be writing that and that would help just put my
thoughts on paper and help me decompress. And then the

(34:26):
big thing with Michelle was she opened me back up
to fully tearing down my walls and realizing, like, you
want this relationship more than anything, like you want to
be happy with one person, like your single life that
you went through wasn't giving you that. And it came
down to that last date. I was very I was

(34:46):
still very guarded going into that last date with Michelle,
like I was slow to open up. And as we
saw in the season, I saw it my conversations with
her weren't as deep. They're more surface level versus other
guys because I was just very cautious. But I got
into that last date and the museum day, it was
so much fun. It was just like it really showed
me like I was able to start opening up to her,
and then by the end of it, I'm like, wow,

(35:06):
like I actually feel something special here, Like there's a
like we're taking it to the next step as far
as this relationship. I haven't done this in a why
every time I get to this point with somebody in
the past, I would shut down because I you know,
I had my own battle scars from my previous relationship
that I was in, and so i'd use you would
shut off. But I just kept pushing forward with Michelle,
and yeah, and then she opened me up. Obviously, then

(35:28):
she sent me home right after that point, but she
told me, you know, hey, stay true to yourself and
don't close back off. Promised me that, and I didn't,
and that's what allowed me then to go into the
Bachelor and come in more open than I had been
really since my previous wayship six years ago. Yeah. So,
I'm sure your answers are going to be vastly different
from Michelle's season versus your own season. But during your

(35:50):
time on Michelle's season, were there any moments in particular
that really stand out to you that were especially great
or challenging you se on michelle season? Yeah, yeah, yeah,
we're very challenging. Um, I think not one thing stands

(36:10):
out off the top of my head. I think because
that's the whole experience was challenging. So night one I
thought about going home like six times. I was like,
what are you doing here. You don't belong these Some
of these guys are huge characters, like what did you
get yourself into? And so it was challenging in that
respect for me. Then for the first week or so,
I think I was in my shell. And that's where

(36:32):
it's like when it came into conversations with Michelle, I
would I was kind of guarded and I was just
trying to get to know her, but she was asking
me a lot of questions, and I remember trying to
like ask her more questions, but she would push it
back to me the same way that I did when
I was I was the lead as well. It's like
the lead tries to push the questions onto the women
to get to know them or the men. But I
was just trying to figure everything out. And I look

(36:55):
back at that now and I don't know. I'm like,
did should I have watched priory sees? Like would that
have helped give me an idea? I don't know if
I'll ever have the answer to that, because I went
in with just like basically with the blinders on, kind
of went in like all right here, I Am like,
we're gonna just have fun with it all and make
this as authentic as possible. I still don't know to
this day if that was beneficial or not, but it

(37:18):
definitely made it challenging because everything was new to me,
and so when I go into new environments, I get
very quiet and I just take in as much as
I can. Like that's because I'm like, don't open your
mouth and be a fool. Like there's some famous quote
or something I loved, like someone reference to me, like
better for people to think you're a fool than to
open your mouth and remove all doubts, And that was

(37:40):
like what I thought going into I'm like, do not
just take it all in and then you'll start to
open up as time goes on. So but with that, yeah,
everything was challenging on Michelle season. It was all just
brand new. Well to your point, and this is something
that Serena and I had talked about it. I believe
what in our first episode of your season with Jesse
Palmer is because you win in not watching previous seasons.

(38:02):
You didn't have a game plan, you didn't have this
rule book or notes on what to do or what
not to do or when to say certain things, which
for me personally as a viewer, I find very endearing.
I mean, I know it's that's not necessarily the case
because I think so many people that tend to go
on the show now are fans. They kind of know
how each season works, what happens when, what you should

(38:25):
do in certain situations, and for you, you're kind of
just like going with the wind and going, you know,
wherever it takes you, and which I will say, I
love that you are able to ask more questions, especially
with Jesse, of like has this happened before? How what
do you do in this case? Like any advice, which
I think it's more fresh and refreshing for me, I

(38:47):
would say, yeah, I And I think some people do
see that as like why, like what is this guy doing?
Does he not know how it works? It's like no, no, no,
I don't like it's all as people will see, and
I'll be able to talk on some of these things
more as they pop up. But some of the things
that happened I remember just like looking over at Jesse
or whoever and be like is this for real? Like

