Susie Evans: 11 things to know about 'The Bachelor' star Clayton Echard's bachelorette Susie Evans

Susie Evans left The Bachelor season after finding out Clayton Echard had slept with and professed love to two other women, but it may not be the last fans have seen of her.


Susie is a 28-year-old wedding videographer from Virginia Beach, VA.

It took no time at all for Clayton to discover Susie is down to earth, genuine, fun, adventurous and beautiful, and she expressed how she was "falling in love" with the Bachelor at a clock tower in Croatia.

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And Susie gushed in Austria, "Clayton is everything I ever wanted in a partner, in a boyfriend, in a fiancee and a husband. He's everything I could ask for."


After a successful hometown date, Susie looked forward to taking her relationship with Clayton to the next level in a Fantasy Suite -- until she found out he had been intimate with both Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey in physical and emotional ways.

Clayton assured Susie that he was "the most in love" with her, but Susie wanted to be Clayton's one and only, especially if she was going to accept a marriage proposal in just one week.

Susie therefore expressed how she couldn't see herself moving forward in the process due to Clayton's apparent willingness to jeopardize their strong relationship.

But just as it appeared Susie was going to quit the show, Clayton essentially beat her to the punch and determined he was "done" with her because he didn't think she viewed their relationship as something worth saving and fighting for.

Susie criticized the Bachelor for not showing her more compassion, but previews of the two-night finale event suggest Susie may return.


Until viewers can watch what happens next for Clayton on his journey to find his soul mate on The Bachelor's 26th season, let's learn a little bit about Susie right now.

Below is a list of 11 facts Reality TV World has compiled about Susie Evans.

Susie Evans has a history of competing in beauty pageants

Susie, standing 5'8" tall with green eyes, won Miss Virginia USA 2020. She was awarded the congeniality award and promoted Big Brothers Big Sisters of America during her reign as queen.

Prior to winning the state title, Susie had finished as the second runner-up in the Miss Virginia USA pageant in 2019. She also was named Miss Virginia Teen USA in 2011.

Susie received a full ride to college

The Bachelor bachelorette attended Lindenwood University in Saint Charles, Missouri on a full tuition scholarship.


Susie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Cinema Arts and Broadcast Communications.

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Susie caught Clayton's eye right away thanks to her "corny" introduction.

Clayton called Susie "very playful" and said he loved her first impression right out of the limo during a January interview with Entertainment Tonight.

"She had a little buzzer on her hand. It was a corny joke, saying, 'Did you feel a spark?' But I think I like that," Clayton shared at the time.

"I like somebody who's confident, someone that doesn't take themselves too seriously. She was very bubbly coming out the gate and easy to talk to, so there was a connection there."

Susie would love to be a documentary filmmaker one day

Susie is dedicated to her initiative, Media That Matters, which empowers women through her digital cinema arts education and media production.

Susie displayed a photo series showcasing the natural beauty of women from around the world in the Scheidegger Center for the Arts, according to pageantupdate.info.

She also produced a short film entitled Kara to empower women who have lost their hair from chemotherapy.

Susie also raised funds for a scholarship given to young women at her former college and once helped find a kidney donor for a kidney disease patient in Sarasota, FL.

The Bachelor bachelorette has a passion for adventure

After graduating from college in 2015, Susie landed an international performing contract with Tokyo Disney Land, according to Pageant Update.


Susie moved to Japan at age 22 and worked abroad for 26 months. She traveled to over 15 cities across Japan and to ten countries during and after the contract, which she called "life-changing."

Susie is a sports fan too, specifically the Miami Dolphins.

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Susie got inspired in Japan to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Susie says she loves to jump head-first into many things, including Jiu-Jitsu, a form of martial arts.

Susie became so great at Jiu-Jitsu that she was actually once crowned champion.

"I'm a little bit wild," Susie admitted at the start of The Bachelor season. "Maybe I'll be the Yin to [Clayton]'s Yang."


