Reality Steve Breaks Down Clayton’s Unconventional ‘Bachelor’ Finale

• Clayton Echard is America's next Bachelor. He stars in the show's 26th season.

• The spoilers for his season just keep coming, and the dating drama is major.

• Reality Steve just leaked brand new spoilers—and, he says Clayton's season "does NOT have a traditional ending."

The Bachelor's journey is almost over, Bachelor Nation, and the final rose is just around the corner. A brand new tall, dark, and handsome stud started dishing out blooms this January, but there's still a lot to learn about him (and his drama-filled season).

ABC's newest leading man is Clayton Echard, one of the contestants who was eliminated from Michelle Young's Bachelorette season this fall. Clayton is a 28-year-old orthopedic salesman from Eureka, Missouri, and he's totally ready to find the love of his life on TV.

But for Clayton and his contestants, the path to find love (and a gigantic Neil Lane sparkler) won't be easy.

Can't wait to get all the deets on Clayton's season? Dive into all the biggest spoilers for The Bachelor below:

Warning: spoiler alert! Stop reading here if you don’t want to know what happens on season 26 of The Bachelor!

When did season 26 premiere?

ABC officially announced in November that the next Bachelor would premiere on Jan. 3rd, 2022, per People.

Clayton also posted his own announcement on Instagram:

"Hi, it’s me Clayton…. #thebachelor," he captioned the promo pic. Friends and fans in the comments were super excited, natch. "Let’s go Clayto!! 👏🏽," Michelle wrote, while someone else added, "YESSSSS YOU DESERVE IT!!!!!"

Clayton appeared on Michelle Young’s Bachelorette season.

Bachelor Nation has only recently met Clayton on Michelle Young's Bachelorette season. Here he is:

Season 26's host, former Bachelor Jesse Palmer, posted a sneak peek at Clayton's new role in a recent Instagram post: "Meet my younger, bigger, better looking brother from another mother, @claytonechard 🌹#TheBachelor," he wrote in the caption.

Looks like the off-camera friendship is strong with these two. Do I smell a bromance brewing?

Bachelor franchise producer Mike Fleiss first shared the news on Twitter in mid-September: "Major Announcement!!! Your new #TheBachelor is a great guy from Michelle’s season of #TheBachelorette. Can’t wait for you to meet him!" he wrote.

ABC also dropped the full list of who will be competing on Clayton's season.

This season, over 30 women competed to win Clayton's heart. The contestants include a "spray tan artist" and a professional cheerleader:

As far as the ladies go, Reality Steve thinks you can already spot some of the finalists in the trailers for Clayton's season. "So this is just a quick reaction to the Clayton premiere video, but when he’s standing there telling 2 women he was intimate w both, that’s Sarah (brunette) and Rachel (blonde). My guess this was in Vienna before he Sarah went home/was sent home & he kept Rachel," he Tweeted.

Filming for Clayton’s season ended in November 2021.

Clayton was first spotted filming what looks like a promo shoot in his hometown, according to E! News. Then, Reality Steve confirmed on Twitter that actual filming started in Los Angeles, California, on Sept. 28.

Another Steve Tweet revealed the exact date when the limos first made it to the mansion.

Steve also wrote in a blog post that Clayton and his final four ladies were filming hometown dates as of Nov. 2nd. Plus, he added that Clayton's final four rose ceremony was filmed on Nov. 9th. I can smell that final rose from here!

Then, on Nov. 23, Steve shared that "filming ended this past weekend." So, yep, Clayton and his mystery winner are officially relaxing (and hiding) in style!

The Bachelor has already hinted about how his season will end.

"It doesn't feel real at times," Clayton told Good Morning America. "I was so incredibly honored and humbled to have had the experience, learned a lot about myself and it has been quite the journey," he continued.

He also dropped a small spoiler for his season: "I did find love, and I was a little skeptical going into the whole journey but I'm so pleasantly surprised that things worked out much different than what I had thought," Clayton said. "I'm just so excited to watch it back and have everyone else watch it as well." (Same!)

Former Bachelor Jesse Palmer hosts this season.

Yep—Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe are off the hook (for now). Reality Steve relayed the news in a recent blog post. "Yesterday was it was officially announced by ABC that former 'Bachelor,' former host of 'The Proposal,' current host of 'The Ultimate Surfer,' and current ESPN college football analyst Jesse Palmer has been named the new host of the 'Bachelor,'" he wrote.

