'The Bachelor' couple Clayton Echard and Susie Evans break silence after breakup announcement

The Bachelor alums Clayton Echard and Susie Evans have broken their silence following their recent announcement that they've split up and ended their relationship.


Nearly a week after announcing their split, Clayton and Susie both took to social media and gave fans some insight into how they're doing.

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Clayton, 29, posted a series of photos on Thursday showing himself attending a friend's wedding solo and posing with a large group of children.

"Spent the past weekend doing the things I love with some of the people that mean the world to me," Clayton captioned the slideshow.


"First, I had the privilege of speaking to 400 middle and high school students in Missouri about anxiety, depression, cyber-bullying, body dysmorphia and the power of belief in one's self. Seeing and hearing the response afterwards made me realize I'm doing exactly what I need to be doing."

He continued, "Also was able to celebrate one of my best friend's wedding and of course I busted out the dance moves (swipe)."

"I want to say thank you to everyone that has reached out to check-in on me," Clayton wrote.

"The support (both on and offline) means more than y'all know and reminds me that I have so much to be thankful for; even when times are tough and there’s a world of unknown ahead. Here's to the next chapter of life."

Meanwhile, Susie, 29, is apparently focusing on her own well-being and mental health.


In a cryptic TikTok post on Wednesday, Susie wrote on a video of herself doing a facemask and staring into a journal, "Me to every self-care ritual I've picked up this week."

Susie then mouthed the following audio: "You better fix my entire life, you little sh-t."

She captioned the clip, "But really."

And then on Thursday, Susie uploaded another TikTok video of herself resting in bed.

Susie wrote, "How I'm handling this week," before mouthing, "No more questions because I'm a little mad and I'm tired. Thank you."


The Bachelor 26 winner captioned the second clip, "Okay so this is how I will handle things from now on... 'thank you.'"

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In the pair's September 23 breakup statement, they wrote, "With incredibly heavy hearts, we wanted to share that we have decided to go our separate ways. For anyone who has ever loved, knows this was a painful decision to make and not one taken lightly."

"We understand that there will likely be a lot of questions about this decision -- social media is definitely a highlight reel and much of our experiences together we have kept private as I'm sure most can understand. But we will share this -- although this last year together has brought us so much joy and so many laughs, there has also been a significant amount of pain."

Susie and Clayton said it was "not an easy time" for either of them, adding, "But we stand in support of each other and hope to see the other go on to find happiness and healing. Although Claysie is no more, we hope that our communities can support us individually as we move forward with love and respect for each other."


"Thank you to all of you that supported our relationship. It means so much more than you will ever know," they concluded.

Susie and Clayton broke up at the end of The Bachelor's 26th season, which aired earlier this year, but they reunited and reconciled after filming ended. By the time the show's After the Final Rose special aired in March, Susie and Clayton were dating and in love.

But The Bachelor couple's fans began to suspect Clayton and Susie's relationship may be in trouble when Clayton suddenly revealed he and Susie had decided to stop living together and would be moving to separate states during an appearance on the August 16 episode of Amanda Hirsch's "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast.

Susie and Clayton had been living in Virginia Beach together, but Clayton chose to move to Scottsdale, AZ, and the wedding videographer relocated to Los Angeles, CA.

However Clayton -- who had moved to Susie's Virginia Beach, VA hometown to live with her shortly after the finale of his The Bachelor season aired on ABC -- insisted the couple was not splitting up and would continue dating long-distance.


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Clayton had said they both wanted to chase their dreams but it was actually Susie's idea to live apart.

"People might like at it like, 'Oh, they're separating,' but this past weekend she went to film a wedding and I missed the hell out of her. When she came back, it was like 'Distance makes the heart grow fonder,'" Clayton said on the podcast.

"I mean we haven't been able to keep our hands off each other, we've just been like attached to each other's side. And so I think a little distance never hurts."

Clayton had also shared how both he and Susie would be willing to move to the other person if their new arrangement wasn't working out for them.

However earlier in the interview, Clayton had also acknowledged neither he or Susie were fully confident their relationship would last.


"Susie and I are like any other humans, we can't see into the future," he said. "We've had this conversation many times, like 'Are we each other's person? And what if we're not?'"

"And ultimately we came to this decision, like we don't need to be in a relationship for anybody other than ourselves. We're not doing this for Bachelor Nation, or anything like that. We both came to the conclusion that we're like, you know what, no matter what happens we'll forever be thankful for being part of each other's live. Because we both made each other better human beings."

Clayton had even suggested The Bachelor couple's relationship could possibly end in a month.

"We don't know if this relationship, we're like, 'We don't know if it's going to be a month-long [more] from here or if it's gonna be lifetime but, like, there's no pressure,'" he said.

"Like, let's just love each other and be thankful -- and we are thankful we're in each other's lives. So whatever that looks like, we're very, very happy right now and in a really great spot. But yeah, man, we really went through it. Together though, thankfully. She's been on my side and that's the only reason why I can sit here with so much positivity is because of her."

Going back to Clayton's The Bachelor journey that aired from January through March on ABC, he was heavily scrutinized and criticized for how he had treated his bachelorettes.


Clayton faced backlash for telling all of his Final 3 women that he loved them and for sleeping with both Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia before his last Fantasy Suite date with the bachelorette he was supposedly the "most in love" with, Susie.

But Clayton's spirit-breaking experience on The Bachelor ultimately had a happy ending.

Susie -- who quit The Bachelor after she learned Clayton had slept with Gabby and Rachel before his Fantasy Suite date with her -- ultimately returned to the show and made an appearance at the Final Rose Ceremony, but she dumped the Bachelor instead of accepting his final rose.

Susie said at the time that Clayton wasn't her person and they didn't seem meant to be.

However, Susie reached out to Clayton post-filming seeking some answers, and the pair got back together, resulting in Clayton moving to Virginia Beach to live with Susie.

In July, Clayton told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper he was "disgusted" with how he was portrayed on The Bachelor and "would never, ever" do the show again.


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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski