Previous Single Clayton Echard is opening up about the downsides of his reality show career and sharing how he’s making the switch to using his platform for good.
The 29-year-old former NFL player turned heads with his conventionally handsome appearance before starring on ABC’s 26th season. The Bachelor. As people formed their opinions about the way he dated 30 women on TV, they made sure to let him know.
“The hatred of numbers was very difficult for me to overcome,” he said in an interview with the virginian pilot. “If it had been just a few messages, I would have passed it. If it had been hundreds of messages, I might have questioned it… But for me, it was thousands of messages, and in a very short period of time.” , so he became very overwhelming.”
Seeing the way his trip was edited for television made Echard question his own behavior as well.
“Watching it again, I was ashamed and disgusted by my actions and the way I was portrayed or seen on TV,” he explained, noting that he experienced depression and anxiety as the season aired. “Ultimately, I had to live with the fact that my narrative is what was shown. And that was hard because I’m not really who I am. I don’t feel like what I was on the show is who I really am, but I did those things, I became that person.
Echard’s time on the show was ultimately successful when he found love with fellow contestant Susie Evans, with whom he reconciled before the show’s reunion and now lives in Virginia Beach. Still, he called his season a “train wreck” and hopes to alter his public image by speaking out about the things that matter most to him.
“Everything becomes so much more exciting when you feel like you’ve finally found your true purpose in life. Through the experiences I’ve had and grown from, I’m now pursuing passions I’ve had all along, but never felt who had the voice or the courage to speak so openly,” he captioned a instagram post on June 3. “Mental health is something we all deal with and it’s not going anywhere. We need to acknowledge this, but take it a step further. We need to have the conversations.”
While the cyberbullying she faced as a result of her time on television has contributed to the conversations she now has with students across the country as part of a national speaking tour, Echard also reflected on her struggles with body dysmorphia. She also shared that being in The Bachelor encouraged him to talk about it.
“Going on the show was a catalyst to feel like I can do this. It’s something I’m passionate about and I want to be able to impact others,” she said, noting the comfort she felt when she was able. name the obsessive thoughts she had about her body since she was young. “I want to be able to be a light for them, to say ‘Hey, listen, I was there too. I was able to get through this.'”
And while overcoming burdensome mental health issues in the public eye can be difficult, Echard explained that he has had to block out much of the noise to focus on improving himself.
“I’m just being my authentic self. I’m not trying to be The Bachelor at this point,” he said. “I just know that being a good single or being a bad single doesn’t equate to being a good or bad person.”
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