(39:09):
this can we do this? Like? And I think people
have already seen that in teasers like with me be like,
you know, what are your thoughts on this can I
do this? Because every day I would just like wake
up and then I'd be like, okay, like let's go
about my day, and all of a sudden this happened.
I'm like, wait, is this par for the course? Yeah?
Apparently it is. But I didn't want to be influenced
by the outside world or any external factors that would

(39:30):
cause me to change who I was. And for that, yeah,
I can say that through the entire experience, I was
one hundred percent myself and took those course of actions
that I thought were best. But had I'd watched prior seasons,
might I had went about it differently and maybe made
some better decisions potentially. Yes, I just that that's a

(39:52):
huge one if game that you can you'll never win
trying to flight. Yeah, And I think, as much as
it's kind of a cheesy thing to say, the best
thing you can do going on any of these shows
is to just be yourself. And it's it's so corny,
but it is true because that is how you're going
to give yourself the best chance at finding a connection

(40:12):
or realizing that that's not the connection for you. And
I think whether you go and blind going in as
a fan you know, that brings out the most genuine people,
and that's how people find love. And I think that's
why you know, people like you, Clayton. You you were
a hundred percent yourself on michelle season, and that's why
we see all of the men from that season really

(40:32):
rooting for you. And Michelle as well has been so
open about like her admiration for you and her excitement
around you being the Bachelor. So you have a lot
of support and I think that just speaks to the
fact that you were so yourself and genuine on you know,
Michelle's season. We are seeing that from you on this season.
But I mean, I think there was a lot of
excitement from your cast about you being the Bachelor. What

(40:55):
was your reaction when you got the call? I mean,
where you sup? I had to feel it was a
good thing that I was sitting down, because I just
I would have probably just like you know, I was
so in shock when I got when I got the call,
and I think again, it happened so quickly. I went
from Michelle's season to mine a month later. And what

(41:18):
was great about it was like talking to the women,
I was like, hey, I was just in your shoes,
like I was literally in your shoes not even a
month ago, and that really helped, I think quell a
lot of that early on. I think there was a
lot of that nervousness with these women, but they I
like quickly. I think it calmed them down by being like, hey,
I'm just as nervous, like I am not that far

(41:38):
moved from it, and I have no pro by any means,
but yeah, to be had to have them bring that
to me, it meant so much because it was not
only humbling, but I was just very thankful to be
even considered had I not even had end up getting
the role as the bachelor, Like just for them to say, hey, like,
we like you, we think you're a good guy, and
we're considering you for this, it was I think reflective

(42:02):
upon me as far as letting me know, Okay, you're
doing some things right, you're a good guy and people
see that. And that's again, I've always been a people pleaser.
That's just my personality. I always try to make people
happy before I make myself happy. You got to find
that balance, for sure, But that's where it's Yeah, it's
the challenge. It's like I know that the producers saw
this in me, and that's why they gave me the opportunity.

(42:23):
And now I'm hoping that most people will see that
long term once this is all done again. Everyone needs
to have some patience, and I think it will come
around that way. But yeah, I mean an absolute shock. You. Obviously,
I thought my journey was over on Michelle's side, and
I was like, Okay, I'm gonna go back and make
some changes in my life. I just didn't realize the
changes would be as magnanimous. Well, I have to say,

(42:45):
I thought it was very, very cute the little clip
at the beginning of your season where you went and
you told your mom, yeah, oh, yeah, she is a
major bachelor Bachelor family. She's been she's been with the
franchise since the beginning of time, and so she yeah,
she was completely caught off guard. I came in on

(43:06):
like a Tuesday, because normally it was summertime when I
told her, and towards the end of it, and I
would usually come back in the weekends to go on
the boat with my parents, so I could just sit
out on the boat and relax under the sun. It
was great. And I came back on like a Tuesday
at night and she's like, what are you doing there?
And yeah, I commented her breathe. She started getting breathing
really heavily. I'm like, oh my gosh, i'mna have to

(43:27):
hold her. She's going to pass out on camera here.
But yeah, just as everyone saw, like, my mom is
so very supportive, so excited, she's always texting me. But
you know, the sad part about it is she's taking
all of this criticism worse than I am. And so
that's been actually very you know for me, I haven't

