Clayton made it clear from the get-go that he was ready to open up more to the three women left: Susie Evans, Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey. The problem was, he opened up a little too much to too many women and it landed him in some serious hot water by the end of the episode, with the woman who was apparently the frontrunner in his mind (Susie) taking a stand for herself—which led to Clayton getting so defensive that he decided to blow everything up by sending her packing. There’s been a lot of buzz about the Fantasy Suite drama but what, exactly, is all the fuss about? Here’s what you need to know about what happened on Clayton’s “Fantasy Suites” episode of The Bachelor Season 26.
What happened on Clayton’s “Fantasy Suites” episode of The Bachelor?
In a nutshell: Clayton had a Fantasy Suite date with Rachel, during which he quite obviously had sex with her on the overnight portion of their date (although that was never explicitly confirmed) and told her he loved her. He then repeated all of that with Gabby: enjoyed a date, had sex overnight, said “I love you.” On his third date of the episode, Susie pumped the brakes before the overnight portion to tell Clayton that if he had fallen in love with and/or slept with other women on his journey, then that would be a dealbreaker for her. Backing up for a minute: Previous Bachelor leads, like Ben Higgins, have had some serious problems after dropping the L word to more than one contestant, but Clayton might be the only one to say it pretty willingly to not one, not two, but all three remaining women. It wasn’t just what he said; he actually said it in pretty much the exact same way to each woman. Clayton told each of them how he was scared of opening up before, that he realized at some point that he loved [insert whichever contestant’s name here], and that he wasn’t going to hold back anymore. He also told each of them that he hasn’t felt this way in years. He even delivered similar parting sentiments to Rachel and Gabby at the end of their respective Fantasy Suite dates, shouting out “I love you!” as he walked away from each of their overnights.
Why did Clayton send Susie home on The Bachelor “Fantasy Suites” episode?
Again, in a nutshell: He sent her home because he was mad about the fact that she didn’t tell him until their Fantasy Suite date that falling in love with or sleeping with another woman (or women) would be a dealbreaker for her. To his mind, that was a grossly unfair thing to do to him—and, according to what he told her, it made him suddenly feel like he didn’t even know her anymore and that he was done. FWIW, it’s not uncommon for leads on The Bachelor and Bachelorette to sleep with their final contestants (yes, plural). Former Bachelorette star Andi Dorfman wrote in an essay for The Hollywood Reporter that “almost every Bachelor has sex with everyone he goes into the Fantasy Suites with. Obviously there are some exceptions, but regardless, you never hear anything of it.” Fellow former BacheloretteAli Fedotowsky echoed the sentiment to Hollywood Today Live. “If you’re not having sex, you’re probably not getting chosen, unless you’re waiting for religious reasons or personal reasons,” she said. So, sex happens, and on the one hand, it seems reasonable that after 26 seasons of a show like The Bachelor, when you decide to go on said show as Susie decided, there’s an unspoken expectation all around that the person in Clayton’s position is going to fall in love with and definitely sleep with more than one person. But still, if Susie decided at whatever point that the rules of the game don’t actually work for her, she seems to be totally within her rights to say so and stand up for herself in that way. This became a huge point of contention after Susie point-blank asked Clayton if he had slept with other women and/or told them that he loved them. A visibly freaked-0ut Clayton (who, it seems, wanted to have his cake and eat it too—and again, perhaps he had those desires because that’s the way things have gone down on The Bachelor for years) confirmed that he had slept with Rachel and Gabby. Things quickly went south—both onscreen and on Twitter. While Bachelor Nation in large part has rallied behind Susie, it’s worth pointing out that people actually supported Bachelorette star Hannah Brown years back when she found herself in a similar situation to Clayton’s with contestant Luke Parker. Luke was accused of “slut-shaming” Hannah and sent packing.
Did Clayton gaslight Susie on The Bachelor “Fantasy Suites” episode?
Clayton seemed caught off-guard when Susie asked him directly if he had slept with the other women or told them that he loved them, but he quickly went on the offensive. He told Susie that she should have told him it would be a dealbreaker for their relationship if he had done any of those things, pointing out that she once told him he should “explore” relationships with the other women. He also said that, even though he told the other remaining contestants that he loved them, he loved Susie “the most.” He finally told her that he was “done” with their relationship and felt like he didn’t even know her before sending her home. Cue the gaslighting claims.
What happens next on Clayton’s season of The Bachelor?
A preview for the next episode shows Clayton confessing to Gabby and Rachel that he is in love with both of them and that he was “intimate” with both of them—and neither of them seemed happy about it. So, the drama continues… Next, which Bachelor couples are still together.
