The Bachelor alum Clayton Echard has revealed who caught his eye from Zach Shallcross' recent season and what his current dating life is like.
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Clayton and Susie reunited in the real world after filming ended in late 2021 and began dating. They publicly announced their relationship in March 2022 but then split in September 2022.
Clayton has been single ever since, but he's apparently pretty optimistic about finding love again -- and potentially soon.
"You know, I don't know if I'm ready to disclose this. I don't want to jinx anything right now. But I'll just say this: I do have interest in someone I'm talking to right now. We'll see where it goes," Clayton revealed to Joe Amabile on the May 4 episode of the "Click Bait with Bachelor Nation" podcast.
If that romance doesn't work out, Clayton said he could "yeah, maybe" see himself looking for love on the beaches in Mexico on a future season of Bachelor in Paradise.
"It just depends on who would be going, because I'd have to see and do my own research, like, 'Is there anyone here I would actually have interest in going for?'" Clayton reasoned.
"Otherwise, if I didn't have any interest, what am I doing? I'm just going for the wrong reasons, and we all know how that shakes out."
Joe therefore asked if there are any bachelorettes from The Bachelor franchise he would be interested in seeing, if he ends up on the show.
"I'll say this. I won't get too descriptive, but there were, like, two women from Zach's season that made it pretty far in the game that I would say I had interest in. I think they made it into the Top 8 or something," Clayton shared.
"So there were two of them that I could see as being someone I'd be interested in, but that's all the information I will divulge... If I wasn't talking to somebody right now, then maybe I would get bold and throw something out there. But out of respect, [I won't]."
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However, Clayton gave into temptation later in the podcast and spilled the tea to Joe.
"Should I [name her]? Bahh. You know, I feel a little dangerous. I am talking to this person, but we're not dating or anything yet. So we'll see where that heads, but you know what? From all the things I can see on social media and from what I saw on TV, I think [Jess Girod] was pretty cute," Clayton revealed.
"She's a pretty cute girl," he added. "There you go. If you want the click bait, she's somebody who I'm like, 'Hey, there could be some interest there.'"
Zach eliminated Jess from The Bachelor's 27th season during its February 27 episode.
Jess expressed to Zach how she was disappointed, frustrated and losing confidence in her herself and their relationship because Zach had yet to invite her on a one-on-one date, with hometowns right around the corner.
Jess and Zach got into a heated discussion that resulted in them mutually deciding she should go home, and Jess vented in her final words how she wasn't crazy for feeling upset and it was shocking that Zach couldn't understand where she was coming from.
Jess came across as a confident girl who knows what she wants and deserves during her stint on The Bachelor.
But in the meantime, Clayton said he's "playing the field" and dating "the old-fashioned way."
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It also sounded like Clayton is pretty smitten with that one woman in Scottsdale, the city in which he currently lives, whom he's been "going on out dates" with -- "on and off" -- for over a month.
"I go back and forth, like, 'I feel I have so much going on, do I have the time to devote to somebody?' But then at the same rate, I've had some really great conversations with somebody recently, and I'm pretty interested," Clayton told Joe.
"I kind of caught myself wondering what [she's] doing... I'm starting to think about her. But it's early in the game."
Clayton said he likes how this woman is giving him space and hasn't been pushing to see him all the time.
"I don't want to feel like somebody is going to smother me," Clayton noted.
Clayton -- who found fame when he competed on Michelle Young's The Bachelorette season -- said he's "intrigued" and "curious" about where things could go with this mystery woman.
In addition, Clayton confirmed no women from Bachelor Nation have reached out to him or slid into his DMs on Instagram.
"I don't know if there's a giant red flag waving above my head, but no one [is romantically interested]," Clayton said with a laugh, adding how his DMs "have been dry."
For his ex Susie's part, she revealed on TikTok that she recently went out on one of the best first dates of her life.
She opened up about whether she could ever see herself getting back together with Clayton during a recent appearance on the "Bachelor Rush Hour With Dave Neal" podcast.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
