Just when we thought Susie Evans would make it to the final rose ceremony, she walks away from the competition altogether.
During the March 8 episode of The Bachelor, Clayton Echard joined his final three contestants—Susie, Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia—in Iceland for some special one-on-one time. Yes, we're referring to the Fantasy Suites. While Susie, Gabby and Rachel all felt somewhat awkward heading into the big week in Iceland, it was Susie who struggled the most with the idea of Clayton being intimate with others.
"There's no reason to be crying," she said in a confessional. "I don't know anything. But, at this point, it's all confusing." It likely didn't help that she was the last one to get alone time with the Bachelor.
When it came time for her own date, Susie certainly had doubts, but she kept those opinions to herself—until dinner. After Clayton revealed that he was in love with her, a surprised Susie asked for clarity regarding his feelings for the other contestants and whether he had been intimate with them.
"Those are things I think would be impossible for me to move forward towards an engagement," she noted. "If I'm sharing your love with somebody else, I don't think I'd be comfortable." (While we love a lady who sets boundaries, we're not entirely sure that she realizes what this show is all about.)
Of course, Clayton was taken aback by Susie's surprise Fantasy Suites stance, as she chose to share this with him after he had already spent nights with Gabby and Rachel. "The big thing that I'm shocked at is, you did say to explore the relationships," Clayton responded. "To answer your question, yes, I have slept with someone else here. And, yes, I've expressed feelings towards someone else of falling in love."
Understandably, this wasn't the news Susie wanted to hear, and she called out Clayton for sleeping with someone else when he was supposedly in love with her. Fair point, but again, this is The Bachelor—and he is the Bachelor.
After some back-and-forth, Susie declared that she "can't" and walked away from their dinner table. Shaken by this, Clayton told a Bachelor producer, "This is exactly what I was afraid of. I don't believe in anything anymore."
Well, then maybe you should've asked the women how they felt about you hooking up with them before Fantasy Suites went down? Just a thought.
The pair reunited to have one last conversation, and let's just say the heated chat did not warm up that chilly Icelandic night. "What am I supposed to do?" Clayton snapped. "I'm still fighting because I was trying to convince you, but now it's like—"
As a tearful Susie noted that she felt "s---ty," she shared that she wasn't sure of a better way to go about expressing her feelings. Clayton's response?
"I'm just gonna be honest with you," he coldly said. "In my eyes, you just invalidated everything that we had. If you cared so much about me, if you really actually thought I was the person...I think you would work through something like this."
Let's not gaslight the girl, Clayton. She said her peace.
By the end of the dramatic conversation—which included Clayton telling Susie that he didn't know her anymore—the Bachelor escorted his former front-runner to a car.
We're feeling very conflicted about where we stand in this messy breakup. How about you? Considering all of the above, where do you stand in this situation? Cast your vote below!
Bachelor Breakup: Pick a Side
The Bachelor finale will air in two parts on March 14 and March 15 on ABC.