Clayton Echard and Susie Evans' relationship might be rosy now—but that wasn't the case during The Bachelor finale.
As Bachelor Nation witnessed during the March 15 finale, Susie left Iceland after calling it quits with the season 26 lead. However, during After the Final Rose, Clayton and Susie revealed they got back together shortly after filming wrapped. While the couple didn't reveal too many details, Susie did break down the timeline of their reunion on the March 16 episode of Nick Viall's Viall Files podcast—admitting she "slid right in" to Clayton's DMs.
"I got my phone back, called my parents, DM'd Clayton," she explained of reaching out the day she got home. "I was in the Newark airport." However, Susie noted that she didn't have any intention of reuniting with Clayton. As she recalled, "I was like, 'Are you OK? I will respect your boundaries whatever they are but if you want to have one more candid conversation, here's my phone number, give me a call.'"
Soon after, Clayton called Susie and they spent five hours on the phone together. "I wasn't mad at Clayton," Susie, who initially broke up with the former athlete after he confirmed he had been "intimate" with fellow contestants Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia, said on the podcast. "I was never mad at Clayton for anything ever because I was like, 'I do not envy your position, I don't know that I could've done better. I totally understand.'"
Susie and Clayton also addressed their reunion during a joint March 16 appearance on Good Morning America. "I felt totally comfortable reopening that relationship back up again after getting the answers to all the questions that I had," Susie explained. As Clayton noted, "I made a lot of mistakes and yes learned a lot of lessons but following my heart led me to where I needed to be."
And while they're not engaged, Clayton said he's moving to Virginia in the "next couple days" to be with Susie. So, the next chapter of their journey is just beginning.
As for runner-ups Gabby and Rachel, after their tumultuous breakups with Clayton, it was announced that they'll both be leading the next season of The Bachelorette.
Gabby and Rachel's season of The Bachelorette premieres July 11 on ABC.