(43:47):
been too excited about that. It's like I've taken in
a certain way. But like my mom really really is
struggling with it, and I tell her to get off
social media and she can't do it either. She's like
so curious, but it's driving her absolutely wild. And I
think that's just where I if anyone watches this and
and thinks about typing a negative comment, I'm like, realize

(44:08):
that it's not just me that you're affecting, you know,
it's like it's my loved ones. You're affecting my mom.
And again, like some of these comments and after the
show can only show what they can show in two hours,
so I get it. Like we all know they filmed
so much, but only like what makes it as one
percent of what was filmed. But sometimes it's like okay,
Like I recently my brother texted me after this last episode.

(44:31):
He was like, hey, you did a lot of kissing
on the episode. You didn't really do a lot of talking.
Like I'm kind of like, like, what are you doing? Man?
Like you need to be getting to know these women.
And I remember like that hearing it from a loved one,
someone who knows me is questioning who I am as
a person. That hit me really hard. And so it's
like I think people have to understand, like your words
do affect me, Like and I'll put a smile on

(44:53):
and every day I'll start brand new and then start
the day over and I'll look forward to like what's
to come. But like those one kind and you think
it's just one comment, understand that I'm not just reading
that one comment. I'm reading your comment. I'm reading the
ten thousand other comments and they all pile on and
it can be a lot, and it doesn't It can
really affect someone's mental health, not only mine but my mom's.

(45:14):
And so yeah, again I go from these tangents because
I have so much to say as I think about,
like what all has occurred since I've been the Bachelor.
But while it has been such a phenomenal experience, while
it was so exciting to get that call to be
the next Bachelor, I'm now seeing that the hardest parts
actually not so much the show's it's the aftermath. It's

(45:35):
this part of it now watching it with the public. Yeah,
I mean, I'm sure we can all say this from
being on several seasons. The filming part is fun, you know.
Of course, there's drama and there's there's a lot of stress,
and it can be very very difficult, But the airing
of everything back is when it gets very very difficult.
And I'm so glad you touched on the point of

(45:57):
it not only affecting you but your family, because I mean,
I get it. There's there's a support system, I feel
like for everyone in bachel Nation with each other who
have gone through this similar experience, but there's not really
one for the parents and the siblings and other family members.
So I want to say, like, if your mom ever
needs anyone to talk to, my mom is widely available.
She would love to just give any advice to be

(46:19):
a shoulder to cry on. Same with Thomas's family, I know.
I mean, he was villainized on Katie's season of the Bachelorette,
and he went through a really hard time and it
really really affected his mom, it really affected his sister,
even his brother who had never watched the show before.
And so everyone just take a second to realize that,

(46:40):
like again, words do matter, They hold weight, they can
cut people down, and they can really affect other family
members who just love and know you for who you are.
And so I'm glad that you mentioned that because I
don't think people hear it enough. I don't think people
remember that enough. It can be very, very difficult. So
if your mom needs anyone, I'll give her Jill conference number. Okay,

(47:03):
I do appreciate that, Thank you so much. Yeah, she honestly, Yeah,
I think she's She's also as leaks go on, I
think she'll become all get a little more acclimated to it.
It's just that initial shock. Yeah, And I think over
time it may get better, make it worse, but I
will I'll keep that mind because I think it would
be It's always great to hear from people who have
experience with it, and I mean, listen, you are the lead,

(47:25):
like you are America's most eligible, eligible bacher right now,
and if you're getting you know, hate or crap or
you know, all these negative things coming norway. Also remember
women on your season and contestants from past seasons, if
they're villainized or if they're painted in some sort of
bad spotlight, like how difficult it is for them as well?

