The Bachelor alum Susie Evans has revealed what made her decide that she wants to have children in the future after never being sure about motherhood.
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"I was never entirely sure if I wanted children of my own," Susie wrote in a December 28 blog posting titled "2022 in Reflection."
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But according to Susie, spending time with her nephew Tommy -- who was born just a couple years ago -- in her home state of Virginia changed her mindset on having kids.
"Being so close to home for the first couple years of his life and now my niece Saylor, has opened my mind and heart entirely to the idea of being a mom someday," Susie shared on her Susie Evans blog.
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"These past three months specifically staying at my parent's home has allowed me to have so much time with my parents, siblings and niece and nephew who all live within about 15 minutes of each other."
Susie said she got to spend quality time with her niece and nephew about three times per week.
"I remember the first time my nephew called out my name when he saw me and came running into my arms!" Susie recalled.
"The times my niece falls down and looks to me to be the one to console her. It's love at its purest form and it's something I feel lucky to experience first hand."
Susie gushed about how being a part of those children's lives "has been one of the greatest gifts" in her life.
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"At some point watching them grow and develop, my heart and mind has shifted and now I truly hope that someday I will be lucky enough to have a family of my own," Susie concluded.
Susie, however, won't be living in Virginia Beach much longer. In January, she is moving to Los Angeles, CA, to have a fresh start after her split from Clayton Echard and further her career as a wedding videographer.
"The show brought interest to my business from a much wider audience," she noted.
Susie dumped Clayton at the Final Rose Ceremony of The Bachelor's 26th season, but they reconnected and reconciled in the real world. By the time After the Final Rose aired on ABC in March 2022, the couple was in love and Clayton had decided he'd be moving to Virginia to be with his girlfriend.
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But The Bachelor fans began to suspect there was trouble in paradise between Susie and Clayton in August 2022, when Clayton revealed on an episode of Amanda Hirsch's "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast that the couple had decided to stop living together and planned to move to different states.
Clayton chose Scottsdale, AZ, as his new home, and Susie considered relocating to Los Angeles. Susie, however, never made the plunge and stayed close to her family and friends for the end of 2022.
Susie and Clayton then announced their split in September 2022, hoping they could remain friends.
While Susie has matured and grown so much in the last year, she said there is "still so much" to experience going forward into 2023.
"I am feeling very ambitious and optimistic heading into this new year that my business will continue to evolve and become something I can pour into," Susie told her readers.
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"I am excited to share with you all my adventures as I take on L.A. and continue to grow this community with each of you."
Susie recently said that she's "definitely open to dating" again but wants to ease her way into her next relationship.
"I haven't gone out on a date yet but mostly because every time it comes up my armpits start sweating... and still banking on finding out I'm actually a long lost princess and I can't date anything but royalty anyways," Susie joked with one fan in an Instagram Q&A session earlier this month.
Susie also confirmed she doesn't currently have a boyfriend, although she revealed she's already developed a crush on a guy.
As for what she's looking for in a partner, Susie said her "type" is not athletic men like Clayton and "compatibility is so huge in relationships" to her. She said she wants her personality and lifestyle to mesh well with her man's goals.
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The wedding videographer explained to Us Weekly that she plans to date a man in private for a while before sharing her relationship with the world considering a romance becomes more complicated in the public eye.
Susie therefore isn't jumping at the chance to appear on Bachelor in Paradise's eighth season next summer.
"Hopefully I've got a partner of my own by then," Susie told a fan in her recent Q&A.
Clayton and Susie explained this past Fall how they broke up because neither person felt stable or fully emotionally supported in the relationship due to their insecurities and outside pressure from Bachelor Nation to be a perfect couple.
Clayton shared how it felt nearly impossible to pour into his relationship with Susie when he didn't even know what he wanted out of life and where his future was headed.
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The couple also confirmed how dealing with backlash from Bachelor Nation -- including death threats sent to Clayton -- was a big factor in why they had issues and ultimately parted ways.
"I was trying to figure out what my next step was [and] I started questioning who I was because of all the negativity," Clayton said.
He added, "I started to believe some of what was being said about me. And I now look back at it and realize, like, I couldn't be that stable, secure man that I needed to be to really be able to give my all in a relationship."
Clayton said he felt the need to rehab his image and please others, all the while trying to get over death threats and handle problems in his relationship, such as wrongly being accused of cheating on Susie.
The pair recently became friends again, with Clayton asking Susie to read and edit a draft of his new book.
Clayton teased late last year there's a possibility he and Susie may get back together down the road, but Susie said she's ready to date again and "would do on a date tomorrow" if she could.
In fact, Susie is already crushing on a new guy.
Clayton also arrived at the conclusion he and Susie just aren't each other's "person."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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