Here he is, in case you need a refresher:

Plus, Steve has a hunch that this season might not be Jesse's last: "I highly doubt Jesse is gonna be a one season host. That doesn’t make a lot of sense. I would think he’s definitely the Bachelor/ette host, with BIP in question," he explained.

Either way, he'll definitely have plenty of advice for Clayton.

This season started at The Mansion.

Even without Chris Harrison, the famous Bachelor mansion (a.k.a. Villa de la Vena in Malibu, California) made its return this season. Reality Steve explained that "filming starts at the mansion this season" on his blog. See ya later, Nemacolin.

Here's a quick refresher on the mansion, since it hasn't made a TV appearance since Pilot Pete's season. It's a 10,000 square foot Mediterranean-style residence with a pool and some seriously stunning views of the California countryside, according to the building's website.

In case you forgot how truly huge it is, here's a pic:

I, for one, am so ready to see a black SUV in that driveway again!

International dates are back and better than ever.

Contestants will finally get to use their passports again this season. Reality Steve explained in a Tweet that Clayton and the ladies will be adventuring all around the U.S. and Europe this season.

"Now, travel begins," he wrote. Episode 4 will take place in Houston, Texas, and episode 5 will move to Vancouver, Canada. Then, it's off to Vienna, Austria, and Croatia before hometowns happen in episode 8.

And, Steve also confirmed that hometown dates will be filmed in the contestants' actual hometowns again (whew!).

"They are doing it like they always had pre-pandemic," he wrote. "What’s amazing is he just traveled to 4 different hometowns starting last Tuesday, and not one picture got out from any of the hometowns," Steve explained. "I can’t remember the last time that happened."

Then, on Nov. 10th, Steve revealed that overnight dates and Clayton's finale will be filmed somewhere snowy—Iceland, to be specific.

"Jesse Palmer posted a pic on his IG stories this morning on a plane again. Everyone’s headed to Iceland today for overnight dates and final rose ceremony," he wrote. No word yet on where the ladies and Clayton were staying, though.

For the first time, someone gets a rose taken back.

Leave it to Reality Steve to leak the shocking deets from Clayton's episodes. "Someone who gets a group date rose, gets it taken away from them at the rose ceremony and sent home," he explained in a Tweet. Sounds like someone definitely wasn't there for the right reasons...

Later, in an update, Steve confirmed that the mystery contestant in question is Cassidy Timbrooks.

And there's finally more info about Cassidy and her "secret side piece." In a preview, Cassidy mentioned that "there’s one guy that I’ve been hooking up with on and off.” Another contestant shared the news with Clayton: “She was FaceTiming him right before she met you," she said. Interesting... See for yourself here:

Then, Steve spilled that "there is a woman this season who was texting a guy in the hotel pre-show before she got her phone taken away. This becomes a storyline on the show." Turns out? It's Cassidy (again!):

Sure enough, Steve confirmed that Cassidy will lose her group date rose (gasp!):

A new villain emerges, and she wreaks havoc on the house.

Steve also revealed that the role of this season's villain will go to contestant Shanae Arkney. He posted a few quick video snaps from Shanae's two-on-one date at Niagara Falls:

Shanae was eventually sent home, but many fans wondered why she got to hang around so long in the first place. So, what's the deal? Clayton seemingly suggested on Instagram that Shanae's extended stay this season wasn't totally his fault.

Underneath one of Clayton's latest posts, a fan commented, “Wear blue in your next photo if you were forced to keep Shanae against your will,” Us Weekly reported. The next day, Clayton posted again—and this time, he was wearing blue shorts.

“YOUR SHORTS ARE BLUE,” the same user commented. This time, Clayton responded: “That is a correct observation!” he wrote. Super suspicious, if you ask me... And, it could reveal why Shanae keeps adding to her season 26 bouquet.

(Meanwhile, Reality Steve confirmed on IG that Shanae's reign will come to an end before rose ceremony number five—finally!)

Clayton falls in love with three different women.

This season's latest promo video promises an even bigger major "bombshell." "I didn't believe it could happen, but I'm in love with three women," Clayton says (and then the real drama starts). "Why would you just turn around after I just told you I'm in love with you and drop a bombshell?" he asks.