(47:47):
Who aren't the lead? Who aren't you know, beloved and
sought after in this moment? It's it's it's a weird
world that we all get ourselves into. Um And I'm
sure you did a lot after getting that initial call
to prep for being the lead, right, Like, there's so
much echoes into it, physically, mentally, emotionally. So how did
you prepare yourself and get ready for being the Bachelor? Well,

(48:12):
like so many things that you said, it physically, mentally, emotionally.
I remember, Like physically first off, I was like, guys,
we need to get me a sense of style because
on Michelle's side of it, oh my gosh, I've had
I packed. I remember I had a conversation one night
they go, we did you guys at a dress for
like a kind of business casual or something on those
sides like a date night of fancy date night and

(48:33):
I walk out of the hotel out of my room
like no, Clayton like we need something for a date.
And I was like, yeah, this is what i'd wear
like it was just like I remember, it was like
a like monarch, like was this like a It was
like a plain light green T shirt and I had
on these like kind of there are shorts, but they
were like but they were version yes part yeah. And

(49:00):
they are like do you have a dress shirt? And
I don't think I brought a single dress shirt? Uh there?
And they're like what are you doing? I'm like, I don't.
When I go on dates, I just wear T shirts
or like uh you know, I don't. I don't know
it's T shirts. Need to go shopping together. Both Well,
listen the good thing about like what happened on on
my side of this journey, because on Michelle's side, I

(49:22):
think I did wear a pair of jeans one episode.
They're like straight dad jeans, not form fitting at all.
At least now I will only wear fit of jeans.
So that there's been some good that's come out of it.
But how you posted like a photo making fun of
your style. I forget what you said something about like
rich kid with a lawyer dad. Yeah, yeah, okay, yeah,
yeah yeah. I was Again, it was kind of fun

(49:44):
because on my side, I told the like, you know,
what's your style. I was like, let's just open it up, like,
let me just wear everything across the board and figure
out what it is. I like, uh and so I
think if yeah, for watching it now, I realize I'm like,
there's like, oh, one one day he's wearing this pole,
the next day he's wearing a blazer with a hoodie
under it. I was just going. I was just trying
to all out because I was like, Hey, this is fun,
Like I get to kind of like try on these

(50:05):
clothes and see what works best. But yeah, that was
like physically, um, you know, I want to get my
fashion the fashion down. Another thing too that I uh
just joke Joe casually walking in Hey Joe, um and
uh No. I also remember as well, I was like
I think I was. I was stocking up a little

(50:26):
bit as far as I was making sure to eat
a little more calories before going into the show because
I knew that I probably wasn't going to have the
same access to like all the food that I wanted,
or like get being able to work out because you
have so much of your time is spent, you know,
talking with the women that you don't get to have
that time to focus on nutrition and exercise. So I
bulked up a little bit going into the show, like
all these little things I got, like, oh, I know
you met with Jason Creole showed out to Jason. Oh

(50:50):
my god, he's too Yeah, he told me. Yeah, he's
Jason's awesome. He uh Like day one, He's like, Okay,
what do you want to work on. I'm like, just
you know, some more bodyweight stuff. I'm not a big runner.
He's like, well, that's too bad because we're running. So
he got me and I love it now. I love it.
Like he's got me doing sprints now. Like I've just
carried on with like his workouts and yeah, he's great.

(51:10):
He's so motival, motivational. He's gonna be so happy he.
I would see him after he would train you every
morning and he'd be like, I just kicked Clayton's ask again,
just kicked his ass. My god, a guy, Jason, I'm
so proud of you. He would be picking me up
off the floor. Like his workouts were what forty five
minutes if that? But like he's that guy. You start
trying to make conversation, He's like, I know you're trying

(51:32):
to do get back to it, like he puts, he
puts you right back on that. But I mean he
got me in this great shape. Yeah, I obviously, like
I love working with him. He was awesome, such a
genuine guy, knows what he's talking about. And then mentally
for the show, I just had to tell myself, Okay,
you're going in alone, so you need to like you

(51:52):
need to just understand, like how are you going to
make sense of everything around you? And that's where I
took to like the journaling and just taking time to
like sit there and at night and kind of just
stare up at the sailing and let my thoughts just
run wild. I just had to make sure I put
certain things in place so that I was ready for
what was to come, which I realized, no matter how
much I prepared, I was never going to be able
to be fully ready for what was about to come.

