Clayton Echard can definitely say that hindsight is 20/20.
On Tuesday, Feb. 1, Clayton spoke out about the latest episode of The Bachelor in a statement addressed to Elizabeth Corrigan, who he sent home in a last ditch effort to resolve the feud between her and Shanae Ankney. At the time, Shanae had claimed that Elizabeth was bullying her, but now Clayton understands who the real bully was.
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth, for what you're going through," he wrote. "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."
To be fair, the fight over a plate of shrimp was petty but the real issue at hand was Shanae's response to Elizabeth sharing that she has ADHD. Shanae repeatedly minimized the impact the condition has on Elizabeth's health. But since Clayton wasn't present, he didn't see what was going on and chose to send Elizabeth home instead of Shanae. In retrospect, he said, "I would have sent Shanae home immediately for making fun of you for being neurodivergent, had I known."
Seeing all of this unfold on live television has been entertaining for viewers, but Clayton admits being the Bachelor isn't what he expected. From group dates to cocktail parties, the contestants just don't seem to get along and Clayton's attempts to act as peacemaker had the adverse effect.
"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 star is taking everything in stride though, writing to his Instagram followers, "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."
Elizabeth has yet to publicly respond to Clayton's apology but it seems that she and the former athlete are on good terms. Following the episode, Clayton tweeted, "I'm looking forward to having an open and honest discussion at the WTA with what all happened. It's important to hold people accountable, including myself," to which she replied, "I'm ready."
For her part, Shanae has shared a TikTok video of herself with shrimp.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.