Later, the Bachelor decides to "be fully transparent." "I was in love with her and I am in love with each with you. And I also was intimate with both of you," he tells the final two contestants. The tears just keep flowing:

There's also a *serious* confrontation between Clayton and another contestant, although it's unclear who he's speaking to. "She f**ked it up for everybody," he says angrily. "And that's the last person I expected to do it. I've given you everything. Don't bullsh*t me. Did you just play me this entire time?" (Which, wow.)

Then, in another Tweet, Steve dropped some major news. "Here are the 1-on-1 dates throughout the season:" he shared.

It looks like Sarah, Susie, and Serene lead the pack with two one-on-one dates each. Interesting...

Steve is already looking ahead to Clayton’s final three.

The king of spoilers also has brand new info about Clayton's final few women. Clayton's very first hometown date was in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with contestant Susie Evans, he wrote on his blog.

Later, Steve confirmed exactly who Clayton's final four will be: Susie Evans, Rachel Recchia, Serene Russell, and Gabby Windey. "Susie’s hometown filmed yesterday," Steve Tweeted on Nov. 3rd. "Not confirmed on the remaining order, but guess is Rachel tomorrow in Orlando (she doesn’t live Chicago anymore), Serene on Saturday in Oklahoma City, & Gabby on Monday in Denver."

Steve later corrected his theory—turns out Rachel's hometown was actually filmed in Kings Landing in Apopka, Florida. Here's a preview (it looks stunning, obvi):

Then, Steve clarified that he now knows Clayton's final three are Gabby, Susie, and Rachel. Serene gets eliminated during the rose ceremony after hometowns, he confirmed on his blog.

Now, Steve is narrowing things down even more. In one promo clip, Clayton tells two contestants "I was intimate with both of you." According to Steve, the mystery ladies are Gabby and Rachel, and the quote was said during the show's finale in Iceland.

"I, and everyone else, all took it to mean he told both of those women to their face that he had slept with both of them during overnight dates," Steve wrote. But he also mentioned that Clayton has said "just because you saw it that way doesn’t necessarily mean what everyone thinks it means, and that it has more context to it." (Confusing.)

Details on how Clayton chose those final few are still a secret, though. "I don't want to speculate on how it shakes out," Steve explained—although he did add that more spoilers are coming soon.

So, who does Clayton end up with?

You might want to sit down for this one, if you aren't already: "I don’t believe he ever got engaged at the end of this season," Steve explained. He added that he now knows three things about this season's finale:

1. It "does NOT have a traditional ending,"

2. Clayton is "NOT with Rachel," and

3. There is "no finality to the season in Iceland."

There's also this cryptic Tweet from Bachelor producer Mike Fleiss:

"Major Historic Announcement!" Mike wrote. "This season’s finale of #TheBachelorABC is totally spoiler-proof. No one knows how it will end, cuz it ain’t over til it’s over! And it ain’t over…"

Steve's interpretation? "Even though I don’t have specifics of what exactly that means, I think it’s safe to say that it not having a traditional ending means we’re not going to have it down to 2 women on final rose ceremony day, he picks out a ring, one woman arrives and gets dumped and the other woman shows up and they’re engaged. Pretty certain now that’s NOT how this season plays out."

Steve also noted that Rachel hasn't been in Los Angeles, California, since November 2021, so it's pretty likely she and Clayton aren't secretly engaged. And, he added that there hasn't been any promo footage from the final rose ceremony yet, which is unusual.

Then, in a new blog post, Steve added that host Jesse Palmer made another strange comment during Clayton's "Women Tell All" episode: “I don’t know how the journey ends.”

"If Jesse is the host of the show, and he was there in Iceland, and would seemingly be there the day of a final rose ceremony and he’s saying even he doesn’t know how the journey ends…?" Steve asked (which, fair question). Basically, there are plenty of red flags that all point to a non-traditional season finale. But more specific details are still TBD, for now.

One Reddit user posted a theory that either Susie or Rachel will win. Aside from lots of evidence, the user noted that both women follow Cary Fetman on Instagram. Turns out, Cary has been a fashion stylist for the leads on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette for around ten years, per IMDb. As the Reddit user explained,Cary usually also styles the final two contestants in each season's last episodes. (Definitely suspicious.)

Stay tuned for more details on Clayton's journey to find love, and watch new episodes of The Bachelor every Monday at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC.

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