(52:13):
By way, you can try and prep as much as
you want. You can talk to past bachelors. For any
advice as much as you want, but nothing is ever
the same each season. You really have no idea what
to expect. All right, clean, I have one last question
for you before we get into our game, and that
is night one as the Bachelor. Did you have your

(52:35):
top four in mind? Like, did you know, Okay, these
are going to be my girls, there's somebody here for me? No? No,
I remember Night one. I thought I was very confident
about probably ten or twelve and that's okay, that mean
like that was my number. That's how that's how impressed
I was by the women. I remember being like, okay,
there's ten or twelve of these women that I could

(52:56):
see any one of them potentially being the one. I
knew there was gonna be so much discussion that would
have to have and so many experiences and interactions that
would occur. But Night one, like, yeah, I mean, for
I thought that was pretty good to be just right
straight off the bat one conversation or like just initial introductions.
I felt very very good about pye ten, twelve, damn okay, wow.
I was going to ask you for like your top three,

(53:17):
because usually that's what carry the stylist would ask every
every season, but ten or twelve, all right, we gotta over.
I like it. I like it. At least you were set.
That's good. You know it's a good place. I realized.
I knew I was in a good place. But I
was like, okay, if it's this many night one, you
got your work cut out for you. And I did.

(53:38):
I definitely did. I love it all right, Okay, we
love our games at batch or happy hour, so we
are going to play a little game. It's basically it's
going to be a basic ass rapid fire. Okay, because
again so many people still really want to get to
know you, but we just have to start with the basics.
So basically, Serena and I are going to give you
a question and you just a sut whatever comes to mind.

(54:02):
Rabbit Fire is like the hardest thing for me because,
as you guys have seen, I talked so much, but
I'll do you have my best effort. It's like it
confines me to a box. I think, I like, this
is not going to be in his element. He's gonna
want to explain every answer I can already clean. You
were like me, we just like to talk. I get it.
I get it. Okay, So to kick it off. It's

(54:22):
gonna be very basic, basic ass, rapid fire. Okay, what
is your favorite color? Red? Oh? Dogs or cats? Dogs?
Jeans are sweats? Sweats? Okay? What is your drink of choice?

(54:43):
Imagine alcoholic? Is that what we're talking about? Sure, let's
go alcohol Manhattan, oh, says the guy who ordered what
Jack Daniels on the Rocks. When I did, I did,
but then I got had the Manhattan after I liked
it a lot. And now back on the because Thomas
gave you shit. That's I know he did. Sometimes I
need people to give me some ship for me to
get me back on the encourse. He's just expanding your horizons,

(55:05):
just like the Bapster did. Okay, what toppings do you
like on your pizza? Toppings? Okay? Uh? Sausage, pepperoni, Uh, bacon? Okay.
What was the first concert you went to? Uh? In sync?
What I'm gonna have to at some point, I'm gonna

(55:30):
have to like explain that one. But I end up,
I'll say real quickly, I end up crying because I
was like twelve years old and my aunt brought me.
I was the only guy there and I cried. I
was like, why am I the only guy here. I
didn't realized. I didn't realize I was in heaven at
the time, but I was twelve. Oh my god, I'm
so jealous. Okay, Well, speaking of music, what is your
go to karaoke song? Uh? Oh gosh, it could be

(55:53):
any country song. I think when She Comes Home Tonight
by Riley Green. Okay. I thought it was gonna be
tearing up my heart by in Sick, but we'll go
with country. I've been on a country kick. I feel
like I know the answer to this next one. Well,
what is your favorite chee day meal? There we go always?

(56:15):
How many times can we plugged Chipotle? So we all
get it's hard? Okay? Chipotle, bats are Happy Hour, loves you,
endorse us, hit us up. That's all right, I'll plug
it too much. No, we gotta plug it more. Serena,
okay clean? Are you a night owl or an early riser?

(56:37):
Early riser? All right? Favorite way to work up a sweat?
Were working out? Well, we're gonna go kind of get
I know. I was like I thought, but the original
thought popped in my head. I said, Nope, not there.

