Well it was lovely while it lasted!
Former ‘Bachelor’ Clayton Echard, 29, has put an end to his relationship with his Season 26 winner, Susie Evans.
Evan, 29, and Echard announced their split publicly with a joint statement on Instagram this Friday.
“With incredibly heavy hearts, we wanted to share that we have decided to go our separate ways,” they captioned a picture of the former couple laughing together. “For anyone who has ever loved, knows this was a painful decision to make and not one taken lightly.”
The ex-couple didn’t go into details about what led to their split, but did note that social media is just a highlight reel and that they had experienced a significant amount of pain in the past year.
“We know no healthy relationship comes without its struggles, but we’ve realized that we were not prepared for the external forces that hindered our ability to not only heal as individuals but also as a couple,” they added. “We both are focused on continuing to work on ourselves, so we can be the best version of ourselves.”
Echard experienced a lot of scrutiny for how he handled his relationships with his final three contestants: Evans, Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia.
After the Fantasy Suites, the reality star confessed to the women that he had told all of them that he was in love with them.
However, he ultimately picked Evans, deciding that he loved her the most.
The dramatic ending resulted in Windey and Recchia being named the co-leads for the most recent season of “The Bachelorette.”
The two also said, ““This is not an easy time for either of us but we stand in support of each other and hope to see the other go on to find happiness and healing. Although Claysie is no more, we hope that our communities can support us individually as we move forward with love and respect for each other. Thank you to all of you that supported our relationship. It means so much more than you will ever know. ❤️”
Some close sources say that the relationship looked like it was on its last leg back in August.
Echard revealed on Dear Media’s “Not Skinny but Not Fat” podcast that he and Evans decided to pursue a long-distance relationship after having lived together for a few months in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She would be moving to Los Angeles and he to Arizona.
“We’re like, ‘We don’t know if it’s going to be a month-long relationship from here or if it’s gonna be lifetime but, like, there’s no pressure,” he told host Amanda Hirsch at the time. “Let’s just love each other and be thankful.’”
Evans, for her part, revealed in March that she would say no to a proposal from her then-boyfriend.
“We have talked about this, and I’ve told Clayton, if you surprise me with an engagement, I will say no,” Evans said on Nick Viall’s podcast “The Viall Files.” “This is not a fun surprise.”
