How Serene’s Bachelor Exit Changed Clayton’s Final 3 Strategy

Hometowns ended with Clayton Echard sending Serene Russell home, but their last conversation shaped the way he approached the rest of his Bachelor journey. Before Serene’s exit, Clayton, fearful of falling in love with multiple people, held back expressing his true feelings for the women. But the previews teased all season long seem to confirm Clayton changed his strategy after hometowns as he ends up professing his love for each of the final three women.

The former football player started the season with 31 women vying for his final rose. After a season of ‘shrimp-gate,’ fake tears, and multiple therapy sessions, Clayton narrowed down the group to Susie Evans, Gabby Windey, Rachel Recchia, and Serene. The final four headed off to their hometowns where they each confessed they were falling in love with the bachelor. But Serene’s “I love you,” resulted in heartbreak as she was sent home without a rose. Confused by the sudden breakup after a seemingly successful hometown date, the Oklahoma City native asked Clayton if he was ending their relationship because he couldn’t reciprocate the feelings she expressed. But Clayton said Serene’s words didn’t change anything, it was his stronger connections with the remaining women.

Little did Serene know, her final conversation with Clayton changed the course of the rest of the season. The 28-year-old revealed to Entertainment Tonight, “When she left and she said, ‘Hey, listen, I told you how I was feeling, expressed those feelings of love, was that what sent me home?’ That is when I realized that, because you’re withholding this information, these feelings, these women are going to now start to question if what you have is genuine. That really did not sit right with me.” Clayton added that Serene made him realize that harboring his emotions was a mistake and that he would need to be more open with his final three women going forward, at least in the name of not surprising someone by not giving them a rose.

As fans witnessed with Ben Higgin’s season of The Bachelor, Clayton was right to be wary: falling in love with multiple women is a recipe for intense drama and heartbreak. Even Ben later expressed regret for how he handled falling in love with his final two women: Jojo and Lauren. Clayton said he was trying to stop himself from getting to that point. “I thought, ‘There’s no way you should be falling in love with multiple women. That’s a mistake. I was trying to convince myself to not do that.” But Serene’s exit made Clayton realize he needed to start vocalizing his feelings to ultimately find his life partner. “I’m going to now allow myself to fall in love with multiple women, but then you’re just going to have to roll with it and try to handle it to the best of your ability,” Clayton told himself going into fantasy suite week.

In The Bachelor bubble full of romance, it’s understandable that Clayton could think he was in love with multiple women. But if he is serious about finding a wife, the Missouri native will have to discern reality from fairytales. From the previews, fans are speculating his confessions send his Bachelor journey into a downward spiral and cause at least one of the women to self-eliminate. It is yet to be seen whether Clayton’s changed approach will lead him to a proposal at the end of The Bachelor or heartbroken and single.

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

Source: Entertainment Tonight

About The Author