(56:58):
What are your three quality is that you look for
in a romantic partner, honesty, transparency and just being funny,
good ones, any guilty pleasures rather than Chipotle. I've messed
this before. Like, I like candles, so I don't I

(57:21):
like kind of just lighting up some candles and yeah,
just and relaxing. Nice. How old were you when you
had your first kiss? Oh? That thanks you back. It
was seventh grade and I remember I kissed with my
hands behind my back. I was so nervous I didn't
even put my hands on her. It was the most
awkward kiss and she told everybody the next day at
school that I was a terrible kisser. It was it hurt. Oh,

(57:43):
you've come a long way from kissing the hands behind
the back to being the bad storm kissing thirty women. Yeah,
you make it. I'm glad they're Yeah. So I've heard
people don't like the kissing noises. That's the whole other conversation. Sorry,
I can't control that one. Well, they can turn their
volume down. Do you want kids someday? Yes? Who is

(58:04):
your best friend from Boucher Nation? Brandon? And last, but
not least, do you believe in aliens? Oh? What a
closing question? And I can't explain indetail oh my gosh,
because I want Yeah, I believe in extra extraterrestrial life.
Do I think it's intelligent? I don't know, I'll believe

(58:25):
it that. Okay, Okay, Actually I have one more question
that's not here written down, but I need to ask
it because somebody asked me this and it was so good.
What is something about you that people know about you
that you wish they didn't Oh? Man, well, I'm like
an open book. So everything I say it just like

(58:46):
it's like I throw it out there regardless, something that
people know I wish they didn't know. I don't know.
Maybe I'll say the freestyle rapping, because now everybody wants
me to rap on their like in podcast or in interviews,
and I'm like, it was mainly a joke. Although my teammates,
my teammates in college and when I briefly was an

(59:07):
NFL people back me up like I brought it, Like
I definitely brought the energy. But now it's like it's
people like they expect me to be really good. I'm like,
I didn't sound it was good at freestyle and I
just said I'd like to do it. Do you want
to do? You want to do it? Right? Now see
now was coming get on cameo and people. Yeah, birthday raps,
they can order Christmas raps, Valentine's Day raps. Oh, I

(59:30):
can bring it. Yeah, I get if I get to
pick my own beats. Yeah, those are big words for
somebody who keeps saying they can bring it and then
they won't do it on our podcast. I'm a little
bit offended the story and I was. I was viving
with it. It was pretty good. Okay, thank you. Yeah,
I thought that was decent. I had brought that out
the wood works after shelving it for for a year
or two, Like I used to bust it out a

(59:52):
lot more of it. I'm happing. You know, we're going
to have you on Boucher Happier or again, I'm sure
for the finale, So be prepared you we're going to
have to freestyle rap with categories of our choosing okay,
all your season really, Oh my gosh, that's like for
good rappers. Good rappers can do that. Here, we'll prep
you a good well, I'll send them to you in advance. Yeah,

(01:00:14):
we'll ask we will ask our followers for different category suggestions,
and then we'll each pick two that you have to
wrap too. Okay, you got a couple of weeks, so
you got time, Todd. Are you guys going to beat
box for me? Oh yeah, well we will work the beatbox. Okay,
if you guys beat if you guys beat box or
get me just any type of beat. I cannot do it. Acapella,

(01:00:35):
please do put me through that. We can do it.
It was like, I'm not part of this. I will
throw it up on YouTube. It's a team efforts. If
we're gonna put me on the spot, we're putting you
guys on the spot. Okay, okay, we're all in this
to get on the side. We're gonna be having a

(01:00:56):
traditional Oh my schedule will be blocked off. Clayton, this
has been such a pleasure having you on. I'm glad
that we just got to know you so much more,
how you're handling this new world that you found yourself
in social media, all of that. Before we let you go,
we ask all of our guests this, it's our number

(01:01:17):
one burning question so far. What has been your rose
and what has been your thorn as your time as
the bachelor? So, oh gosh, it's like pretty reflective, isn't it.
It could be fine. It can be light or I
would say, yeah. The rose would be everyone that I've
met along the way has truly impacted me in a

(01:01:39):
way where I am forever thankful and I've grown so
much as an individual, and so that's definitely the rose.
The thorn would be my curiosity, which will kill me
at some point if I don't step step away from
everything and just take a breather. Yes, good ones, good ones. Yeah,
all right, Clayton, thank you for joining us. I can't
wait to have you back. Can't we to just watch

(01:02:01):
you as your story unfolds. Yes, we are thoroughly enjoying
your season. And I know that there are so many
trolls out there, but just know that you have two
huge fans right here. Well, thank you so much. It's
so fun talking to you all. I obviously ran out
of time. We're all long winded for the most part,
so I'm sure I'll talk to you guys again. But
thank you guys. It was really fun. Thanks Clayton, good
to see you. Thanks Clayton, A yell again, I mean

(01:02:23):
next time. Oh, he is such a pleasure. See this
is I hope people listening in enjoy these sorts of podcasts,
because now you can't say you don't know who Clayton is.
We just handed him. Do you want to platter people?
I mean, I've met him before, I've watched this season,
but I feel like just in this last hour, we
have learned so much more about him. He is his

(01:02:45):
thoughts on the drama this season, and I like him
even more now I do too, and he what I
like after chatting with him is you know, yeah, he's
been getting backlash and he's been having to deal with
people saying some terrible things. But he seems so self aware,
Like he seems he recognizes issues or areas maybe in
which he didn't perform at his best, or he would

(01:03:07):
have done something different, but he realizes that and he's like,
I would have done that differently, or I take myself
or I hold myself accountable for that whatever it might be,
which is I think very refreshing because enough people don't
do that, I would say. So it seems like he's
taking this all in stride. I know it's not easy
to be going through what he's going through, especially when
the season is so early on. I mean, we still

(01:03:29):
have weeks to see this entire journey with him and
all of these women. So there's a lot more that
we still have yet to learn. Serena, I want to
wrap this up by asking you, because we always ask
our guests this, but I feel like we should just
start answering it on our own too because it's so important.
But so far this season, what has been your rose
and what has been your thorn? Oof? That's a toughie, Okay,

(01:03:54):
let me think I'll start with the thorn. I think
the moment this season that really impacted me in a
negative way the most was watching Cheney talk very openly
and negatively about Elizabeth's ADHD. That was really disappointing to watch.

(01:04:14):
And I hope that she has watched it back and
reflected and learned from that. And again shout out to Elizabeth.
I know I talked about her last him on the podcast,
but she handled that so well. And then I think,
my rose, I'm gonna have to go. And I know
that this is kind of like not fully a moment
on the show, but I just love the memes this season.

(01:04:37):
I love every season, but like we're episode two, the
show has been so wild already and the memes have
been popping off. I meanter now, so like I'm scrolling
through as well, and oh my gosh, it's just it's
just chaos already. It is it is castle already. I
would have to agree about the thorn. I definitely would
have to say just seeing the conversation between Shane and

(01:05:00):
Elizabeth about the ADHD has been it was very disheartening,
but I hope again everyone can learn. I would also
say overall a thorn, So I'm just gonna leave it
the same as you and I would say my rose
right now is just it seems like it's a lot
of firsts again. And I will say because it seems

(01:05:22):
like we're finally back at the mansion. There's like this
new zest in the group of women when they finally
move in, and it's Clayton's first time there, it's really
his first time watching any of this back. It just
it seems like there's like these special magical moments that
I feel like we were kind of like a missing energy. Yeah,
you know, we have a new host who's bringing this
whole new life to the show as well, which has

(01:05:43):
been fun. So I would say that it is just
a lot of fun first and I feel like the
show's kind of coming back to what it once was,
which I appreciate. Yeah. So, ladies and gents, thank you
all for tuning in again this week. Thank you for
being with me again, Serena. It's always such a blast
with you. I absolutely love it. And an even bigger
thank you to all of our Bachelor Happy Hour listeners.

(01:06:05):
We couldn't do this each and every week without you.
And I know I've said this before, but a reminder
that we are still casting for the seasons of Bachelor
and Bacherette. So if you want to nominate for yourself
or anybody that you know that you think would be
great for the show, you can head to boucher nation
dot com slash apply. Also make sure to hit us
up on social. You can find us at Bachelor Happy

(01:06:28):
Hour on Instagram and from there you'll find everything you
need to know to follow us on Twitter as well
as tech Talk and Bachelor Happy Hour is available on
Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen, and you
can also listen ad free by subscribing to Wondering plus
an Apple Podcasts or the Wondering app. Thank you so
much again for having me Becca. Thank you to our

(01:06:50):
wonderful guest Clayton. He was such a great time to
interview and thank you to our listeners. We are excited
to see you next week, Bie guys. M