It's a good thing that The Bachelor season 26 finale spans two episodes because the amount of drama (and entertainment) Clayton Echard provides during part one is on another level, and Twitter has taken notice. Clayton assuming the role of Bachelor was met with raised eyebrows and head shakes from the moment rumors started swirling last September. Bachelor Nation fans and alumni were apprehensive of the 29-year-old as ABC's choice, especially as he was just eliminated by Michelle Young during The Bachelorette season 18 — which, at the time, was still airing.
Clayton's Bachelor journey began airing in January; hosted by Jesse Palmer, viewers were surprised by the former football player's decisions from the start. Clayton was first given the side-eye after offering his first rose to Salley Carson, who recently called off her engagement; Salley not only rejected Clayton's advance but quit before the limo arrived. Things didn't get much better for the former football player, and fans of the show questioned several rose ceremonies. Many were unimpressed that Shanae Ankney stayed longer than villain-turned-fan-favorite Cassidy Timbrooks after Shanae made ableist comments towards Elizabeth Corrigan's ADHD. Others consider Clayton to be rather boring and think that his conversations with the women highlight an inability to be emotionally vulnerable.
Spoilers revolving around how Clayton's season ends have been traveling the Internet for weeks, and have picked up monumental speed since Clayton's shocking elimination of Susie Evans. Revealing that he engaged in sexual activities with the remaining two finalists — Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia — Susie was given the boot after telling Clayton she wasn't okay with his admission. Clayton's heat-of-the-moment decision left viewers furious, and the Missouri native has been dealing with backlash since. Part one of The Bachelor season 26 finale was, as expected, a disaster from beginning to end. Between the Echard family meeting up in Iceland to Clayton coming clean to Gabby and Rachel, season 26 is set to end the way it started: a mess. Of course, fans on Twitter had a lot to say. The following are some of the funniest tweets about Clayton's chaotic second-to-last episode.
Teased as an unprecedented conclusion, viewers are interested to see if Clayton chooses Rachel, Gabby, Susie, or no one; in return, fans are wondering if the women will still accept a proposal. With Clayton's journey ending tonight, Bachelor Nation is also starting to look towards the future. According to Reality Steve, filming for The Bachelorette season 19 is due to start in the next week or two, meaning that an announcement of the next Bachelorette may be set to drop soon. With so many predictions out there, anything can happen on The Bachelor this evening.
The Bachelor season 26 finale airs March 15 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
Sources: Dianca Villa/Twitter, Brigitte/Twitter, Reality Steph/Twitter, Sophia Abbasi/Twitter, S8N/Twitter, Janna/Twitter, MoodieforBach/Twitter, Bre Saunders/Twitter, Bachelor Fantake/Twitter, HellandBach/Twitter, Rory Bellows/Twitter, Em Grasso/Twitter, Em Grasso/Twitter, Kayla McKechnie/Twitter, Christina/Twitter, Vanessa/Twitter, Bachelorette (Jamie's Version)/Twitter, Reality Edit Podcast/Twitter, Rebecca Kuhl/Twitter, Bachelor Nation Tweets/Twitter, Katlynn Hauber/Twitter, ChatterBox/Twitter, StrawberryTV/Twitter