Susie is also a fitness coach with Body By Craig.

Susie is looking for a man who will keep life interesting

Susie thinks a thoughtful man is sexy, and she wants to find a partner who will prioritize quality time and wants to create shared experiences.

Loyalty is important to Susie, and she says she needs someone she can trust to her core.

Above all, Susie wants a partner who will always be there to support and encourage her dreams, no matter where those dreams may take her.

The bachelorette agrees with Clayton that family is everything

Susie admires the fact her parents have been married for 35 years and are best friends.

Susie's family dynamic, however, changed when her father became ill one year before Susie appeared on The Bachelor. Her father experienced organ failure and had a lengthy stay in the hospital, but he was finally able to return home and hold his grandson for the first time.


Susie recalled her mother sleeping by her father's bedside when he was battling in the ICU, and she said she wants that type of relationship for herself and she's extremely grateful for her parents.

Susie has a niece Saylor and a nephew Tommy.

Susie comes from a humble home

Susie was raised by a mother and father who both had very tough upbringings. Susie said she didn't have a lot growing up and so she works very hard to make her parents proud.

Susie, however, struggles to accept gifts from men and the idea of a man providing for her in life because she wants to stand on her own two feet and show that she can support herself.

When Clayton gave Susie the fairytale princess-style date, she gushed, "No man has ever wanted to do something like that for me. It felt foreign from how I live my life."

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Susie is good friends with The Bachelor alum Caelynn Miller-Keyes

In 2019, Susie captioned a photo with Caelynn during the girls' Teen and Miss Virginia USA pageant days, "Years of sisterhood!"

Caelynn's boyfriend Dean Unglert revealed on his podcast in January, ahead of The Bachelor 26 premiere, that he and Caelynn had a "bet" going to see if her friend Susie or his ex-girlfriend, Gabby, would go all the way.

"Caelynn has a good friend that's on the season... and Caelynn is convinced that her friend will either win or become the next Bachelorette," Dean shared.

Dean, however, said at the time he thought Gabby would win Clayton's heart or become the next The Bachelorette star.

"So Caelynn and I have a bet going to see whose friend is going to go further," Dean added.

Clayton admits he handled his breakup with Susie very poorly

Clayton said during a March 9 appearance on "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast" that he's "embarrassed" by how he behaved with Susie when sending her home and takes "full accountability" for his actions.


"I did not handle it well. I didn't," Clayton confessed.

"I mean, it was not handled maturely. I raised my voice to her. I was grasping at straws. I was trying to find anything that I could at that point to get her to stay. Like, I just wanted her to give me a chance. And so I went through this gauntlet of emotions."

Clayton, however, disagrees with claims he gaslighted Susie, although he was shown scolding her having "invalidated" their relationship and not being upfront with him about her dealbreaker regarding sex in the Fantasy Suites.

"I don't agree that I was gaslighting. I looked it up and it said the definition is trying to convince someone of a different reality than what is actually the true reality of the situation," Clayton said.

"I think gaslighting is when you have bad intentions and you're trying to manipulate somebody, and I was not at all trying to do that... What was in my head was in my head. I had no bad intentions, I was just voicing my concerns to her at that point, and my frustrations and my feelings."

In fact, Clayton went on, "I would not say that at all. No, I totally disagree on the gaslighting concept because I was not trying to manipulate her for my benefit at all. I had no intention of doing that. I am not that kind of person."


Clayton acknowledged "gaslighting" actually strikes a chord with him.

"Because that's not me. I was not trying to tell her that she was wrong," he claimed.

"I was trying to figure out why she couldn't give me another chance, but I wasn't sitting here saying, 'You're wrong, you have the wrong perspective on this and you need to believe my perspective.'"

"My whole hope was, 'Hey, we're in a disagreement right now, but can we work past this?'... I was just crushed watching this person I thought I  may get engaged to essentially say, 'Hey, it's done and it's over' and... my emotions overcame me."

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski