Clayton Echard is discussing this year’s very memorable season premiere of The Bachelor.
Monday’s (January 3) dramatic episode featured a number of surprising moments, including Salley Carson being given a rose before the limos arrived to Claire Heilig being sent home before the cocktail hour started.
Clayton spoke with E! News on Tuesday (January 4) to discuss everything that happened.
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The reality star said he was “initially shocked” when Salley came to his hotel room.
“I realized, ‘Okay, your experience as the Bachelor has begun sooner than you thought and you’re starting right out the gate with a huge bombshell,’” he explained.
While Clayton felt an immediate connection with Salley and wanted her to stay, he revealed their conversation wasn’t as emotional as some viewers thought.
“I was reading stuff online, like, ‘She tells Clayton, I was previously engaged and supposed to get married today,’ and I’m like, I love you. Here’s a rose.’” Clayton laughed. “Like, that’s not how it went down. All right, guys, cut me some slack.”
“We talked for over an hour. Of course, they can’t show all that. So there was more discussion between Salley and I,” he continued. “I really liked what I saw out of her when we talked and my whole thought was, ‘I like this girl. Maybe if she sticks around for a few more days, she’ll be able to kind of quell a lot of those concerns that she has and start building a connection between the two of us.”
He went on to say he “respects” Salley for making the decision to go home.
Clayton went on to discuss all the drama that went down with Claire, who began telling the other contestants she hated him after their one-on-one time was cut short.
“I think as people saw, in the episode, we had a very limited interaction and Mara stole me away. I think that’s where Claire‘s frustration lies,” Clayton explained. “The thing is, yes, she got less time than some of the others, but some didn’t get any time that night.”
“I get where her frustration is, but still, to be going around saying you ‘hate’ me, you ‘just felt like it’s a terrible connection, there’s nothing there.’ Those are very strong emotions that you’re claiming you have for me,” he continued. “And I was like, I don’t have time for this. I don’t want to deal with this.”
“It really did show me, there’s this whole side of this show I’m gonna be watching now that I wasn’t around for. I was always kind of clued in on what was happening with the women in the house. Well, now I’m going to see what really happened.”
The Bachelor airs every Monday on ABC.
See all nine women who went home on Clayton‘s first night…
Source: justjared.com