Clayton Wishes His Bachelor Season Went In “Any Other Direction”

Clayton is feeling some type of way about his season of The Bachelor. In a recent interview with Glamour, the Season 26 lead confessed that he wanted his season to end very differently. “I don’t think anyone expected it to end the way that it did, including myself, nor did I want it to be that way,” he told the magazine. “There was a lot of things that I just never would’ve thought would’ve happened the way they did. So everyone will be kind of surprised.”

“I wish it could have went any other direction, but it went the direction that it did,” the 28-year-old athlete continued. “Ultimately, I had to react accordingly.” Clayton didn’t give away details about what goes down in the remaining episodes, but he did say that “it’s a lot.” “I think people are going to scratch their heads, have a lot of questions, and I will have answers when that time comes,” he said. “We’ll have to wait and see, but it was a lot.”

We are now one week away from the finale and no one is sure how the season will end, including noted Bachelor spoiler extraordinaire Reality Steve. However, the previews did show Clayton telling the remaining three women — Susie Evans, Gabby Windey, and Rachel Recchia — that he’s in love with them. He also confessed that he was intimate with two of the final three contestants, which could’ve ruined all chances of this season ending with an engagement.

While there are many fan theories about how the season might end, producers are confident that fans won’t figure it out. “This season’s finale of #TheBachelorABC is totally spoiler-proof,” Mike Fleiss tweeted in February. “No one knows how it will end, cuz it ain’t over til it’s over! And it ain’t over…” But that didn’t stop people from guessing. Some fans think that Clayton will propose to one woman and then change his mind, à la Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Peter Weber. Others think that his No. 1 pick will reject his final rose.

Regardless of the outcome, Clayton has nothing negative to say about any of the remaining contestants. “They’re incredible and everyone’s seeing that,” he told Glamour. “I think that’s where people will probably say, ‘Hmm, maybe I can see why you fell in love with multiple women.’ Because they’re all incredible, and they all deserve happiness.” But alas, Clayton could only choose one.

“Unfortunately, there was an end to it all,” Clayton continued. “I had to come to that decision-making process of, Who do I proceed forward with?” Between Susie, Gabby, and Rachel, the former football player’s decision wasn’t an easy one. “I don’t think anyone’s shocked to see who those final three are, because they are truly phenomenal women,” he told the magazine. “There’s strengths to all of them and very few weaknesses.”

The two-night Bachelor finale will air on Monday, March 14, and Tuesday, March 15, at 8 PM ET/PT on ABC.