Clayton Echard’s First Instagram Post After ‘The Bachelor’ Finale Is Content

Raise your hand if you’re still reeling from Season 26 Bachelor final’s night. Yours up yet? Mine is definitely. Through each emotional conversation and powerful confrontation, I wondered what could have been going on in Clayton Echard’s head. On March 16, he adopted a lengthy Instagram caption reflecting his experiences with the show.

He begins by encouraging fans to “follow your heart” because “it will get you exactly where you need to go,” and writes about the many ups and downs of his ~journey~ . “It is unbelievable what has happened in the last six months. I have learned a lot and am very grateful for going through it. I made a lot of mistakes, but I took the time to reflect on myself and grow from each mistake.”

And just FYI, his growth doesn’t end with the last rose. “There is still a lot ahead that will challenge me to be a better man,” he wrote. “But having this day, I am very happy. Happy I was tested beyond my limits and better for it. Happy that I got to witness and experience things that I would never have had if I hadn’t taken this opportunity.”

Of course, he also gives a big thank you to Susie Evans, who is now his girlfriend. “But most importantly, being happy that I met the most amazing woman every day makes me realize how lucky I am to be standing next to her.”

He ended his post with a nod to his fans, writing: “Thank you to everyone who has started this journey with me. It’s a wild thing to say the least. “It definitely has!

Viewers didn’t get a chance to see how the two lovebirds found their way back together, but they did explain how the whole thing played out on the two podcasts. On March 15, Evans told File Viall, that she slipped into Echard’s DM as soon as her plane landed from Iceland. Evans added: “I didn’t text him with the intention of starting a relationship, but I said, ‘Are you okay? ” And, ‘I will respect your boundaries, whatever they are. But if you want a more candid conversation, here’s my number. Call me. ‘”

The next day, Echard shared his side of the story with Happy Hour for Bachelors audio file. “I was just scrolling through my DMs because I was actually still traveling again… and all of a sudden, I saw her name, and I was like, ‘This must be some fake account going on. trying to catch me, like, they tried to screw up the ending. So I had to click and right, like, do some re-investigation and see that the account is legit. “

After he replied to her text, they talked on the phone for five hours. Before long, they had marathon conversations every day. “We would be on the phone, for example, five hours a night for weeks just talking with no expectations, no ‘what is this?'” she said. Instead, they talked about ” what we are looking for in the future [and] What we are looking for in a partner. ” They became boyfriend and girlfriend “about a month or so” after the movie ended.

For Echard, all of his off-season trials seem to have been worthwhile in the end.