Clayton Echard: I Effed Up! I’m Sorry for Sending You Home, Elizabeth!

Oops, you guys.

Clayton Echard’s bad!

On Monday night’s brand new episode of The Bachelor, the Season 26 lead had a difficult decision to make.

Should he send home Elizabeth or Shanae, two suitors who had been feuding and stirring up drama, making it evident only one could really survive the week.

“The drama that’s unfolding between Shanae and Elizabeth is starting to affect time that I get to spend with other women,” Clayton said on air. “And I need to address it.”

Clayton tried to sort things out, only for Shanae to accuse Elizabeth of being “fake,” “toxic” and a “bully,” and also of turning all the other contestants against her.

The conflict was far from resolved by the time the Rose Ceremony came around, during which Echard followed the script laid out by producers shocked viewers and handed a flower to Shanae.

Much to the chagrin of most viewers, Elizabeth’s journey came to an end.

But then, well… Echard actually watched the episode last night, many months after it was taped.

He witnessed Shanae throwing the a trophy that the winning group date team won in a flag football game into the bushes and declaring, like a maniacal villain, It’s Shanae Show and not The Bachelor.

And, well… Echard realized he made a grave mistake.

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth, for what you’re going through,” he wrote of this suitorr’s ADHD, which was mocked by Shanae on air, adding on Twitter:

“I wish I could have seen what was happening when I wasn’t there.

“I obviously knew y’all weren’t in a good place with each other, but I thought at the time that it was, solely, petty drama.”

On the episode, Shanae repeatedly minimized the impact ADHD has on Elizabeth’s health.

However, because Echard wasn’t present at the time, he didn’t see what was going on — and chose to send Elizabeth home instead of Shanae, as cited above.

In retrospect, he said on Tuesday:

“I would have sent Shanae home immediately for making fun of you for being neurodivergent, had I known.”

Using this error in judgment as an example, Clayton went on to confess that being The Bachelor isn’t all cocktail parties and makeout sessions in a hot tub.

It’s actually pretty darn stressful.

“Overall, the experience for me watching hasn’t been fun, simply because I’m seeing all the damage that I caused,” he explained.

“I really meant well, but my actions weren’t the best as I now can see the repercussions from my decisions.”

The handsome star, meanwhile, is simply trying to live and learn, while keeping Instagram followers constantly updated:

“I can promise you I’m learning through the mistake though and am doing everything in my power to come out the other side a better man.”

As for Elizabeth?

“I’m looking forward to having an open and honest discussion at the [Women Tell All] with what all happened. It’s important to hold people accountable, including myself,” he Tweeted, to which the aspiring wife replied:

“I’m ready.”

Visit our section of The Bachelor spoilers to discover whether or not Shanae lasts another week.

The Bachelor airs on ABC at 8/7c on Monday nights.

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